Dear Unity@Verizon Activist,

Verizon is trying to force a bill through the Virginia State Legislature to take away the Virginia State Corporation Commission's ability to make sure that the sale of any telephone company serves the public interest and protects consumers from rate hikes or bad service.

With little public scrutiny, Verizon is pushing SB 1143/HB 1755. These bills would remove the purchase or sale of a telephone company from the State Corporation Commission's purview.

Click here to tell your legislators to block this attack on telephone consumers.

The Commission currently has the ability to protect consumers from rising rates.  It also insures that when mergers occur, the acquiring company has the financial wherewithal to provide service, not just any service, but quality service.  It insures that the quality of service is the same throughout the Commonwealth, not one standard for the densely populated and a different standard for rural Virginia. 

If this bill passes, no one in Virginia will provide oversight.  There is a possibility that rural areas of Virginia, where it is more expensive to provide telephone service, may be sold to small telephone companies without the resources or capacity to provide highspeed connections. In doing so, there will be an even greater divide than we see today and poorer service for our citizens in rural areas.

Click here to ask your legislators to vote no on SB 1143/HB 1755.