The state of Connecticut touted a settlement said to be worth more than $60 million with Frontier Communications to expand access to broadband in low-income communities. The state’s Office of the Attorney General and Department of Consumer Protection investigated some 1,400 consumer complaints concerning Frontier. The complaints concerned charges for equipment already returned, poor internet quality, unsatisfactory customer service, charges that exceeded promised rates, and charges that continued after services had been canceled, according to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.
Tong said Frontier “failed” Connecticut customers. “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 canceled. That ends now,” Tong said.
The settlement requires Frontier to invest $42.5 million over the next 3.5 years to upgrade existing, outdated DSL internet service to fiber internet. The agreement requires at least half of those upgrades be made in economically distressed communities, urban and rural, bringing high-speed, more reliable internet to as many as 40,000 families.
Frontier agreed to overhaul its customer service, and to end the hidden $6.99 monthly “Internet Infrastructure Surcharge” that cost Connecticut families an estimated $16 million statewide last year. Frontier must pay another $1 million to the state, and put up $200,000 for credits and refunds to consumers who filed complaints starting in 2019, according to Tong.
The agreement imposes accountability measures for the next six years, including new price and billing disclosures and advertising disclosures that address the company’s DSL representations. The telecom must deliver promised speeds or provide options for consumers who do not receive such speeds and assurances the company will implement transparent and fair cancellation and equipment return processes. Should the company fail to adhere to its high-speed internet upgrade commitments, the Office of the Attorney General said it has the right to seek $6 million in penalties.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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