Network Enhancements and Additional Funding from Connect America
Fund Supercharges Frontier’s Network
DALLAS, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Frontier Communications (NASDAQ:FTR) recently announced that the
company’s three years of capital expenditures in Pennsylvania exceeded
$75 million, including approximately $23 million in 2013.
Beginning in 2014, in addition to Frontier’s own capital expenditures,
many Frontier markets in Pennsylvania will benefit from additional
support totaling $1.5 million from the Federal Communications
Commission’s Connect America Fund (CAF). CAF funding will allow Frontier
to increase broadband speeds in some of its very rural Pennsylvania
markets. Frontier offers broadband, digital phone service, satellite
television service, Frontier satellite broadband, FTR Energy Services,
customer premises equipment (telephone systems, routers, switches,
support for commercial businesses and e-911 applications), Ethernet,
Dedicated Internet Access, commercial cloud based voice solutions, data
center services, and web security/data back-up/personal identity
protection and more through Frontier Secure.
Frontier invested $75.2 million of its own capital during the past three
years, with significant funding supporting engineering initiatives to
increase broadband access and improve network infrastructure across the
company’s eastern Pennsylvania territory. This investment is vital to
continuing economic development, increasing opportunities for consumers,
and supporting all types and sizes of businesses in the state.
“We have made broadband services available to 100 percent of our
Pennsylvania customers. Our investments in 2013 allowed us to deploy
next-generation technology, and the impact of these network enhancements
in Pennsylvania is felt throughout the communities we serve,” said Paul
Quick, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Frontier’s
Pennsylvania operations. “We responded to how our customers are using
the Internet, with multiple household members gaming, watching online
video and sharing files simultaneously. As a result, a substantial
amount of our capital spending in Pennsylvania focused on delivering
real results in terms of increasing broadband speeds and reliability for
our customers.”
Quick noted the following highlights for Pennsylvania:
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In many of Frontier’s service areas, residential customers can now
receive premium broadband services with speeds up to 24 Mbps, and for
business customers, speeds up to 40 Mbps. The markets of increased
speed capabilities include portions of Clarks
Summit/Dalton/Factoryville, Tunkhannock, Conyngham/Drums/Nuangola, the
Poconos/Slate Belt area, Montrose/Springville/Hallstead, the greater
Dallas/Back Mountain area, Towanda, Wellsboro, Breezewood area,
southern Lancaster County, sections of northern Dauphin County
extending into Schuylkill County and Frontier’s territory in Berks
County.
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In response to the growing broadband requirements of the energy
industry in Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier counties, Frontier invested
in new fiber and access delivery to serve wind farm projects, electric
generation plants and campus expansions for energy companies. Frontier
also provides bandwidth to the cell towers in Bradford, Sullivan, and
Tioga counties to improve mobile access and data services in the area.
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Frontier invested in increased bandwidth to improve its network
capabilities and provide customers with enhanced services in all
areas, including Dallas, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg, Southern Lancaster
County and the Pocono region.
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Frontier deployed electronics strategically throughout the state to
expand and enhance Ethernet services to all customers including those
in the company’s more rural Pennsylvania locations. As a result,
customers have access to speeds up to 10 Gbps using Multiprotocol
Label Switching technology (MPLS). Customers located in Northeastern
PA will benefit from this initial deployment of the MPLS build-out,
with a fullMPLS core network throughout Frontier’s PA
territory to be completed in the next 12 to 18 months.
“Increasing the reach of Ethernet Service is a key objective for us in
2014,” said Quick. “Our commercial customers in Pennsylvania are
increasingly requesting Ethernet services including Wide Area Network
services, Point to Point configuration and Dedicated Internet Access
over Ethernet circuits. We’re continuing our capital spend this year to
respond to these requests.”
Quick commented on the company’s philosophy, noting, “Frontier’s core
values are to put the customer first and to be locally engaged in the
communities we serve. Each of our Pennsylvania market areas is led by
a General Manager responsible for the overall customer experience. All
Frontier services are installed and maintained by the company's 100%
U.S.-based work force, and more than 500 employees serve customers
throughout Pennsylvania. We’re proud of our commitment to the Keystone
State and very excited to highlight the benefits of recent network
enhancements and capital investments.”
About Frontier Communications
Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) offers broadband,
voice, satellite video, wireless Internet data access, data security
solutions, bundled offerings, specialized bundles for residential
customers, small businesses and home offices and advanced communications
for medium and large businesses in 27 states. Frontier's approximately
13,650 employees are based entirely in the United States. More
information is available at www.frontier.com.
Frontier Communications
Patricia Amendola, Communications Manager
570-631-6013
(office)
570-885-9559 (cell)
Patricia.Amendola@ftr.com
Source: Frontier Communications