Phone merger of Frontier, Verizon should be rejected, counsel says

Antioch College's free tuition offer attracts 2,500
2/12/12
Tea Party’s impact may be strongest for general election
2/12/12
Bellbrook High threat prompts police to increase security
2/12/12
'Powerball' numbers from $325M jackpot
2/12/12
Education strong determinant with work success
2/12/12
> More headlines

By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 5:16 PM Tuesday, August 18, 2009

A proposed merger of two telephone companies should be rejected, the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) said Tuesday, Aug. 18.

In comments the office said would be filed today at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the consumers’ counsel office said it will cite “the lack of consumer benefits and potential pitfalls” of a merger of the companies’ — Frontier Communications Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. — traditional landline telephone businesses.

In June, the PUCO suspended the application filed by Frontier, New Communications Holdings, Inc. and Verizon seeking the merger. Ohio law allows such applications to be approved automatically unless the PUCO issues an order saying otherwise.

“The OCC is concerned over whether Frontier is capable of maintaining and improving Verizon’s Ohio residential local telephone service if the merger is approved at the state and federal levels,” the office said in a statement.

David Whitehouse, a Frontier senior vice president, referred questions to a colleague, who couldn’t immediately be reached. A message also was left with a Verizon spokesman.

“The lack of specific benefits for consumers fails to make this merger in the public interest,” Consumers’ Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander said in her office’s statement. “We are concerned that Frontier will not be able to afford to maintain and improve residential customers’ service. We need a guarantee that consumers’ needs will not be on the back burner.”

Migden-Ostrander said merger approval should include, among other suggested conditions, a commitment that the merged company will, within three years, make broadband service available to 90 percent of residential customers in its Ohio service areas.

Frontier and Verizon filed their merger request May 29. The proposed merger involves the transfer of Verizon’s Ohio operations — the second largest local telephone provider in Ohio with about 435,000 residential customers in 77 counties, to Frontier — which serves 480 residential customers in a small portion of Williams County.

The OCC is a residential utility consumer advocate in proceedings before state and federal regulators and the courts.

Share this article