Verizon is a company that inherited a wealth and market position in the local telephone business because they were a monopoly. They still own all the copper plant and the offices that it terminates in. I worked for a CLEC and we built a DSL network in 5 states. I can tell you for a fact that a local company, like Verizon, makes a ton of money renting their otherwise unused floorspace to CLECs. There is a charge for everything you use, heat, cooling, AC power, DC power, rent for floor space, rent for running your cables in their cable racks, rent on some of the cables themselves -- all paid monthly, on top of the initial application and installation fees. Then there is a charge for every cross-connect and the installation of the cable pair out to the customer -- and a recurring monthly fee for the cable pair. In short Verizon has made money on every CLEC that existed in their territory including all that went belly up. All the improvements to their buildings are generally "abandonded in-place" so they inhereit them too.

So if I were a judge, I'd say that as the ILEC they still have a responsibility to ensure "universal service" to the local phone customers in their territory. I'd say that current legislation doesn't in anyway limit their ability to do that. Then as judge, I'd look at Verizon's 10K and see all the businesses they own, or have invested in outside of their direct responsibility as an ILEC and I'd say they can put these on the block, liquidate their positions and use that cash cover any sins they are responsible for.

As judge I would protect the public by protecting Verizon's core local telephone business. If need be I'd put management of Verizon in the hands of a trustee until they can show that they can keep their shorts clean without supervision.

Verizon has Billions invested in business other than local telephone. They have Billions in assets and credit lines (they also have billions in debt that's under investigation, but that debt sure isn't benefiting their customers, and the customers don't like it!)

If need be, Verizon could be forced to sell part of it's core business (local phone customers) to Bell South or Southwestern Bell, phone companies do that all the time to consolidate their territories and make maintenance and management more effective.

If you or I killed someone and were sued, when the bankrupcy court was done with us we'd have enough left just to get by and a monthly payment on top of it.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.