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.”
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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As part of the settlement, Frontier will spend $42.5 million over the next 3.5 years to upgrade outdated digital subscriber line (DSL) service in the state, with at least half of those improvements made in economically distressed urban and rural communities, or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.
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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). ■
