New Haven Independent

U-Verse Boxes Rattle Neighbors

by Melissa Bailey | July 18, 2008 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

With millions of dollars of equipment at stake, AT&T has vowed to wipe off any graffiti from new utility boxes like this one.

The pledge comes as the city works to combat a graffiti “epidemic” plaguing neighborhoods.

The city wants your help holding the company accountable by reporting any graffiti on the new AT&T equipment called V-rad, or U-verse boxes.

Neighbors across the city have objected to the new additions to their blocks. A woman on Howard Avenue in the Hill grumbled that the box blocked her window view and kept her up at night. An East Rock woman successfully lobbied to get the utility box moved further down Edwards Street so it wouldn’t sit right outside her studio.

The boxes are hard to miss: They’re several feet tall and wide, attached to utility poles outside houses and schools across the city. Neighbors and city officials weren’t so thrilled when the imposing structures appeared this year in the public right of way. The boxes carry the company’s new U-verse service, which allows the company to compete with Comcast by servicing homes with TV, voice and high-speed Internet connections.

AT&T has given the city its word that it will promptly remove graffiti from the boxes if someone calls to complain.

“I’d like to hold their feet to the fire on that,” Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts told an aldermanic committee earlier this week.

Smuts “strongly encouraged” New Haveners to report any taggings through SeeClickFix.com, an independent watchdog website mapping quality of life complaints across the city and tracking how quickly they’re addressed. The tagging at the top of this story was reported here on SeeClickFix on Sunday evening and fixed Thursday by noon. Graffiti seen on the V-rad boxes can be reported at the website, with the tag word “v-rad.”

The graffiti pledge comes at a key time, Smuts said: AT&T is awaiting a final ruling by the state Department of Public Utility Control over the approval process by which it can install the boxes on the street. (Docket #07-03-34 on the DPUC website).

In the interim period, Smuts said the city is evaluating how well the company takes care of its property.

The company installed roughly 2,000 V-rad boxes across the state, beginning last year.

AT&T said it wrote letters to nearby property owners advising them that the structures would be coming. The company has the right to erect the boxes, but the approval process by which the company must notify cities and property owners is still being clarified by the DPUC.

There’s a difference between telling residents “tomorrow, we’re putting a box up” and giving residents a true understanding of the size and function of the box, DPUC spokesman Phil Dukes said Friday. The case before the DPUC came in response to municipalities’ complaints about the new structures on their streets, Dukes said. The DPUC is set to issue a draft decision on Aug. 6 and a final decision on Aug. 27.

Meanwhile, AT&T spokesman Dave Marcuso confirmed the company’s graffiti-removal pledge.

“It is our practice and policy that anytime we are notified of graffiti anywhere in the state, we will have it removed,” he said.

Marcuso, who wasn’t familiar with SeeClickFix, recommended also calling AT&T at 800-274-1368 to report graffiti on any AT&T equipment.

“While there is not a specific prompt on the menu for reporting graffiti, callers should speak to an agent who will process their report and get the clean up under way as quickly as possible,” Marcuso wrote in an email.

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Comments

Posted by: Edward_H | July 18, 2008 3:04 PM

I was having a lot of fun telling people these boxes are part of George Bush's domestic spying program. Now you guys went and ruined it by spreading the truth

Posted by: Rob Smuts | July 18, 2008 3:36 PM

The goal of these boxes is terrific - upgrading the communication infrastructure for New Haven residents and breaking Comcast's cable monopoly - but the roll-out has left something to be desired.

82 of these boxes were installed in New Haven before the DPUC took action and ruled that cities have some say over regulating them. Before that ruling, there had been no cooperation from AT&T on any of the City's concerns, but since then we have a very productive set of conversations. (I'm not going to hold a grudge about our previous interactions, especially since I'm still miffed at Comcast for taking so long to offer NESN.)

Pending the DPUC's final ruling, the City will work with AT&T to set up a fair approvals process for any new V-RAD installations, and then decide how we will review the 82 previous boxes that we consider to have been installed without necessary approvals.

Posted by: me | July 18, 2008 3:57 PM

they can bring it my neighborhood if it's cheaper then comcast..

Posted by: 2369 | July 18, 2008 4:04 PM

We should cut UVERSE some slack. Comcast is overpriced, and we're better off with more choices.

Posted by: observer | July 18, 2008 11:49 PM

I will be switching to U-Verse the day, the very day, it becomes operational on my street. I can't wait. To finally be able to get rid of the hated cable company! and yet get comparable service instead (which satellite TV is not, really).

I'm delighted to read this article and learn that streets in the city are actually being wired. (I've called AT&T, but I don't get much useful information from them, yet.)

At the same time, I very much appreciate Rob Smuts's efforts to try to get AT&T to install their new intrusive boxes with some forethought and respect for neighborhoods. Good going, Rob. Thanks. (And thanks to the DPUC for enabling the city to have some oversight.)

Posted by: much to do | July 20, 2008 4:30 AM

We've had this box up the street in our precious e. rock hood and it hasn't affected us in the slightest. O, yeah, I did repaint it (and an adjoining fence when it got tagged by neighborhood tykes) and it blends right in. After all, we live in a CITY, and expect boxes, like traffic signals, newsboxes, peering cameras etc. Its still a lot more interesting living here than in the walled off hyporegulated suburbs.

Posted by: Deuce | July 21, 2008 10:13 AM

Graffiti = "artistic" defecation.

Posted by: cedarhillresident | July 21, 2008 10:51 AM

Edward
You kill me!!
We have 2 in of these things in my area. At least 2 that I have noticed. One is high up and one low like the one in the picture. But I will keep an eye one them.

much to do, so true!

Posted by: Robert Megna | July 22, 2008 7:04 AM

Last year we had legislation to require town and local property owner approval prior to installation of these boxes. Some installations around the state blocked the ability of snow plows to pass on the street. Cities such as bridgeport spent 10s of thousands of taxpayer dollars fighting the installations within the court system. The legislation was blocked with the help of the lobbyists.

U-Verse Boxes Rattle Neighbors

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