COLUMBUS, OHIO (Aug. 14, 2019) – Today the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) ordered staff to file a formal complaint against Frontier North, Inc. regarding the telephone provider’s landline service quality. The PUCO has received numerous customer complaints regarding extended service outages which may result in safety concerns, such as a customers’ inability to contact emergency services, doctors, and family and friends.
“Customer complaints indicating extensive telecommunication outages are troubling and deserve to be examined,” stated PUCO Chairman Sam Randazzo. “Today the PUCO is taking steps to investigate allegations of poor service quality.”
On Aug. 13, 2019, the PUCO staff filed a letter to the Commission citing 33 specific instances where Frontier allegedly failed to provide adequate and reliable telephone service to its basic local exchange service customers and recommended the Commission conduct a thorough investigation. Among other things, the staff identified issues concerning extended service restoration timelines, failure to provide basic telephone service that would allow customers to place or receive calls at any time and failure to comply with previous Commission orders and entries.
Today’s entry opens an investigation and directs PUCO staff to file a formal complaint against the company. Frontier will then have 20 days to respond to the allegations in the complaint.
The PUCO regulates basic local exchange service (BLES). BLES is a flat-rate landline phone service which provides access to a dial tone, 9-1-1, and long-distance service. Other telecommunication services, such as mobile or internet services, are not regulated by the PUCO and not a part of this investigation.
A map of Frontier’s service territory is available on the PUCO website.
A copy of today’s Commission entry is available on the PUCO website by clicking the link to Docketing Information System (DIS) and searching for case 19-1582-TP-COC.