Network Enhancements and Additional Funding from Connect America Fund Supercharges Frontier’s Network
DALLAS, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Frontier Communications (NYSE:FTR, news, filings) 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 full MPLS 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
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