Jan
28
Frontier Facing Questions In Portland Over Huge FiOSTV Hike – MACC Wonders If This Was The Plan All Along, Despite Previous Assurances
Earlier this month Frontier Communications imposed an unprecedentedly-massive TV rate hike on the 100,000 FiOS customers they acquired in their deal with Verizon. Frontier, unwilling to pay programming costs like Verizon did, clearly wants out of the TV business and is pushing those users toward DirecTV service (though not necessarily doing a very good job of it). The Metropolitan Area Communications Commission (MACC) is now investigating Frontier's move, and asking them if this was the plan all along -- despite assurances to regulators that no rate hikes were looming when trying to get regulatory approval for the $8.5 billion deal. The letter from MACC (pdf) specifically questions the validity of Frontier's programming excuse:
We are familiar with the rate structure of programmers and have some experience with other small-scale cable operators. A 46% increase in rates is unjustified on its face. As just one example, there is no case to be made that programming costs for the thirteen local commercial channels on Frontier's "Local" tier of service have increased 50%....Frontier's rate increase announcement raises doubts about the sincerity of (previous assurances by Frontier and Verizon about the ability to offer TV service at competitive prices).
If MACC is enjoying Frontier's 50% TV price hike, they'll probably really enjoy learning that Frontier's testing a new pricing scheme for DSL customers that could end with many users paying $100-$200 for 3 Mbps DSL.read comment(s)
Original story here.