Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

Verizon local telephone customers:
Your voices were heard

Action

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) encouraged residential consumers and community organizations to voice their opinions about the Frontier/Verizon proposed merger. Consumers expressed their thoughts at six local public hearings held at the OCC’s request by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).

Result

Improving residential customers’ access to broadband and service quality are benefits contained in an agreement allowing the merger of Frontier Communications Corp. and Verizon Communications, Inc.

The agreement was filed on Dec. 8, 2009 by the two companies, the OCC, and the staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

The agreement requires Frontier to:

  • Deploy broadband facilities in 85 percent of Verizon’s current Ohio service area by the end of 2013 based on a plan to be developed by Frontier, the OCC and PUCO staff;

  • Commit to a cap on basic local telephone rates until broadband deployment reaches 85 percent;

  • Invest in service upgrades in each of the next three years;

  • Submit reports detailing the company’s annual service performance, including how it handles outages; and

  • Commit to ensuring a smooth transition of Verizon customers to Frontier’s operations.

Thank you to residential consumers, community groups and local public officials for helping the OCC make a difference.

Information believed accurate but not guaranteed.
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