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PURA approves Verizon change-of-control for Frontier, orders interconnection reports
Summary
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority voted unanimously June 11 to approve Verizon Communications Inc.'s proposed change of control of Frontier Communications, incorporating a settlement agreement and ordering Verizon to confirm with community access providers and file a docketed report on interconnection and technical issues.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) voted unanimously Wednesday, June 11, 2025, to approve Verizon Communications Inc.’s joint application to assume control of Frontier Communications in Docket 241106, and incorporated a proposed settlement agreement into its final decision.
In remarks supporting the decision, Pat Feier, authority staff attorney, summarized the record and the authority’s statutory review. Feier said the authority considered “the financial, technological, and managerial suitability and responsibility of the applicant,” the company’s ability to provide “safe, adequate, and reliable service,” and the effect of approval on the location and accessibility of management and state resident employees, noting the authority’s review included prefiled testimony, interrogatory responses and two days of evidentiary hearings. Feier said, “I respectfully recommend adoption of this…decision.”
The nut graf: PURA’s order approves a transaction in which a wholly owned Verizon subsidiary would merge into Frontier, making Frontier a direct Verizon subsidiary; the authority found that Verizon meets the statutory suitability requirements and imposed a condition designed to protect community access and service reliability.
PURA staff reported that a settlement agreement was filed March 26, 2025, by Verizon, Frontier and the OCC and that the authority incorporated the agreement’s terms and conditions into its decision. The authority’s findings, as stated on the record, include that Verizon “possesses the required financial, technological, and managerial suitability,” that it can provide safe and reliable service, that the transaction will have a positive effect on state resident employees, and that it will cause “minimal disruption to the location and accessibility of management personnel.”
As a condition of approval, the authority ordered Verizon to confirm with all community access providers and to file a report in Docket 241106 detailing any interconnection and/or technical issues and the steps taken or to be taken to alleviate them. The transcript does not specify a deadline for that filing.
Commissioner Conte offered brief remarks after the presentation, thanking staff and interveners for developing a strong record and praising the Office of Consumer Counsel’s engagement. Conte said, “I also wanna commend all the work OCC put in with stakeholders, to reach this agreement. I am happy to see that CWA and Verizon reached agreement concerning the issues raised by CWA and hope that Verizon remains committed to frontline workers.”
A motion to adopt the decision was made, seconded and approved in roll call with affirmative votes recorded for Commissioner Michael Karyn, Commissioner Conte and Chair Marissa Gillette. The authority then adopted a two-item consent calendar by the same voting pattern and adjourned. The decision’s order to file a report is part of the final decision and is docketed in Docket 241106; the transcript does not state further implementation deadlines or next steps for that reporting requirement.
The meeting lasted briefly and included one regular calendar item (Docket 241106) and two consent calendar items. PURA’s next regular meeting was announced for Wednesday, June 25 at 9 a.m. by remote teleconference.
