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Give Frontier a chance
Is the ghost of FairPoint Communications haunting Frontier Communications? Probably not as much as telecom industry insiders would think, though FairPoint's problems certainly could give Frontier's critics some handy background support for their points of view.
Frontier's plan to acquire former Verizon Communications' landline assets in 14 states has run into more opposition recently in Illinois, where a judge ruled that state regulators should not approve the deal because of the resulting debt load for Frontier.
Though regulators in at least six of the 14 states affected by the deal already have given their approval, Frontier and Verizon have encountered problems in at least four states, including Illinois, West Virginia, Oregon and Washington (It later did gain approval in Oregon).
Are those who oppose the deal using FairPoint's laundry list of problems after a similar acquisition of Verizon properties to argue against Frontier's plan? No, not directly. In Illinois, we see a judge concerned about Frontier's ability to remain financially healthy under the debt load. In West Virginia, we have seen unions protesting the deal as they look out for workers' livelihood. Elsewhere, people are concerned about getting accurate bills on time and getting decent levels of customer service and support. All of these issues exist in their own corner of the universe. All of them are reasonable concerns.
Where there are similarities are in the intentions of the seller, and the good intentions of the buyers. Verizon wants to get rid of these lines, and will not invest much in them if it doesn't. The same was true of the lines Verizon unloaded to FairPoint in New England. Frontier, like FairPoint, cares about supporting these lines and serving the customers at the other end--they have to because serving the types of markets these lines are in is Frontier's core business.
That's why Frontier deserves a chance, the same way that FairPoint deserved a chance. FairPoint flubbed the opportunity in a number of ways, but long-term, it still has the chance to be a solid service provider in New England.
Though a few similarities exist, Frontier needs to be judged on its own merits. The level of concern that's been raised is a reminder of how important the stakes are to customers and employees that would be affected by the deal. Ultimately, Frontier should work with the states and constituents involved to gain support for the deal because it's the best chance for an independent telco to thrive in a changing market, and the best chance for customers in the affected states to continue seeing the benefit of telecom investment and innovation. -Dan
Comments
Posted by Rex Allen | July 6, 2010 - 4:20pm
I live in an area served by Verizon/GTE. I sure hope that Frontier can give better service than Verizon. While Verizon has developed FIOS in Texas, and other areas, we didn't get DSL or any other service upgrades in this tiny town. And we wondered why our town has not grown. There are very few businesses that want to start up in a town that can't even provide Internet access. As a technician selling and serviceing Telephone and Network equipment, AT&T areas of Michigan are far better off. They have competition, whereas Verizon has choked off the competition by having a much higher fee to connect any type of network service. THe wires in this area are well over 30 years old and there is no capacity for growth in any neighborhood. We are virtually on a party line service with quite a few neighbors.
Posted by Anonymous | March 22, 2010 - 3:17pm
I work for Frontier in the Ranson and Charles Town WV area. We do have fiber to the curb in newer housing developments. We don't do video though on our fiber. We also do standalone hsi and have a wireless mesh using trophos radios. I make probably 4 dollars an hour less then Verizon workers one county over where I live. I also pay a portion of my health care like most employee's in most any company. I know talking to Verizon employees, Verizon is just letting it's outside plant in a lot of areas go. It is funny reading all these comments about Frontier. I guess because I work for them and know how hard we work to satisfy our customers and we are unionized but in the end it is all about the customers.
Posted by Anonymous | March 18, 2010 - 7:30pm
The the fastest DSL? How 1999. Look at what the Frontier user's on the Internet boards have to say about Frontier DSL. Let's just hope that they don't wreck our FiOS. I'm not a Verizon (or certainly not Comcast) fanboy, in fact I am a happy iPhone user.
Posted by Anonymous | March 18, 2010 - 4:15pm
Dear Anonymous
Your use of "our" and other indicators when addressing Dave suggest that you actually work for Frontier. If I was Dave, I wouldn't care WHAT you said, rather, HOW you said it! My goodness, with such bellicose, virulent language I should hope Frontier DOESN'T get the deal simply because people like you shouldn't be in business. Regardless of the truth of the matter I should think you owe Dave an apology or risk losing not just him as a customer but everyone in his greater sphere.
But let me guess, if I were to tell you that it's all about the little things - that everything matters including your online personality - you'll want to fire back to me similar to your response to Dave something akin to puking in the toilet.
If anyone else at Frontier is reading this, I'd make inquiries and seek to have this person removed.
Posted by Mak88 | March 18, 2010 - 3:14pm
I welcome the sale of Verizon service areas to Frontier. Our area north of Seattle was once served by GTE with a large local presence. After the Verizon acquisition of GTE, customer service died. So did service innovation until very recently with the fiber-based Fios deployments.
Very few Internet-centric business ever located in our area because the closest connection points to high-bandwidth internet backbones and co-location hubs required ultra-expensive local loop services from BOTH Verizon/GTE AND USworst,
So from my perspective as a long-term business consumer of very high-end telecommunications services, the Verizon divestment of our area represents a tremendous opportunity for future business development.
Posted by Anonymous | March 15, 2010 - 6:02pm
Dear Dave Gustafson
Dave, You really don't have a clue. You are your own worst enemy in trying to analyze Frontier. At the end of the day, you will look like at idiot.
No experience in Fiber? You truly are clueless.
Look at who has the fastest DSL in the US? Frontier, Pal! No experience in urban areas? MOST of our urban areas are BIGGER than anything you just mentioned.
Maybe you need Comcast, you seem to be listening to their BS and scare tactics. Let me assure you that you will not be disappointed unless you just want to be, then I CAN'T HELP YOU..!!
But, as 'some' people will recognize this little phrase, I will maintain the fact that 'I CAN help you !"
Posted by Anonymous | March 15, 2010 - 5:49pm
I can say one thing as an insider, Frontier is working non-stop to make sure this is a success and that at the end of the day, there are NO mistakes that are customer affecting. Frontier is throwing their best people at this to make sure July 1 goes without a hitch.
Posted by Dave Gustafson | March 15, 2010 - 3:17pm
Easy for others out there on East Coast to just say give them a chance. Why don't you move here just North/Northeast of Seattle and let Frontier handle your phone, internet, FiOS and FiOS TV service when they have NO experience in Fiber. No experience in more urban areas. We are talking Microsoft bedroom communities here that need reliable internet service. Our costs will most likely rise a lot. So we will be left with Comcast and satellite. For phone, well -maybe- they can provide me a reliable dial tone. Internet, they really suck at. TV, they resell DISH service. We really don't want a backwoodsy telephone provider here in Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Everett. We are used to reliable Verizon and GTE service in these parts. I'll be going back to DISH or Directv and AT&T.
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