Frontier has come one step closer to its expansion dreams as Washington states' Utilities and Transportation Commission gave its unanimous approval of its pending acquisition of Verizon rural lines.
In January, Washington approved the transfer Verizon FiOS cable TV franchises to Frontier. With Washington State's regulatory approval, Frontier now has seven states needed to wrap the acquisition. To date, Frontier has received approvals from Oregon, Arizona, Ohio, Nevada, South Carolina and California. However, Frontier still needs approvals from both Illinois and West Virginia in addition to the FCC.
Although industry onlookers believe that Frontier will prevail, Illinois and West Virginia have been the loudest opponents to the deal. Both states are concerned that the amount of debt Frontier will have to take on will not only hamper its ability to serve the current lines, but also prevent it from expanding the availability of broadband access services.
For more:
- see the release here
Related articles:
Oregon PUC approves Frontier's Verizon local line acquisition
Frontier gets Ohio's blessing for Verizon line acquisition
Union members held protest of Frontier/Verizon deal at FCC headquarters
West Virginia unions protest Verizon's Frontier deal
West Virginia protests Frontier's Verizon acquisition
Oregon, Washington regulators protest Frontier's Verizon acquisition
Frontier gets local video franchise thumbs up in Oregon, Washington
Frontier-Verizon deal faces opposition in Illinois