Press Release

PUC Approves Settlement in Case Involving Service and Outage Complaints Against Frontier Communications

Published on 5/9/2024

Filed under: Telecommunications

Settlement Includes Customer Credits, Refunds and Other Remedies in Addition to New Investments in Frontier’s Most Troublesome Wire Centers

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today approved a joint settlement in a case involving complaints about telephone and/or internet services provided by Commonwealth Telephone Company LLC, doing business as Frontier Communications Commonwealth Telephone Company (Frontier).

The Commission voted 4-1 to approve the Initial Decision of PUC Administrative Law Judges Steven K. Haas and John M. Coogan, which adopted without modification the Joint Petition for Approval of Settlement among Frontier, the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) and the Office of Small Business Advocate (OSBA).

Terms of the Settlement

Based on the settlement, Frontier has committed to addressing service issues by:

• Providing customers credits, refunds and remedies under certain circumstances;
• Publicizing its medical certification process;
• Accounting for its batteries in remote terminals;
• Identifying and investing in the most troublesome wire centers;
• Investing in excess of $100 million in capital expenditures in the Frontier service territory;
• Developing and filing a maintenance plan to address plant issues;
• Reporting metrics and data related to service quality, including triggers for additional spending to meet benchmarks;
• Providing a rate cap to small business customers;
• Establishing a consumer hotline; and
• Addressing staffing concerns in the Northern Tier region.

Frontier Complaint Case

In January 2023, the OCA and OSBA filed a joint formal complaint against Frontier, following informal written complaints from several hundred consumers. 

The complaints noted by the OCA and OSBA in the joint complaint filed with the PUC raised concerns about current and persistent service issues in Frontier’s service territory, including extended and recurring outages, line noise and other quality of service issues, difficulty reaching consumer service representatives, and difficulty obtaining satisfactory responses to service outages and other service-related inquiries.

Public Input Hearings

Due to significant public interest in this proceeding, as well as requests for public input hearings from several Pennsylvania state legislators, the Commission conducted a series of public input hearings within Frontier’s service territory to provide opportunities for customers to express their views on the service provided by the company.

The PUC held in-person public input hearings in Wellsboro, Tioga County; Towanda, Bradford County; Tunkhannock, Wyoming County; and in Quarryville, Lancaster County – with more than 90 customers testifying that they had experienced various service quality problems, including frequent telephone service outages, frequent internet service outages and slow internet connection speeds.

About the PUC

The PUC balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

Visit the PUC’s website at www.puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

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Docket No.:  C-2023-3037574

Contact:

• David Hixson
  Deputy Press Secretary
  717-772-2766
  dhixson@pa.gov