Frontier Communications: The Facts

Frontier Communications is an American company that provides phone, internet, satellite TV and computer support services throughout 27 states in the US.

Origins and name

Overview
Located mostly in rural areas and within small to mid-sized markets, the company provides its services to more than 3.5 million residential and around 380,000 business subscribers.
By the end of 2010 the firm employed 14,800 people. Frontier Communications came into its current guise in 2001 when telecommunications company Frontier Corporation was purchased by Citizens Communications from Global Crossings.
The latter had acquired the company just two years earlier in a bidding war. Name change
However the name didn't change to its current form until 2008 when stockholders approved the new title and it became listed as FTR on the New York Stock Exchange.

Services offered

Internet and Computer Services
The firm offers a range of products and services which include internet access - both high speed and dial up - portal and e-mail products, switching services, asynchronous transfer mode, and hard drive back-up services, all of which are serviced by a 24-hour help desk and PC support network.
These services are paid for a contract basis and charged monthly. Directory and My Way Search
In addition, Frontier Communications offers customers a directory service of white and yellow page directories of both residential and business listings.
It also offers an online search directory known as My Ways which is free of pop-ups and advertising.
Myway games also offers more than 50 downloadable games to the PC or Mac. Digital TV
Customers are also able to purchase digital television through its agency partnership with DISH.
The available packages include 100, 200 or 250 channels featuring movies, sport, news, music, high definition channels, family programming, premium channels, and foreign language options as well as local stations. The firm allows other carriers to access its lines for their own long distance voice and data services.
These are offered on a month to month basis and are billed on the number of minutes that are used.

Company expansion

Verizon purchase
The firm increased its foothold on the land-line market when in 2010, it purchased Verizon's 4.8 million landlines throughout states including Arizona, Illinois, Michegan, Ohio, South Carolina and Washington, as well as a number of exchanges in California. Improved broadband access
The idea behind the purchase was to increase internet access in these new service areas from 65 percent in 2010, to more than 85 percent within three years of the acquisition.