AAFES Reports Progress Resolving Telephone and Internet Issues Published July 10, 2009 By AAFES MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- During the past several weeks, AAFES reports significant progress has been made toward resolving the remaining service issues related to the transition of telephone and Internet service to Verizon. One of the top priorities is an improved customer service program. For the last several weeks, a Verizon executive has been on site to review and address service issues. Verizon has improved their processes to streamline workflow and is working toward a goal of resolving open tickets within three days. Additionally, Verizon has recruited new customer service staff including adding a DSL technical engineer, and conducted additional customer service training. Another top priority is to improve Internet speed. Providing a US IP address made demand virtually explode as residents accessed US websites and entertainment options (gaming, movie downloads, etc.) that weren't previously available. While AAFES and Verizon had planned for additional bandwidth, the increased capacity was not enough to meet demand. More bandwidth is on the way. Increased capacity should be available in the next few months. At the same time, Verizon continues to fine-tune its network topology to increase operational efficiency.