Frontier Communications promised to expand high-speed fiber internet service into unserved and underserved urban and rural areas of Connecticut, eliminate hidden surcharges and improve its marketing and customer-service functions, all part of a settlement with the state attorney general valued at $60 million.

The settlement, unveiled August 31, was part of an overall investigation by the attorney general’s office and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Services as to whether Frontier deceived or misled consumers in the state in the marketing and sale of its internet services. The two agencies jointly reviewed more than 1,400 consumer complaints against the company, ranging from fees for equipment already returned, poor customer service and charges that continued after service had been canceled. 

“Frontier failed Connecticut consumers,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a press release. “Their DSL internet quality was slow and unreliable, and their customer service was unacceptable. They tacked on hidden fees, charged families for returned equipment, and kept charging customers even after services had been cancelled. That ends now.”

Also: Nearly 2,000 Striking Frontier Workers Back on the Job in California 

In a statement, Frontier said the complaints dated back to old legacy services and the company admitted no wrongdoing. 

“Frontier is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to build a fiber infrastructure that will provide high speed, reliable connectivity across the State of Connecticut,” Frontier said in a statement. “The settlement with the State of Connecticut is primarily related to legacy DSL services and stipulates that Frontier has admitted no wrongdoing. We settled the investigation in good faith to put it behind us so we could focus on our business – that’s in the best interest of all our customers.”

As part of the settlement, Frontier will spend $42.5 million over the next 3.5 years to upgrade outdated digital subscriber line (DSL) service in the state, with at least half of those improvements made in economically distressed urban and rural communities, or about 40,000 homes. In addition, Frontier has agreed to eliminate what the state called a $6.99 hidden monthly surcharge for internet service (amounting to $16 million last year alone), to pay $1 million to the state and to dole out $200,000 for credits and refunds to consumers who filed complaints beginning in 2019.

“We intend to hold Frontier accountable to every word of this agreement,” Tong continued. “If you continue to have any problems with Frontier, we want to hear from you.”

This is the second settlement Frontier has made in the past three months. In May it agreed to pay $8.5 million in civil penalties and costs and return $250,000 to consumers in California as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and two California law enforcement agencies over DSL service.  

Also: FCC to Investigate Frontier Outages in Arizona  

Also as part of the Connecticut settlement, Frontier must meet several accountability targets over the next six years, including new price and billing disclosures, advertisement disclosures that address its DSL representations, requirements that Frontier deliver promised internet speeds or provide options for consumers who do not receive promised speeds, and assurances that the company will implement transparent and fair cancellation and equipment return processes. Failure to meet those requirements could end in another $6 million in penalties levied against the company by the state. 

The agreement also provides protections for consumers offered the upgrade, including a 45-day period to decide whether to transition to fiber internet, protections against early termination or disconnection fees if they elect to cancel Frontier service, access to new customer promotional rates, and information about internet subsidies through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). ■

Charter Communications officially opened its new Stamford, Connecticut, headquarters Monday, a state-of-the-art facility that has been five years in the making. 

Charter first unveiled plans for a  new Stamford HQ in 2017. The new facility  was officially unveiled on Monday (June 6) in a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons. Located in the city’s revitalized Harbor Point neighborhood, Charter’s new corporate campus provides the company’s Stamford-based employees with an amenity-rich, commuter-friendly workspace with room for continued growth.

“Over the past 10 years we have been proud members of the Stamford community and have experienced tremendous growth,” Charter chairman and CEO Tom Rutledge said in a press release. “Our Stamford headquarters has grown from a handful of employees in a small portion of a single floor to 1,700 employees in a two-building, 900,000 square-foot campus. This region provides access to a robust talent base and at Charter, we are committed to attracting and retaining highly-skilled employees who live and work in this area and to contributing to the growth and success of this community.”

Also: Charter Chief Tom Rutledge Sees the Day When All Video Is IP-Delivered

Charter has more than 93,000 employees nationwide, and the company is currently hiring for more than 150 positions at the new Stamford campus, including professional-level roles in business planning, corporate security, customer operations, facilities, field operations, finance, human resources, information technology, legal, marketing, network engineering and sales.  

“Charter is a leading Connecticut-based business, invested in the success of the state, Stamford and the many communities it serves across the country,” Lamont said in a press release. “The company’s continued growth is a testament to its commitment to employees, customers and the communities in which they live and work.”

Charter’s Stamford campus is conveniently located by car, bus or train from New York City and other areas of Connecticut and Westchester County and has direct access to the Stamford train station platform, which offers Metro-North and Amtrak Acela services, and is located just off Interstate 95. 

Also: Charter, Comcast Set Joint Venture To Create New Streaming Platform

“We are so thrilled and grateful to have Charter Communications in Stamford,” Simmons said in a press release. “Charter has brought over 1,700 jobs and invested over $500 million in this headquarters, bringing economic prosperity to our city. Charter has also been an excellent corporate partner, contributing to philanthropic efforts including a five year commitment to funding job training programs within our Community Action Agency in the South End. We are so grateful and happy to see Charter’s continued growth in Stamford.”

The new campus includes:

• A two-story food hall, three 24/7 self-serve markets; a coffee shop serving Starbucks coffee and food, and a Pure Juice Bar with indoor and outdoor dining space.
• A free fitness center with complimentary group exercise classes, fitness assessments and individualized exercise programs.
• A health-care center that is scheduled to open in August, which will provide employees in-building access to services.
• A conference center with 10 conference rooms, three huddle rooms, three phone rooms, a break room, and a training room that holds more than 100 people.
• A 250-seat auditorium set to open in August.
• An outdoor amphitheater scheduled to open in the fall.

More information about Stamford job openings is available here. 

Faced with the prospect of Connecticut expanding the state’s one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) policy for communications buildouts, the Communications Workers of America is pushing back, filing comments with the state's Public Utility Regulatory Authority arguing that OTMR threatens public safety and worker security.

In August 2018 the FCC voted unanimously, with one partial dissent by current acting chair Jessica Rosenworcel, to adopt a one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) policy for new broadband attachments on utility poles.

The idea behind OTMR is to speed broadband deployments while ensuring the pole work is done safely. For example, complex connections or ones where the safety risks are greater, such as high up on a pole, will still be subject to multi-touches.

At the time of the vote, then-FCC chairman Ajit Pai said pole attachments were one of the biggest barriers to broadband deployment, and that OTMR promises to ”substantially“ lower costs and reduce the time to attach. He likened the lack of OTMR to making separate round trips to the grocery store for each item on a shopping list.

CWA argues the “done safely” part is missing from the regime, as well as skilled CWA members when the make-ready is done by non-union workers.

“OTMR would allow telecommunication companies that want to put new equipment on utility poles to move existing equipment themselves without sufficient oversight from safety inspectors or the owners of the utility pole,” the union in its comments. “Meanwhile, these companies often use untrained third-party contractors for this work, undermining the collective bargaining agreements of the skilled telecom employees who originally installed the equipment.”

The union included photos of what it said was faulty contract work “throughout Connecticut,” including “hanging fiber cables, disconnected from the strands that hold them in the air; damaged utility poles; fiber cables left on public sidewalks and in snowbanks; lack of warning signs or cones when work is being conducted on public streets; poles improperly secured; and more.”

Frontier Communications said it will expand its fiber-optic network to an additional 280,000 consumers in Connecticut  in 2021, the initial phase in what it says is a multi-year expansion effort.

The moves come about three months after Frontier successfully emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a cleaner balance sheet and plans to capitalize on broadband demand in its service territories. In its reorganization plan, Frontier recognized the lack of fiber-based broadband in many of its markets, pledging to bridge that gap by investing as much as $1.4 billion in its network. 

As part of the state approval process of that restructuring plan, in February Frontier agreed to expand its Connecticut fiber network to about 100,000 homes over four years. The most recent expansion plans appear to build on that pledge substantially. 

Frontier said it will offer 1 Gigabit per second speeds in the state, as well as offer more simplified service offerings. The company said that means no annual commitments or data caps, waived activation fees (an $85 savings), and a three-year price guarantee on monthly charges for Gig service. Frontier also offers a free $100 Visa Card or Ring Video Doorbell with Gig service and contract buyouts are available.   

“This infrastructure investment stems from Frontier’s belief that access to high-speed broadband is critical to building a digital society, enhancing community inclusion, and helping the environment,” Frontier Connecticut senior vice president Julie Murtagh said in a press release. “I am confident communities will see Frontier in a new way once they experience the power of fiber-optic technology.”

Frontier said the communities where the fiber expansion is currently underway include: Andover, Ansonia, Bethel, Bloomfield, Bolton, Branford, Bridgeport, Bristol, Cheshire, Coventry, Danbury, Derby, East Haven, Enfield, Farmington, Hamden, Hartford, Hebron, Manchester, Marion, Meriden, Middletown, Middletown , Milford, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Newington, North Haven, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainville, Plantsville, Quaker Hill, Rockfall, Shelton, Southington, Stamford, Trumbull, Uncasville, Vernon, Rockville, Wallingford, Waterford, West Hartford, West Haven, Wethersfield, and Woodbridge.

Charter Communications continued to prove its commitment to Connecticut, agreeing to relocate its captive insurance operation in the state, according to a statement from Gov. Dannel Malloy.

Earlier this week Charter announced plans to build a new 15-story, 500,000-square-foot headquarters building in Stamford, Conn. Construction on that facility is expected to begin early next year and the company has pledged to add 1,100 new corporate jobs in the state over time. In return, Charter will receive a $10 million loan from the state and could receive more than $10 million in tax credits.

RELATED: Charter CFO calls the company 'strategically complete'

“This is a clear example of a Connecticut company that understands that Connecticut is a great place to do business – they are growing their corporate headquarters and adding hundreds of new, good paying jobs here,” Gov. Malloy said in a statement. “And now, by establishing their entire captive insurance operations in Connecticut, they are further committing their company to our state. We value Charter’s confidence and look forward to their continued success.”

Charter’s captive insurance operations, Spectrum Communications Indemnity, Inc., is the largest of 15 captives licensed in Connecticut and will provide coverage for Charter’s workers compensation, auto liability, general liability and employment practices liability. Regulated by the state Insurance Dept., captive insurance companies are usually wholly owned and controlled by a parent company or association, and operate to insure the parent’s own risks.

“We are delighted that Charter has chosen Connecticut to grow its captive insurance operations,” Connecticut Insurance Department Commissioner Katharine Wade said in a statement. “This gives the corporation the critical tools it needs to manage its costs and reinvest in its employees and overall operations. Connecticut provides companies of all sizes with a collaborative, prudent regulatory environment aimed at creating sustainable captives to insure and manage their risks for the long term.”

READ MORE: IBEW Turns Up Heat in Charter Strike

The Insurance Department initially licensed the captive insurer in December 2016 and Charter subsequently merged all its captive insurance operations as of May 31, 2017. As a result, the combined assets were approximately $400 million following the merger. Annual premiums are anticipated to be approximately $157 million for the current fiscal year.

“As a Stamford-headquartered business, Charter is pleased to bring our insurance captives to the state of Connecticut,” Charter EVP of government affairs Catherine Bohigian said in a statement. “As Charter continues to grow in Connecticut, we look forward to furthering economic opportunities in the state.”

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