Quick helps Frontier hold steady in CT

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By Matt Pilon

Paul Quick, tapped as Frontier Communications' general manager in late 2014 to oversee its Connecticut operations, is quick to describe the company's launch as “a little ragged.”

As many as 10,000 of its customers, roughly 1 percent, experienced service outages and other problems in the weeks following Frontier's $2 billion acquisition of AT&T's wireline business. That spurred Frontier to offer customer rebates. Its executives were also called before state utility regulators to explain the technical and service snafus.

But Quick says he takes plenty of positives in how the company rebounded in 2015.

“After what I would say was probably a rough start, after the first 90 days I think we really hit our stride,” Quick said in a Nov. 19 telephone interview.

Ambitious Plans

A year ago, Quick said he wanted to take market share, win back cord cutters, upsell customers to more premium services, deliver financial results, improve customer service, and solidify Frontier's branding in Connecticut, where it's headquartered but didn't have telecom operations prior to the AT&T deal.

Though it's not clear if Frontier has a net gain or loss of Connecticut customers since its AT&T acquisition was completed, the publicly traded company, which has more than 2,700 workers in the state, has managed to keep its Connecticut customer revenue stable, averaging $253 million per quarter through the first three quarters of 2015, according to its financial filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Quick said the company's internal metrics show it has grabbed market share from competitors, which include Cox and Comcast, though he would not reveal to what extent.

“Our customer acquisition rate is up,” he said.

Revenue Challenges

Expiring promotional pricing created revenue challenges during parts of this year, the company's CEO Daniel McCarthy told analysts.

That so-called “pricing migration” could be seen in Frontier's revenue for the first three quarters of 2015, during which residential revenue fell 3.6 percent from the first to second quarter before leveling off in the third quarter. Commercial revenue, meanwhile, has grown by 4.3 percent.

Another issue Frontier faced was increased competition. Both Comcast and Cox targeted Frontier's early technical struggles.

“Ready for better business Internet without disruption?” asked one Comcast ad.

Cox was blunt: “Just because you've been switched to Frontier doesn't mean you need to stay with them,” an ad read.

“It's a competitive marketplace that we play in. There's no question about it,” Quick said.

Customer Enticements

He said Frontier sought to entice new customer subscriptions and service upgrades by offering extra perks like Visa gift cards, Amazon Prime memberships and discounted Google Nest digital home thermostats.

In September, Frontier rolled out ultra-high speed Internet (100 megabits per second) to certain areas of Connecticut.

It also became a Hartford Yard Goats sponsor, and is providing wireless Internet and video inside the team's new downtown ballpark. It also sponsored the Special Olympics and Girl Scouts, and recently became a sponsor of Bridgeport's Webster Arena.

The company has pledged to spend more than $400 million on its network infrastructure over the next few years, though Quick said he was unable to disclose specific details of what the company had completed in its first year.

Also this year, Frontier reopened a previous AT&T call center in New London and a bilingual call center in New Haven, which serves customers in 28 states.

“We've walked the talk on jobs, we've walked the talk on taking care of customers,” Quick said.

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