Frontier has set an ambitious goal to expand its presence in Durham, N.C., including a plan to fill 200 new positions to support the telco's growing residential broadband and business service customer base in the area and its pending acquisition of Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) properties in three states.
Dennis Bloss, VP and general manager for Frontier in North Carolina told the Triangle Business Journal that it plans to hire 100 to 125 employees by the first quarter of 2016.
Before Frontier could proceed with its hiring plan it had to get the Durham City Council to approve its own matching incentives during a meeting on Monday night.
"We will be moving forward," Bloss said.
Durham was just one of several steps Frontier had to take to move ahead with its expansion. Bloss said that a number of other states where it operates in such as Florida, Texas, Utah and South Carolina pushed for "aggressive" incentive packages. However, North Carolina almost did not get any incentive package until Gov. Pat McCrory incorporated them into the state's budget.
While Verizon's pending purchase of Verizon's wireline facilities in Florida, California and Texas will double the company's size, which would necessitate the need for additional call support centers, Bloss had been lobbying city leaders to expand in Durham.
Durham has become a key city for Frontier after entering the market when it purchased Verizon's wireline assets in 14 states in 2010. Durham was one of the first cities where it offered 1 Gbps service last October, at the American Tobacco Campus.
North Carolina overall has been a target of expansion for Frontier. Since taking over the Verizon wireline assets, it has invested over $80 million to upgrade and enhance the state's network.
For more:
- Triangle Business Journal article
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