FIOS to be handed over to Frontier in WA

[kenskibum]

I just confirmed that if the proposed transfer of ownership of Verizon Northwest to Frontier happens, then Frontier gets FIOS as well as the copper land lines in my area. I think this is bad news. FIOS is currently being installed in my town, Shoreline Washington, and I had been looking forward to the option of switching to it.

Now I'm thinking there any many unanswered questions. Is Frontier going to offer the same channels and provide the same DVR's ? What about future technology and DVR development? Do they have any experience with fiber? Frontier currently offers land line service to rural areas. I'm in the Seattle metro area, certanily not rural.

I hope this transfer of ownership doesn't go through, but all indications are that it will, acording to the Verison spokesperson I talked to. Verizon Nortwest customers can comment about this proposal by calling 1-888-333-9882. There will also be a public hearing in Everett on October 15th.

 

[Juan]

Verizon will provide the service ..frontier will handle the facilities

 

[JPL]

Verizon will provide the service ..frontier will handle the facilities

No... that's absolutely not correct. The service will all be under Frontier. No one is sure what Frontier is set to do, or what Verizon will do leading up to the transition... with a couple minor exceptions. For example, Frontier has agreed to finish the build-out of fiber per existing franchise agreement requirements (franchise agreements include requirements that x % of the region will be wired by y date).

Second, Verizon is about to roll out a new version of their guide s/w. Word on the street is that the areas about to be off-loaded to Frontier will get a pared down version of the s/w. What the heck that means... I have no earthly idea. I'm guessing that Verizon is set to roll in some new features into their s/w and it's unclear whether Frontier will also offer those features (or even be allowed to). Which could be why the s/w will be a pared down version.

As for the service - again, no one knows. I believe that for a while Frontier will continue to receive their TV feeds from the Verizon SHE (super head-end - basically an uber cable office - the SHE feeds down to the VHO - regional office - which feads down to the CO - local office). Since Verizon will still control the SHE, I'm guessing that either there will be a cut-over at some point to some Frontier facility... or they will pay Verizon for use of the feeds. But even if they get the liner TV feeds from Verizon, that's all they'll get. The s/w, guide data, VOD... and all the rest will be totally up to Frontier. Frontier is even taking ownership of the local CO's and the VHOs in those regions. Like I said, they may contract back to Verizon the linear TV feeds, but once the feed gets to the VHO, it's all on Frontier. Heck, even the Verizon employees in those areas are being outsourced to Frontier - they'll be Frontier employees after this transaction happens.

There is much concern about this deal. Other similar deals have failed to deliver. Not long ago Verizon off-loaded part of their New England territory to Fairpoint, which has totally messed it up. Fiber roll-out in those regions came to a stand-still, and they've failed to roll out TV service (those areas didn't have TV service prior to the sell-off, unlike these other regions going to Frontier), and they've failed to upgrade their networks to keep up with decent internet speeds. Frontier has tried to quell fears over this transaction, but it isn't lost on anyone that this deal will more than double the size of that company - something that many think will put a strain on the company that they can't handle. Time will tell.

Personally, if it does become available, I would go ahead and consider switching anyway. I'm guessing that Frontier will do quite a bit to keep existing Verizon customers. But only do so if it makes sense otherwise.

 

[kenskibum]

Thanks JPL for the info. I'm glad to see others who are paying attention are concerned about this deal, I just hope the upcoming Utilities and Transportation Commission review is not just a rubber stamp in the approval process. I plan to tell them my concerns as a consumer of the technology.

They are actually stringing the FIOS lines on my street today, so it's kind of exciting. It's just disapointing after a year or so of looking forward to another high quality option, it has to get complicated by this Frontier deal.