4. Evidence
4.1. Verizon
Verizon presented 10 witnesses to explain the two benefits of the IOF project. The project consists of a 26-mile fiber link from Gilroy to Los Gatos, of which about 21 miles have been completed at a cost of $3.3 million. The purpose of the project is to increase system reliability and to remedy inadequate data transmission capabilities out of Verizon's Morgan Hill and Gilroy offices. Verizon estimates that 65,000 residential and 80,000 business customers4 will benefit from the increased reliability and data transmission capability of the IOF project.
Verizon explained that in addition to these broader benefits, the IOF project will bring direct local benefits to residents of Summit Road. Verizon stated that its predecessor, Contel of California, installed copper-based telephone facilities along Summit Road in the 1990's. These facilities are not capable of providing telephone service to all interested residents, and the service provided is subject to frequent outages due to obsolete and failure-prone equipment. By routing the IOF project along Summit Road, Verizon will be able to offer modern, fiber-based service to Summit Road residents and solve the persistent telephone maintenance problems on this road. Verizon estimated that about 250 customers are able to purchase high-speed fiber-based internet access for the first time along the portions of Summit Road where the IOF facilities have been installed leading up to the private section. Within the private section of Summit Road, with the completion of the IOF project, there will be sufficient capacity to serve up to 200 customers with landline telephone service, rather than the six customers that can be served with the existing copper lines. In addition, up to 144 could receive DSL.
Verizon's proposed installation plan for its facilities on Summit Road initially involved trenching and backfilling in the roadway but Verizon revised its proposal to use directional boring to place the conduit for the fiber optic cable. Directional boring is an adaptation of oil drilling techniques.5 By using directional boring, Verizon concluded, most of the roadway surface would be entirely undisturbed by the placement of the conduit. Moreover, Verizon's roadway expert concluded that the surface restoration work would be "wholly unremarkable and conventional," and that directional boring "eliminates erosion concerns and any question about subsidence in the project area." Verizon did, however, commit to repairing any road damage that it may cause.
4.2. Opposing Defendants
The Opposing Defendants contended that Verizon has done a poor job of completing trenching work on other portions of Summit Road, and of repairing damage caused by the Contel trenching in the private section of Summit Road. These Defendants opposed allowing Verizon further access to their fragile roadway due to fear that Verizon would render it impassable and the residents would have no means of access to their homes.
The Opposing Defendants stated that landline service from Verizon is not needed because Summit Road residents can obtain wireless and satellite telephone and internet service. They questioned whether the IOF project was necessary because Verizon currently leases line capacity from AT&T and could continue to do so. Even if an additional trunk line owned by Verizon were necessary, they stated that Verizon could have constructed such a trunk line through the metropolitan areas (generally along the State Highway 101 corridor) using public right-of-ways, rather than along Summit Road, including the five-mile private section. The Opposing Defendants contended that Verizon had not repaired damage to the road caused by its current facilities, and could not be "counted on to correct and maintain the road as a result of this project."
The Opposing Defendants stated that the owners of the road have been solely responsible for its maintenance and have spent much time and money to keep the road passable. It is an environmentally fragile dirt road, constructed in the 1800's in an area that receives 30 to 40 inches of rain per year, with occasional snow and ice.
The Opposing Defendants testified that the fiber optic cable Verizon is proposing to install will exceed the capacity of the copper wires currently in the road by "thousands" of times. They contended that the residents of Summit Road have no need for this amount of capacity and that the real purpose of this fiber optic line is to enable Verizon to compete more effectively with its high-speed services. The Opposing Defendants concluded that local telephone service could be upgraded by replacing certain obsolete equipment on the existing copper lines.
The Opposing Defendants disputed Verizon's assertions that trenching did not cause erosion and uneven settlement in the roadway. Their witnesses offered numerous photographs of ponded water on the road and worn away road edges. They alleged that Contel's trenches from the 1990's cause additional annual maintenance expense to the Summit Road Association to cover up and repair problem areas in the trenching. A Santa Clara engineering report evaluating trench cut damage concluded that trench cuts weaken the soil adjacent to the cuts and that additional road strengthening is required.
4.3. Mark Hamlin
Hamlin is the defendant who testified in support of the IOF project. He observed Verizon's work installing the fiber optic cable in the county-maintained section of the road. He asserted that "there were some problems with the finish work" but that no long term harm had been done. Hamlin stated that he looked forward to reliable landline telephone service and lower-priced high-speed internet access from the Verizon project.
4 Verizon did not specify what share of these customers is receiving local telephone service and high-speed internet access.
5 Directional boring requires the digging of a bore pit, a hole about four feet square, for insertion of the boring drill bit. A similarly-sized receiving pit is also dug, usually about 300 feet away. The drill is typically guided by using computer-generated coordinates and placed beacons. It can also be guided by workers on the surface with detection devices. When the drill bit reaches the receiving pit, the conduit is pulled through. In this case, two small (1½ inch or less) conduits will be placed together in the larger four-inch conduit, with one of the small conduits for current use and the other for subsequent use. The drill bit is then positioned towards the next receiving pit.
