Frontier told the FCC in a filing that it has devised a cutover strategy with Verizon (NYSE: VZ) for its purchase of the ILEC's wireline properties in California, Florida and Texas, one that it says will ensure there will be no service disruptions to its retail and wholesale customers.
The cutover plan consists of two elements: functional cutover plans and a deliverable schedule for both Verizon and Frontier.
According to the FCC filing, there are over 140 individual functional cutover plans. Each of these plans lay out the business and system deliverables for which Verizon and Frontier will be responsible and the processes for extracting data and transferring the data from Verizon to Frontier.
The data included in this process includes product and service information for each customer in each customer segment, including mass market and retail customers and wholesale customers (including CLECs) that rent the company's last mile facilities to deliver services to their customers.
A big piece of this process will focus on customer support data needed to operate the business. Prior to completing the cutover, Verizon and Frontier will hold a series of "mock conversions" to ensure that Frontier's current systems will be ready to accept and complete orders, billing, network operations functions, and other requirements when the deal closes.
The cutover plan also will provide training to current Verizon employees on Frontier's business systems and processes so that they will be prepared to serve customers upon closing. Verizon is also required to provide Frontier with contact information for carrier and CLEC customers to assist Frontier in conducting pre-closing communications and joint testing with these customers. Finally, the cutover plan provides for access to and verification of data prior to closing by Frontier to help Frontier deal with significant customer impacts associated with the cutover.
Frontier is no stranger to integrating network assets, particularly Verizon. In 2010, Frontier integrated Verizon's operations in 14 states, which involved over 4 million lines, with 13 of those states using legacy GTE back-office systems similar to those used in the three states covered by the current deal.
To assist in making this current transaction a success, Frontier has dedicated teams of employees to plan for and execute the transition of network facilities to Frontier. These teams cover all aspects of the transition, including the Voice/TDM Network, Data Network, Network Operations Center, and Engineering.
Another key element will be the OSS system. When the deal closes, Verizon's operations will be converted into Frontier's existing OSS and billing systems, which Frontier currently utilizes to serve more than 3 million customers in the 28 states where it currently provides service.
"Frontier's OSS will generally offer functionally comparable service to that of Verizon's OSS. Frontier's OSS are fully scalable and will support the operations transferring to Frontier," Frontier wrote in the FCC filing. "However, Frontier will undertake some development to further enhance the customer experience, such as Spanish billing and more robust "self-care" options for residential and commercial customers."
For more:
- see this FCC filing (.pdf)
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