Frontier's California takeover is on track for approval today

3 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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Not a Californian look, but hey, it beats Verizon’s finger.

No glitches for Frontier’s purchase of Verizon’s wireline phone systems in California. At this point the deal appears headed for approval without discussion: it’s on the California Public Utilities Commission’s consent agenda for today’s meeting and no one has asked that it be bumped to later, or taken off the consent agenda and taken up as a discussion item. The CPUC is the last major hurdle for the deal.… More

No showstoppers for Frontier's purchase of Verizon's wireline network in California

2 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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But Verizon will have to clean up its mess first.

Frontier Communications’ proposed purchase of Verizon’s wireline telephone systems in California seems to be on track for approval by the California Public Utilities Commission, albeit with conditions. The draft decision approving the deal, written by CPUC administrative law judge Karl Bemesderfer, has gone through the standard public review cycle of comments and reply comments from the companies involved and other interested parties, particularly the CPUC’s office of ratepayer advocates (ORA) and various consumer and advocacy groups.… More

CPUC approval of Frontier-Verizon deal dodges broadband jurisdiction

11 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Many Californians say there’s no shame in being a Dodger. Or so I’ve been told.

The tentative CPUC ruling approving Frontier Communication’s purchase of Verizon’s wireline systems in California avoids claiming any authority to regulate broadband service. Instead, the proposed decision drafted by a California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge relies on time-tested public interest criteria, plain old telephone regulatory powers and a set of private agreements between Frontier and a long list of advocacy groups.… More

Frontier must upgrade broadband for 800,000 Californians in order to buy Verizon systems

9 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Frontier will have a lot of Verizon mess to clean up.

Frontier Communications will be able to buy Verizon’s wireline systems in California, if it almost doubles the number of homes and businesses that will get new or upgraded broadband service, and if the California Public Utilities Commission votes yes on the proposed decision approving the deal drafted by administrative law judge Karl Bemesderfer and released on Friday.

Relying on a stack of agreements between Frontier and various advocacy groups and the CPUC’s office of ratepayer advocates, an opinion by the state attorney general that the deal “will not adversely impact competition”, and evidence gathered during the several months the sale has been under review, Bemesderfer’s proposed decision would find that it meets the requirements of California public utilities law.… More

Frontier to offer broadband lifeline service in California, if allowed to buy Verizon systems

3 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Lifeline’s reach, if the deal goes through.

Frontier Communications will implement an interim low income broadband lifeline program in California, if it gets regulatory approval to buy Verizon’s wireline systems. In an agreement reached with the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), Frontier is promising to offer a special package to its voice lifeline customers that comprises…

  • 13.99/month for the low-income broadband service (which is a new affordable product for the Verizon service area and an improved product in the Frontier legacy service areas), available only to Lifeline voice customers, existing or new customers.
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New York attorney general says ISP speed matters more than disclaimers

27 October 2015 by Steve Blum
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It’s gotta at least be in the ballpark.

The New York attorney general wants Time Warner, Cablevision and Verizon to explain how they manage they manage the Internet connections that they sell to consumers, and how they do business among themselves and with other telecommunications companies. Letters sent to the three companies point to the disconnect between what’s advertised, what’s sold and what’s actually delivered.

The letter sent to Time Warner Cable is typical (links to the others are below)…

This Office is concerned that, for reasons substantially within TWC’s control, consumers may not be experiencing the speeds advertised.

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Verizon's California copper will rot if it isn't sold

21 October 2015 by Steve Blum
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Not much incentive to spend on copper.

Verizon’s wireline future is fiber, not copper. That’s the takeaway from yesterday’s quarterly earnings call, where Fran Shammo, Verizon’s chief financial officer, talked up the company’s wireless plans, and said that selling its mostly copper systems in California (and Florida and Texas) was a good move strategically, because the company’s wireline investments are focused on fiber…

Most of that property was copper, not fiber. So when we look at the East Coast, it’s a much different footprint.

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Surfnet takes another try in the Santa Cruz mountains

19 October 2015 by Steve Blum
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Click for a bigger picture.

Los Cumbres is a private community in the Santa Cruz mountains with old-style DSL service. Surfnet Communications, a wireless Internet service provider in the area, is asking the California Public Utilities Commission for a $730,000 grant and a $243,000 loan from the California Advanced Services Fund to build a fiber to the home system there.

The project would reach something like 180 homes, at a total cost of $1.2 million, with the balance paid by the Las Cumbres homeowners association and Surfnet.… More

Frontier and competitive carriers agree, at least regarding telephone service in California

8 October 2015 by Steve Blum
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Frontier says terms won’t change for now.

Most of the issues between Frontier Communications and competitive local exchange carriers in California regarding Frontier’s proposed purchase of Verizon’s wireline telephone systems have been worked out. A settlement agreement was filed with the California Public Utilities Commission that addresses most of the objections that CLECs raised regarding the deal.

Boiled down, most of the settlement consists of Frontier saying it’ll honor Verizon’s current contracts with CLECs and keep current terms and interconnection agreements in effect for at least three years.… More

Frontier's middle mile will solve some of Verizon's last mile woes, says CFO

23 September 2015 by Steve Blum
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It looked like this in 2011. Click for a bigger view.

Connecting Frontier Communication’s existing national fiber backbone to the Californian telephone systems it plans to buy from Verizon might be enough to greatly improve speeds. That’s what John Jureller, Frontier’s chief financial officer, told an investment conference last week. According to a story by Sean Buckley in FierceTelecom, Jureller said

“What we have found as we have gotten deeper and deeper into our integration, it has got a well enabled network backbone that might have been built out with DSL at one point with technology that might have been two generations ago,” Jureller said.

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