During a brief hearing, state regulators couldn’t get clear answers from Verizon representatives about their plans. Now, a settlement is in review that would make the company the largest provider in West Virginia.
By Tre Spencer for Mountain State Spotlight, www.mountainstatespotlight.org
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The hearing room inside West Virginia’s Public Service Commission was filled with plain suits, heavy briefcases and growing anticipation.
At stake was control of an aging internet and landline system serving some 300,000 West Virginians. Verizon wants to buy Frontier Communications’ operations across the state.
But during a brief hearing last week, questions about the deal went largely unanswered: How much will Verizon invest in upgrading Frontier’s poor landline system? Can customers expect better service? How will the company improve broadband service?
On the stand, Tom Nugent, an executive for Verizon, gave a sales pitch.
“We will bring Verizon’s full suite of services to West Virginia,” he said. “We’ve got the breadth, the skills and the tools in order to support customers with any questions that they might have.”
When regulators pressed for details, he repeatedly deflected questions to colleagues.
“Mr. Nugent, my main concern about this whole transaction is the quality of service that our landline customers, who have no alternative, are going to see,” said Charlotte Lane, chairman of the PSC.
As Nugent looked on, she asked him to explain how much money Verizon was willing to invest in upgrading Frontier’s landlines.
He couldn’t.
“I think it’s a fair concern when it comes to a robust plan that we currently have for both copper and our fiber customers, but I’m going to divert to Mr. Sullivan,” he replied, looking to another executive.
Then, there was a brief pause as Lane looked around, puzzled and confused by his response.
“Okay…what is the specific plan to enhance the 911 system?” she said. “Because we get a lot of complaints about service outages, and that is solely unacceptable.”
Nugent again deferred back to yet another colleague. Lane ended her questions.
And then, to her surprise, representatives for Verizon interjected, asking to recess briefly. Attorneys slipped out of the room to finalize details of a settlement between the company, state broadband officials and union leaders.
Instead of two days of witness testimony and rigorous exchanges between lawyers, deliberations occurred behind closed doors, sidestepping public scrutiny.
While not yet approved, the settlement sheds some light on Verizon’s broadband plans for the state and service for current Frontier customers.
In the settlement offer, Verizon committed to improving customer service, expanding broadband and maintaining staffing.
The company will answer at least 80% of customer calls within 30 seconds and provide the option to schedule calls with customer service representatives. It will also hire 25 additional employees and will move 97 part-time workers to full-time positions.
Verizon is also pledging to connect 35,000 more homes with fiber broadband within two years after the deal’s closure or invest $30 million into expanding internet service to customers.
If approved, Verizon’s acquisition of Frontier Communications’ broadband and landline operations would make it the largest telecommunications company in the state.
The deal would have sweeping implications for the state’s broadband access, especially in more rural areas.
A deal with a flawed past
Verizon first operated in West Virginia in 2000, emerging from another telecoms deal with Bell Atlantic Telephone, which had been operating in the state since 1984.
At the time, fiber broadband technology was still new, and many providers were using DSL – digital subscriber lines – to use the internet. These were copper lines that delivered phone and internet service.
Fiber technology offers cheaper and faster internet service. But nearly one-third of West Virginians still rely on outdated, slower DSL service, according to a 2023 survey from the state’s broadband office.
Frontier purchased telecommunication lines from Verizon in 2010, catapulting it to one of the country’s largest broadband providers. But soon after, complaints flooded in to state regulators, who opened an inquiry into Frontier’s services.
By 2015, Frontier settled with then-Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, pledging to invest $160 million to improve its broadband network. It later filed for bankruptcy in 2020, again pledging to invest millions more in its West Virginia network.
The PSC has since received over 13,000 complaints about the company’s service.
In Berkeley County, Lisa Knight has had Frontier Internet for about a decade.
“Our internet has been so slow, you can’t really qualify it as broadband,” she said during a public hearing on the deal last week. “We cannot even watch two shows at the same time in different rooms.”
She told commissioners that after reaching out to the company, all she received was a new modem, which still didn’t work.
In dozens of written testimonies, other customers complained about years of dropped calls, unfair prices and poor customer service with Frontier. And many seemed skeptical that their service would improve, if at all, under Verizon. And that uncertainty wasn’t just limited to frustrated customers.
Even state broadband officials are cautious.
Last month, after an online meeting of the state’s Broadband Enhancement Council, several members lingered and informally discussed the merger.
“I’ll be honest with you,” said council member Robert Cole. “Having worked with multiple telecommunications companies in my career, I’m not real optimistic about a lot of improvements.”
“Could we at least hope that it won’t be any worse?” quipped Kelly Workman, the state’s broadband office director.
“Yeah,” Cole replied. “That’s the whole outlook really.”
In an email, a spokesperson said the council is “optimistic” that Verizon will improve service.
West Virginians want more accountability
On Friday, a tentative settlement was reached between Verizon, broadband officials and union representatives to address concerns they had about how the company would protect Frontier customers.
Inside, the company said it had plans to connect thousands of residents to high-speed internet, hire more frontline workers and commit to sharing reports with state regulators during regularly scheduled meetings.
Robert Williams, director of the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division, represents thousands of residential customers in the state and helped negotiate the deal.
He was concerned about whether Verizon would be able to address the complaints from Frontier customers.
“We all brought different concerns to the table, and I think Verizon did a good job of listening and working with us,” he said.
He said he anticipates the PSC will approve the settlement offer and expects a ruling as early as next week or in a few months as Verizon officials work to get the deal approved in other states.
Horst Motz, a Calhoun County resident and former Verizon employee, said he hopes the new owners will bring better internet to rural areas.
“I know the type of service that they can provide,” he said during the public hearing. “Fiber is one of the options that we’ve been really looking for in my county.”
Earlier this month, contractors surveyed utility poles near his home. He asked them when he might get fiber. Three months, they told him.
“Goodness gracious,” he replied. “I’ve only been waiting seven years.”
