Pushing ahead with a video strategy that hinges on IP-powered services, Frontier Communications said it has expanded the reach of its new “Vantage TV” offering to nearly 75,000 homes in the Raleigh-Durham area.
The expansion means more video competition for incumbent providers Charter Communications (via its acquisition of Time Warner Cable) and AT&T, as well as Google Fiber, which started the service sign-up phase in the Triangle area in September.
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The News & Observer noted that the expansion covers about a third of Frontier’s North Carolina footprint.
Vantage TV is powered by the latest release of Ericsson Mediaroom, the IP video platform that Ericsson acquired from Microsoft in 2013.
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In Raleigh-Durham, Frontier will be delivering the service over its FTTP and fiber-to-copper networks.
Frontier, which entered the market after acquiring systems supporting about 4.8 million access lines from Verizon in 2010, said the new video service offers more than 400 channels, support for TV Everywhere (via the Frontier TV app), a multi-view feature (up to four channels at once), a whole-home DVR with 1 TB of storage, with integration of Netflix on the set-top “coming soon.”
Triple-play bundles start $64.99, and double-play packages start at $54.99, with no contract and a 24-month price lock. Frontier is also tossing in Amazon gift cards, free installation and a free DVR (for 12 months).
Frontier, which has a reorg underway in the wake of its acquisition of Verizon’s wireline operations in California, Texas and Florida in April, is moving ahead on a plan to roll Vantage TV to three markets and 150,000 homes this year.
As previously announced, Frontier has a plan to launch IP-based video service to more than 40 markets, representing about 3 million homes, over the next three to four years.
