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Frontier Jacks FiOSTV Install Fee From $79 To $500
Just Pondering 'The Best Way To Treat Our Customers'
Frontier Communications acquired about 100,000 FiOS customers in their deal with Verizon, though in recent weeks they've made it clear they don't want -- and can't afford -- to offer them TV services. The company first imposed rate hikes of 50% in the hopes of making the service so expensive -- users would migrate instead to DirecTV. When users complained, Frontier delayed the hike for a few months. With the effort to eliminate old customers underway, Frontier's now taking aim at any new customers, the Seattle Times' Briar Dudley noting that Frontier is raising the cost of installation from $79 to a whopping $500. Frontier gives Dudley a rather amusing denial:
quote:
Frontier Communications today dramatically raised the cost of hooking up to its FiOS TV service for new customers -- from $79 to $500. The company also notified regulators in four Oregon cities that it's opting out of franchise agreements there, clearing the way to stop offering Frontier TV services in those cities. Combined with plans for a big FiOS TV rate hike that surfaced in January -- but which hasn't taken effect yet -- Frontier seems to be on a path to phasing out its FiOS TV service altogether. But spokesman Steve Crosby denied that's happening, and said the company's still evaluating its options. "I wouldn't jump to that conclusion yet," he said, adding that "we are stil analyzing the business and figuring out what our cost structure is and the best way to treat our customers."
If bleeding your customers until they flee to satellite and making your product unappealing is "the best way to treat customers," then some of these new Verizon subscriber additions to the Frontier family may be in for a long ride. Of course what Frontier is doing is getting out of the TV business without saying they're getting out of the TV business -- in the hopes regulators don't ask them why exactly they didn't mention this plan before the deal was closed.
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FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

$500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

Well, a $500 installation charge sure should kill off the desire of most people to get Fios TV from Frontier. I smell a lawsuit coming soon from some of the PUCs that approved this sale of some Verizon assets to Frontier.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

I would expect that would depend of the franchise agreements that Frontier inherited from Verizon. I'm assuming that Frontier can't outright stop offering pay TV service unless subs fall below a certain number. I would also assume the franchise agreements are relatively vague about rate increases, hence it's the easiest route out of the agreements.

WHT
join:2010-03-26
Rosston, TX

WHT

Member

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

said by openbox9:

I'm assuming that Frontier can't outright stop offering pay TV service unless subs fall below a certain number.

Raising the rate from $65 to $95 a month will insure that.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

That was my point. Decreasing subscriber demand might be grounds for Frontier to end the requirement to offer the service at all...all made viable if rate increase stipulations are lax in the franchise agreements

MEohME
@wideopenwest.com

MEohME

Anon

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

You can't hold a company to a franchise agreement or any contract when they have the write to end it. There are NEVER any requirements to offer service for X amount of years or $$$ involved if they pull out. The people will still have services available with other companies and Frontier is making sure they do with DirecTV. So it's a done deal in the end.

Frontier could also claim that the PUCs do NOT have right to dictate anything with cable as it is NOT a utility in the United States leaving the PUCs and the States open to a whole new ball game.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

said by MEohME :

You can't hold a company to a franchise agreement or any contract when they have the write to end it.

I must be misunderstanding your post, because it all depends on the terms of the agreement. If a contact provides the "right" for either, out both parties to dissolve the agreement based of certain stipulations being met, then it certainly can be terminated. It happens quite frequently.

MEohME
@wideopenwest.com

MEohME

Anon

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

I think you read it right. Any company can back out of any contract. That's how they work. There ALWAYS is a clause for that. Just in this fact. the orginal contract stated a certain uptake in customers- ALL VZ FiOS contracts have that clause. But nobody knows the hard numbers on ANYTHING VZ does as far as that. But in all; Frontier can back out regardless due to the fact that area and all areas can NOT hold Frontier to providing services if they chooose to end service. The same goes for them offering phone service in any state. There always is a clause that states they can leave that area and only give a 90day notice.
MEohME

MEohME to openbox9

Anon

to openbox9
Not true with those agreements. VZ's agreements have ALWAYS stated that if uptake was not at a number VZ was happy with they'd be able to stop offering TV. That number was NEVER stated which gave the company the right to do what they would want- pull out of the TV business. Frontier would have had to have those contracts transferred to them and possibly resign new ones with their names as they are NOT Verizon. And the PUCs can NOT hold them to any contract their name is NOT on nor signed.

This will be the same thing VZ will do in coming months/years to get out when their uptake does not meat their numbers to keep going. the ROI is what is going to matter and their number of FiOS TV customers do not match what they needed to start off with nor projected. Telco has been doing this all along. Look at Americast before SBC took Ameritech, ATT did this with their network to start off with and sold that to Comcast. VZ was smart and NEVER got into it until now. NONE of the VZ companies that merged to create VZ did actually. The Telcos made a mistake and now they need to get out and this is the easiest way and will help them in the end when they can write all of it off at the end of the years.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

Wow, your posts appear to be terribly misguided.

MEohME
@wideopenwest.com

MEohME

Anon

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

No its the fact thats how those contracts work. It seems that you always stick up for the customer unless you feel that you should defend the company. But Frontier has the right to pull out and they will. You can't force them to offer services if they choose not to. And you can NOT pull their network from them. Frontier would SUE the states and in deed win. That's how taking a company's assets or anyone's assets work. You MUST pay fair market value for them. It works the same way when the gov't takes your land to sells it to someone to build the next big mall. The Gov't pays fair market value.
MEohME

MEohME to openbox9

Anon

to openbox9
And that's how the Telco's work. Look at Americast and look at when they left- just before SBC and look at what they chose to do again. They got back into the TV business. What did ATT do prior to that- they were in the TV business- they sold that too. In the end- they only got back into it only to leave again when it goes belly up due to they can't get the customers to meet shareholder demands for $$$$.

FizzyMyNizzy
join:2004-05-29
New York, NY

FizzyMyNizzy to FFH5

Member

to FFH5

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· hl-LMuAQ
FizzyMyNizzy

FizzyMyNizzy to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
Forgot to add. Why is our price on Fiber so overpriced.

HK 1gig = $26 a month
»www.nytimes.com/2011/03/ ··· igi.html

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

said by FizzyMyNizzy:

Forgot to add. Why is our price on Fiber so overpriced.

HK 1gig = $26 a month
»www.nytimes.com/2011/03/ ··· igi.html

Then move there. But, oh yeah, a 1 bedroom apartment runs $4,000 to $5,000 per month.

FizzyMyNizzy
join:2004-05-29
New York, NY

FizzyMyNizzy

Member

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

no is not. $50 a month rent. lol =P

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: $500 installation fee should kill off any new subscribers

said by FizzyMyNizzy:

no is not. $50 a month rent. lol =P

»blogs.wsj.com/hong-kong/ ··· n-world/

Hong Kong
Average monthly rent: US$2,830
Year-over-year change: 22%
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678 to FizzyMyNizzy

Member

to FizzyMyNizzy
well when you can drop the A CO or RT right at the apartment building it's easy to get high speed at a low cost.

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ

batterup

Premium Member

That is my kind of phone company.

We don't want your business so no swimming pool for the mayor.

Frontier Jacks. Isn't that the name of the general store?

CrazyFingers
join:2003-10-01
Columbia, MO

1 recommendation

CrazyFingers

Member

Verizon has figured out "Step 2"

Step 1: Convince large numbers of consumers to sign up for your services by offering compelling technology at a good value.
Step 2 : Dump these customers on a third-rate company with neither the ability nor the will to continue offering the services you promised them.
Step 3: Profit?

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ

batterup

Premium Member

Re: Verizon has figured out "Step 2"

said by CrazyFingers:

Step 3: Profit?

Only 39% of the people who can get FiOS sign up. It cost billions and every town busts Verizon's chops when they want to deploy it. That is sad; I live in the heart of Bellatlantic country and FiOS is on hold; the glass has been hanging of the poles for four years.

Ya gott'a know when to hold'em and when to fold'em.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

They should be investigated

They should be investigated by the franchising authority in their jurisdiction. Many franchising authorities have clauses that allow the LFA to seize control of the system for material breaches of the cable franchise. They may also have a universal service clause in the contract they may have breached as well. Not everyone can get DirecTV because of line of sight issues, apartment lease terms, etc. Each franchising contract is different and varies by locality. These are just some of the terms I've seen in various franchising agreements. Some areas even mandate the cable companies give free service to schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other government/non-profit facilities.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: They should be investigated

Without knowing the agreements, if such stipulations do exit, that may be a reason as to why Frontier is raising rates to "entice" customers to leave instead of outright dropping pay TV service in those markets. And yes, this should be an issue handled by the local franchisors.

MEohME
@wideopenwest.com

MEohME to IowaCowboy

Anon

to IowaCowboy
LOL. You do realize that NOBODY from the Gov't can take anything without paying for it correct? That's the way it works. If those cities want the service network they MUST PAY FOR IT and they would be being drug through the mud when it was all said and done and going bankrupt.

The people with FiOS have other options; Cable is ALWAYS an option for those people. They had it before and can always go back to it. So saying that DirecTV wouldn't be an option is correct- but they still have options.

As far as service free to schools, hospitals, etc are a thing of the past. You must haven't read any new contracts. All those have been stripped away and most schools with the help of the state DOEs have built their own TV systems off DirecTV and DishNetwork, Nursing homes have teamed up with local cable companies and Dish providers as well. Hospitals build their own systems too. The Gov't offices do NOT need TV in their offices; they're there to work NOT to watch TV so thats a moot topic.

And investigated for what? They're org. contract with the locals with VZ was a certain uptake. That number is NEVER disclosed by VZ nor the locals. So good luck on that one. TV also is NOT a utility so the locals have NO real control over anything with TV. Any provider and up and decide they're not going to offer services in any area and walk away.
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

They should get axed for misleading, deceiving franchise

agreements. They make agreements with regulators to take over and continue FIOS TV, yet within the first year since acquiring they raise prices to make customers dump? Thats nothing but covert changes to agreements through loopholes that should be made illegal. Of course, regulators tend to do nothing in this country until problems become too large.

What Frontier does you could compare this to a real life scenario.
Lets say you are a guy dating a girl with whom you want to break up. Instead being honest upfront, talk by coffee and say whats going on, you pretend to be annoying so she breaks up with you. Nothing illegal in this but kinda immature. That's right! Frontier is immature wretched company with bad management! They should have stayed rural and never get regulatory approval. But the lobbying industry in this country is on negative side too powerful. Everybody get pockets full of money, while customers get less value for same services.

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster

Member

Instead of Obamacare.....

Instead of Obamacare, which nobody wants, why couldn't they have done something useful like Obama fiber broadband. At least it would be popular, cheaper and you know Chicago would be the first to get FiOS. I mean Home Land Security could install an off switch, the RIAA/MPAA could get what they want. Google would rule. Apple would take over the world, Facebook would be secretly purchased by the CIA..........Whoa just woke up what a horrible nightmare I just had
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: Instead of Obamacare.....

Because even fewer constituents want to pay for "ObamaFiber" than "ObamaCare". Can you imagine the outrage of being forced to subscribe to a minimum level of access to the Internet and to be penalized for not doing so.....with, or without this imaginary surveillance built in?

MEohME
@wideopenwest.com

MEohME

Anon

Re: Instead of Obamacare.....

People actually want the National Health Care plan. That healthcare plan actually helps you in the long wrong. You know what happens when you hit your insurance cap currently? They drop you. ALL insurance companies have that cap. There are many people that have hit that cap and still do today. The National Health Care plan helps get rid of that cap over a period of a few years to help you and the kids of the future as health care costs rise. Do you really know how much it costs to treat a child with cancer figuring the child could live to their 70s? It is NOT cheap. Would you want to pay for that? I'm sure you wouldn't and by getting rid of the cap your own child could even obtain and afford healthcare in the long run if that would happen to them.

And nobody wants national fiber except BBR. The costs to deploy such a FTTH network to everyone is NOT feasible. Qwest would even tell you and provide the numbers on such a deal.
travelguy
join:1999-09-03
Bismarck, ND

travelguy

Member

Re: Instead of Obamacare.....

said by MEohME :

ALL insurance companies have that cap.

No, they don't. You may have such a plan, but i can assure you that many plans do not have caps.
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch

Member

Re: Instead of Obamacare.....

said by travelguy:

said by MEohME :

ALL insurance companies have that cap.

No, they don't. You may have such a plan, but i can assure you that many plans do not have caps.

But, as it stands, you can't choose your plan, not in any meaningful way, so if your employer's plan is crappy, you're essentially stuck. You could change jobs, but good luck doing that in this economy.

SimbaSeven
I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT
·StarLink

1 recommendation

SimbaSeven to MEohME

Member

to MEohME
said by MEohME :

The costs to deploy such a FTTH network to everyone is NOT feasible. Qwest would even tell you and provide the numbers on such a deal.

I call BS on that one. Heck, with copper costs rising, deploying fiber would probably be cheaper now.

Just deploy it in stages, not the whole darn thing at once.

..and do you actually believe everything that Qwest/CenturyTel tells you?
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9 to MEohME

Premium Member

to MEohME
said by MEohME :

People actually want the National Health Care plan. That healthcare plan actually helps you in the long wrong.

Uh huh...keep telling yourself that
said by MEohME :

And nobody wants national fiber except BBR.

Wow, we agree????

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

1 recommendation

Transmaster to MEohME

Member

to MEohME
said by MEohME :

That healthcare plan actually helps you in the long wrong.

And nobody wants national fiber except BBR. The costs to deploy such a FTTH network to everyone is NOT feasible. Qwest would even tell you and provide the numbers on such a deal.

Ya-da-ya-da we have heard all this before, The answer is fix what is wrong don't destroy the whole system.

A national broad band system would be a fantastic investment in the nation infrastructure and in the long run would enhance tax revenues. Oh and look and see what can be done using a modern high-speed internet for health care. hint; check out the Indian Health Service in Alaska.
BHNtechXpert
The One & Only
Premium Member
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL

BHNtechXpert to MEohME

Premium Member

to MEohME
said by MEohME :

People actually want the National Health Care plan. That healthcare plan actually helps you in the long wrong. You know what happens when you hit your insurance cap currently? They drop you. ALL insurance companies have that cap. There are many people that have hit that cap and still do today. The National Health Care plan helps get rid of that cap over a period of a few years to help you and the kids of the future as health care costs rise. Do you really know how much it costs to treat a child with cancer figuring the child could live to their 70s? It is NOT cheap. Would you want to pay for that? I'm sure you wouldn't and by getting rid of the cap your own child could even obtain and afford healthcare in the long run if that would happen to them.

And nobody wants national fiber except BBR. The costs to deploy such a FTTH network to everyone is NOT feasible. Qwest would even tell you and provide the numbers on such a deal.

Where do you come up with this nonsense? I was perfectly happy with the insurance I had (no caps btw) and now I'm paying twice as much for it with a company not of my choice all because of Obamacare and Obamanomics. I do not at all appreciate you leftys shoving things down my throat I neither wanted, voted for nor can this country afford. You want to save the world...start in your own backyard and stay the hell out of my wallet and my decision making process. Get it? Good...
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

Re: Instead of Obamacare.....

Yeah I noticed the healthcare in private industry went down. Not just prices raised up (which normally they do every year). They stopped offering plans with lower deductibles. They used to offer PPO 500, 250 and even 0 deductible in individual market (in Illinois), now they offer minimum $1500 min deductible in the same price range and its probably higher now.

Look at New York, Massachusetts who have highly regulated insurance. In New York it is the most expensive, they run minimum at $1200 a month if you don't have one sponsored through employer.

GeeWhizBang
@comcast.net

GeeWhizBang to BHNtechXpert

Anon

to BHNtechXpert
The fact that you call it "Obamacare" indicates that you are informed mostly by FAUX news. Secondly, the National Health Care Plan is not what liberals wanted anyway. If we had our way, we'd be on a single payer plan or Medicare for all.

Nevertheless despite all of the BS churned up by FAUX news, the tea-partiers, and the various astroturf groups funded by the Koch Brothers, there are some pretty good things in the new health care bill.

If you are complaining about your costs going up, tho, perhaps you should have supported the public option, which was important to keep the prices down. The problem with the recent legislation is not that it went too far, it didn't go far enough. But it is still far better than doing nothing.
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

1 recommendation

sonicmerlin to MEohME

Member

to MEohME
said by MEohME :

And nobody wants national fiber except BBR. The costs to deploy such a FTTH network to everyone is NOT feasible. Qwest would even tell you and provide the numbers on such a deal.

Uh right, that's why there was such a frenzy over Google's FTTH plans, and there are numerous communities pushing for muni fiber.

Australia is even less dense than America and they're pushing fiber to 93% of their populace. Rural fiber deployments have demonstrated the cost difference between muni and rural fiber is insignificant, in large part thanks to the fact that almost all rural houses are situated along a main road. You don't have to pull fiber or dig trenches out in the middle of nowhere.

The beauty of national FTTH is that it pays for itself over time, and subsequently becomes a new source of revenue for the government. That means less taxes for everyone in the long run, and significantly less expensive broadband prices in the short run since no one has to pay the private duopoly tax that pays for the CEOs' huge bonuses.

djdanska
Rudie32
Premium Member
join:2001-04-21
San Diego, CA

djdanska to Transmaster

Premium Member

to Transmaster
said by Transmaster:

At least it would be popular, cheaper and you know Chicago would be the first to get FiOS

Chicago is At&t. I doubt they would do anything fiber.

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster

Member

Re: Instead of Obamacare.....

Your new major will send them dead fish, that will get the job done.
viperlmw
Premium Member
join:2005-01-25

viperlmw to Transmaster

Premium Member

to Transmaster
I guess I'm nobody, because I want national health care, which you said nobody wants. That attitude also mirrors the right, where what they want is what "everybody" wants, and what they don't want "nobody" wants. They don't care about anybody but themselves and their club (for growth).

The states definitely need to look into whether or not this was Frontier's plan all along.

FizzyMyNizzy
join:2004-05-29
New York, NY

FizzyMyNizzy to Transmaster

Member

to Transmaster
I want Obamacare. Don't complain when you get deny by your insurance company =D. Did they just raise your monthly fee. I'm sure you love monopoly + corruption with the insurance company.

•••••••
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678 to Transmaster

Member

to Transmaster
But the healthcare system is in place now Obamacare just changes how it's payed for and how you buy healthcare.

Fiber needs A LOT CABLES run and hardware installed. Obamacare does need need new mini hospitals on EACH BLOCK + cables from them to EACH HOUSE on the block.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9 to chgo_man99

Premium Member

to chgo_man99

Re: They should get axed for misleading, deceiving franchise

said by chgo_man99:

agreements. They make agreements with regulators to take over and continue FIOS TV

Did Frontier? I don't know the agreements, so I'm curious as to what the franchise agreements actually stipulate.

MEohME
@wideopenwest.com

MEohME

Anon

Re: They should get axed for misleading, deceiving franchise

right- you don't know the agreements but yet are bitching about the new install fees and making them keep the service. They shouldn't have to provide the service if they're not making anything. That won't do anything but force them to start raising other fees and when the states won't allow them; they'll just haul them into court and the courts will decide. After all that's the American thing. Sue. And that's what Telcos do best.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: They should get axed for misleading, deceiving franchise

said by MEohME :

right- you don't know the agreements but yet are bitching about the new install fees and making them keep the service.

You obviously haven't read many of my posts. You might want to attempt to understand my viewpoints if you're going to attack me
old_wiz_60
join:2005-06-03
Bedford, MA

old_wiz_60

Member

why is anyone surprised?

they want to kill FIOS in favor of their own junk and huge increases in fees and installation charges are the best way to get rid of customers.

How did this deal ever get through the regulatory agencies? How much money was slipped to the lawmakers to approve the dirty deal?
uiopuiop
join:2002-09-27
Follansbee, WV

uiopuiop

Member

Re: why is anyone surprised?

Where were you at during the hearings?
The unions said Frontier did not know what they were buying, and did not audit what they where getting. The approval process was backed by business and the chambers of commerce ever where.
No I'm not surprised. What surprises me is that the people that approved the Verizon / Frontier deal are making other good decisions for you!
Something has to be wrong with a deal when the guy selling you the stuff help you with the legal stuff and gives you money for the loan.
I think old Phineas Taylor Barnum said there is one born every minute!
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

elray

Member

So?

Some Fios installs take all day. Technicians are not cheap.

What's wrong with charging the customer up front, rather than on the back end?

If this model doesn't work, then Frontier will fail, and the satellite and cable companies will pick up a lot of customers.

•••

nochoice
@frontiernet.net

nochoice

Anon

Some of us have no choice.

I live in an Apartment building where there is no choice. Frontier is the only person providing service to us. Comcast wiring is so old it cant handle anything they offer. Unless you just want locals. So there is no other choice.
chances14
join:2010-03-03
Michigan

chances14

Member

Re: Some of us have no choice.

said by nochoice :

I live in an Apartment building where there is no choice. Frontier is the only person providing service to us. Comcast wiring is so old it cant handle anything they offer. Unless you just want locals. So there is no other choice.

exactly. i don't think frontier cares about the few people that they may lose due to the fios situation. most of their customers are ones that have no other choice and are stuck with them. i will say though they have lived up to their promise of providing more people with dsl, espcially in michigan where they have brought access to several cities that have never had access to any sort of real broadband internet connection before.

now if only they would upgrade some of their switching stations so that the people like me who live just outside city limits can finally have access to internet that we have been waiting for 15 long years

Pashune
Caps stifle innovation
Premium Member
join:2006-04-14
Gautier, MS

Pashune

Premium Member

$500 to install FiOSTV...

.. my God.

Frontier must be the greatest media company ever, and by that, I mean I NEVER want to be involved in their corrupt shenanigans.

DrStrange
Technically feasible
Premium Member
join:2001-07-23
Bristol, CT

1 edit

DrStrange

Premium Member

maybe a use for the 'free market' here?

If I lived in one of the areas served by Frontier, I'd set people up for $100-150 and make a killing.

If I needed several thousand dollars for the same equipment equipment Frontier's installers use, I could get a small business loan or put it on a credit card and it would be paid off in no time.


Never mind. I skimmed the article and missed the part about Frontier not wanting new FIOS TV subcribers. I thought this was the cost for 'professional install' if the customer couldn't self-install.

•••

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine

Member

Verizon set this up to fail

Verizon essentially set this up to fail. They contractually disallowed expansion into new markets which basically was the death blow. Seriously, if you can't expand your service you are dead in the water. 50,000 customers is not enough to keep the service alive.

Thespis
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.
Premium Member
join:2004-08-03
Keller, TX

Thespis

Premium Member

Re: Verizon set this up to fail

said by fifty nine:

Verizon essentially set this up to fail. They contractually disallowed expansion into new markets which basically was the death blow. Seriously, if you can't expand your service you are dead in the water. 50,000 customers is not enough to keep the service alive.

Could you post a link to that contract?

jslik
That just happened
Premium Member
join:2006-03-17

jslik

Premium Member

Franchises Here

The franchises for the areas in question in the Portland area are here:

»www.maccor.org/members.h ··· ranchise

The language everyone seems to be looking for:

13.9. Franchisee Termination: Franchisee shall have the right to terminate this Franchise and all obligations hereunder within ninety (90) days after the end of four (4) years from the Service Date of this Franchise, if at the end of such four (4) year period, Franchisee does not then in good faith believe it has achieved a commercially reasonable level of Subscriber penetration on its Cable System. Franchisee may consider Subscriber penetration levels outside the Franchise Area in this determination. Notice to terminate under this Section 13.9 shall be given to the Grantor in writing, with such termination to take effect no sooner than one hundred and twenty (120) days after giving such notice. Franchisee shall also be required to give its then current Subscribers not less than ninety (90) days prior written notice of its intent to cease Cable Service operations.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

1 recommendation

tmc8080

Member

new last mile carrier

now is probably a good time for another carrier to come in and compete against frontier. kick them while they're down!

IMO, it's not about the TV/Video anymore, at least the traditional cable-tv subscription-- it's about providing enough bandwidth for consumers to buy what they want from whatever company they want... and if some of it happens to be piracy.. so be it (with all the risks and rewards that carries).

edd
@verizon.net

edd

Anon

fios

Vz convinced themselves that people would want FIOS. The reality is people want it for $79 mos. The true cost is not sustainable, about $1800 per install and you have to keep the customer for 3years to break even. They won't even tell the true #'s of how many people left.
The other problem is "Cutting the cord". Vz is competing against itself in wireless because all people are going to need is a wifi connection to watch TV. Last year over 100,000 people cut the cord. The american public think they are entitles to free everything!
VZ wont let the gov get involved because then Ivan won't be able to get his big money. Fios is a great product but a looser because of what I stated.

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson

Premium Member

There has got to be a part of this story

that we do not see

There is absolutely no way that someone does this without knowing that it will kill a high amount of its business

I can't think of a single person who would stay on the phone when told of the installation price. Not one

Hell, not one would stay on with an installation price of $250
sjc10
join:2011-04-13
Seattle, WA

sjc10

Member

Early term fee for not paying $500 to move my service??

I live in Seattle, Washington. Just tried to have my FIOS moved to the house next door. I live in a townhouse/duplex and they told me I would have to pay the $500 installation fee!!!! Then they nicely told me I could get Direct TV which I refused. But I'm on a contract with Frontier so they told me if I don't move my service that I would have to pay $270 early termination fee!!! So I told them to cancel all together. Seriously, how is this legal??? They should not be charging me for an early termination fee if they can't provide me with all the original services I signed up for?! They are not going to get another dime out of me with these type of business practices!