Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz approved today the purchase of AT&T's Connecticut wireline operations by Fronteir Communications Corporation.
The agreement is set to provide $63 million in improvements to broadband internet services in the state. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) settled all terms and agreements to protect Connecticut consumers prior to approving the agreement.
"With significant plans for broadband expansion and new provisions regarding the state's utility poles that will advance response to outages from severe weather events, today's approval of Frontier Communications both protects customers and provides increased commitments to our state," Malloy said.
Among the terms negotiated in the agreement are that Frontier is not allowed to increase the basic residential landline rate for at least three years; and that they must participate in the state's My HealtheVet and Home Telehealth programs.
"The consumer protections we negotiated with Frontier – including commitments on service, pricing and reliability – will help to provide continuity of service for current and new customers," Jepsen said. " Additionally, $63 million in improvements to broadband service and capability over three years will have a significant impact not only on the quality of service for current customers but also on expanding broadband service to those currently underserved or unserved by AT&T. I believe that these commitments are in the public interest, and I'm pleased that PURA has given this its final approval."