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July 11, 2024

PURA fines Frontier $2.48M for repeatedly failing to meet performance requirements

HBJ FILE PHOTO Frontier Communications offices.
By Andrew Larson

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has imposed a $2.48 million fine on Frontier Communications following an investigation into the company’s quality of service and performance.

PURA’s investigation found that Frontier repeatedly failed to meet the minimum Maintenance Appointment Met (MAM) standard on 35 occasions and the minimum Out of Service Repair (OSR) standard on 51 occasions between Jan. 1, 2015 and Dec. 31, 2023.

The MAM standard requires telecommunications providers to meet at least 90% of their customer service repair appointments. The OSR standard requires telecommunications providers to clear within 24 hours at least 90% of all service repair reports.

PURA established the quality of service standards for telecommunications providers in 2000.

In addition, PURA requires companies that fail to meet the minimum quality of service standards for three consecutive months to file an exception report with the agency within 30 days following the three-month period. 

Frontier failed to file 16 mandatory exception reports, which were cumulatively 8,811 days overdue as of Dec. 31, 2023, according to PURA’s notice of violation and assessment of civil penalty dated July 10. 

PURA sent the notice to Frontier’s vice president and associate general counsel, Frederick Thomas, who is based at the company’s office in Norwalk.

Frontier moved its headquarters from Norwalk to Dallas last year, but has maintained a presence in Connecticut.

The investigation was initiated by the Office of Consumer Counsel, which found numerous instances of noncompliance in Frontier’s self-reported semi-annual service quality filings. The Office of Consumer Counsel filed a petition with PURA on Jan. 8.

Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman applauded PURA’s decision.

“Connecticut’s laws and regulations exist to protect families, individuals and businesses from situations that put them at risk,” Coleman said. “When an investor-owned public service company is permitted to provide service using the critical infrastructure along our streets and highways – and fails to meet these standards – it is not only detrimental to the public’s safety but a breach of this regulatory compact.” 

During the investigation, Frontier officials said that during the nine-year period at issue, the company provided strong performance in terms of network reliability metrics. Also, they said Frontier is “consistently providing a solid and reliable network with good customer service” and questioned the validity of PURA’s quality of service measurements. 

On Thursday afternoon, Frontier issued the following statement:

“We are disappointed with the findings and the proposed penalty issued, and will be requesting a hearing with PURA to respond to this decision. Over the last few years, we have made significant improvements to our service quality and performance for the benefit of our customers. We've committed to investing more than $800 million to upgrade Connecticut's digital infrastructure and have built a fiber network across the state that can serve the connectivity needs of the state for generations to come. We have delivered high-speed fiber internet to more than 1 million homes and businesses across Connecticut. We are committed to continued improvement as we connect people across Connecticut to the best broadband in the market.”

Frontier has until July 30 to request a hearing to contest the civil penalty. 

The majority of the civil penalty – $2.36 million – would be paid to Operation Fuel Inc., which runs an energy assistance program.

The remaining $124,050 would be paid to the state treasurer. 

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