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Editorial: Fingers crossed on new cable, phone provider

 
Published March 31, 2016

More than a half-million Tampa Bay area cable television, Internet and landline telephone users will awaken this morning to a new provider. Connecticut-based Frontier Communications has acquired Verizon's FiOS and landline services in Florida and two other states, and today's the first day of what hopefully will be a positive experience for bay area customers. The lessons also should shape the expected takeover of another major player in the region's cable market.

Frontier officials told the Tampa Bay Times they have worked for much of the past year preparing for the handover, and they are confident the transfer will cause few problems. Frontier's regional president, Mike Flynn, who's responsible for operations in Florida and the Carolinas, said customers may experience brief service interruptions, though the company is not expecting a large number to be affected.

That's encouraging news from a provider whose last takeover involved a bumpy transition, with hundreds of complaints after Frontier took over AT&T's Internet, TV and landline phone services in Connecticut in 2014. The problems included too few trained customer service staffers to handle calls and an incorrect company forecast of how many homes technicians could service in a day. The company offered $10 million in credits to inconvenienced customers. But the top complaint — a breakdown in high-speed Internet service — is more than an inconvenience in a region where residents, students and the business world depend on connectivity to the Web. The company should be prepared to act fast on any outages and to work with customers on building the brand loyalty that Verizon has long enjoyed in the market.

Toward that end, Frontier needs to be visible as a corporate partner in the community. Flynn promised: "We'll be out there." Frontier is retaining Verizon's 3,050 employees in Florida, with plans to add more. The company's regional office will be based in Tampa, with a national operations center in St. Petersburg. This commitment to the local workforce is as good for Frontier as it is for the community; it will sensitize the company to local concerns as it partners with a growing region.

Frontier's entry comes as the federal government is expected to approve another takeover affecting the region — the $67 billion bid by Charter Communications to acquire Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable. That would create the third-largest video provider in the country, bringing another behemoth to the local market.

The buyouts could bring new capital and economies of scale to local operations at a time when the telecommunications industry is looking for new products and ways to entice subscribers. They also could create new headaches for customers looking to resolve their service or billing questions and create new barriers to choice and competitive pricing. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, has expressed her concerns over the Charter buyout to the Federal Trade Commission, urging the federal government to ensure the deal does not diminish customer service, harm the local workforce or reduce the local programming and community support for which Bright House is known.

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Starting this morning, though, that public trust is in the hands of Frontier. The company should appreciate the role it will play in contributing to the area's economy and quality of life.