Want To Understand Why U.S. Broadband Sucks? Look At Frontier Communications In Wisconsin, West Virginia

Want To Understand Why U.S. Broadband Sucks? Look At Frontier Communications In Wisconsin, West Virginia

3 years ago
Anonymous $np3LcwuhSi

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20211020/06345447781/want-to-understand-why-us-broadband-sucks-look-frontier-communications-wisconsin-west-virginia.shtml

So for years I've noted if you really want to understand why U.S. broadband is so crappy, you should take a long, close look at Frontier Communications in states like West Virginia. For decades the ISP has provided slow and expensive service, routinely failed to upgrade or repair its network, and generally personified the typical bumbling, apathetic, regional monopoly. And its punishment, year after year, has generally been a parade of regulatory favors, tax breaks, and millions in subsidies. At no point do "telecom policy leaders" or politicians ever try to do much differently.

Case in point: Frontier, fresh off of an ugly bankruptcy, numerous AG and FTC lawsuits over repair delays, and repeated subsidy scandals, is positioning itself to nab yet more subsidies from the state of Wisconsin. Frontier is asking the state of for $35 million in additional grants, despite the fact Wisconsin was just one of several states whose AGs recently sued the company for being generally terrible. Folks familiar with the company argue it shouldn't be seeing a single, additional dime in taxpayer resources given fifteen years of scandal: