Behind the 8 Ball: What Will Frontier's Magic 8-Ball Reveal To You?

Frontier Communications continues to bungle the implementation of their 5GB usage cap, with continuing reports that a good number of their own  customer service representatives are clueless they even have one (despite people reading it to them off their own website.)   But once you convince them there is one, in all its red, black, and white glory, then it’s time to play Frontier’s Magic 8 Ball Excuse-O-Matic as to why you can’t leave because they don’t have a cap even if they do!

Please share your experiences on our comment section (link is just below the headline of this article), so we can continue to compile the Many Faces of Frontier: Why They Just Don’t Want to Let You Go.   But also read on as to why you cannot simply take their CSR’s at their word.

Frontier Excuse-o-Matic v1.0: The Many Faces of Frontier

“What Usage Cap?”
“Frontier Doesn’t Have Any Usage Cap or Limits.”
“We’re not enforcing that right now.”
“It will be almost impossible to reach that cap.”
“There is a cap, but not really because we don’t have one.”
“Really?   I never heard of that and I work here!”
“Wow, you are the first person to tell me that. That’s too low –  you are mistaken.”
“We aren’t doing that in your area.”
“That is only for our wi-fi service.”
“The cap is in place to help your computer.”
“There is nothing to opt out from.”
“We aren’t currently monitoring or metering usage so we can’t not apply it to you.”
“There is no one who can cancel your contract without a fee.”
“I’ll have a supervisor call you in 24 to 48 hours.”

Frontier’s chaos theory of customer service notwithstanding, subscribers cannot afford to simply accept these kinds of word salad answers.   Because even if their customer service representatives swear up and down it doesn’t apply, the legal department… the ones that actually write the contracts they will then enforce no matter what they tell you on the phone, has made it crystal clear it absolutely does apply and they have taken the action of publishing it, in accordance with their own terms and conditions, in a way that makes it completely enforceable after the 30-day opt out window ends.   Nothing precludes them from applying it now and punitively enforcing later… after the opt out window expires, of course.

Now Frontier can make this boneheaded bungling of a PR move go away in just minutes.   And Stop the Cap continues to call on Frontier to remove the 5GB usage cap language from their website. After all, if they aren’t planning to enforce it, then why is it there?   Just to inflame customers and tie up customer service lines?

Insist on cancellation with no early penalty fee and specifically follow the instructions, step-by-step, to make the case.   If you are on a contract with an early cancellation policy, Frontier must honor their own terms and conditions.   They have three options:

1. Give you a written guarantee no usage cap will apply for the remainder of your contract
2. Honor your request to terminate the contract today with no penalty because you do not accept their changes.
3. Rescind the cap language and remove it entirely from the website.

Please also consider going to the Executive Office customer service department, and continue to report your experiences to us.   We have now contacted both the Attorney General of the State of New York and the Public Service Commission regarding this matter.   We have reported Frontier’s attempts to trap customers with a material change to their service contract without allowing them to exercise the right to opt out of that change within Frontier’s own specified window.   Please also continue to watch this site – it may be necessary for you to file a formal complaint as part of the investigation that may be undertaken.   We will help you with that procedure if it comes to that.   Others have reported they have been able to successfully cancel, so it’s a matter of reaching the right CSR or making the case in a way that gives them no other choice.

Vint Cerf, “Chief Internet Evangelist” for Google’s Public Policy Blog, raised objections and concerns about the broadband industry’s efforts to impose “consumption-based billing” on customers.

Cerf noted plans by several cable operators to test usage caps in an effort to manage their Internet traffic.

“At least one proposal  has surfaced that would charge users by the byte after a certain amount of data has been transmitted during a given period, […] a kind of volume cap, which I do not  find to be a very useful practice,  ” said Cerf.

“Given an arbitrary amount of time, one can transfer arbitrarily large amounts of information,” he said.

Excerpt: “Network management also should be narrowly tailored, with bandwidth constraints aimed essentially at times of actual congestion. In the middle of the night, available capacity may be entirely sufficient, and thus moderating users’ traffic may be unnecessary. Some have suggested metered pricing — charging by the megabyte rather than flat fee plans — as a solution to congestion, and prices could be adjusted at non-peak periods. These kinds of pricing plans, depending on how they are devised or implemented, could end up creating the wrong incentives for consumers to scale back their use of Internet applications over broadband networks.”

To date, the two largest cable broadband providers, Comcast & Time-Warner are already considering moving to a consumption-based billing system, but with no decrease in existing rates.   Instead, customers exceeding those usage caps will find overage charges on their monthly bills.

Several DSL providers, most notably Frontier Communications, have already imposed even more draconian usage caps on their customers; Frontier now limits DSL customers to just 5GB of traffic per month.

NBC has announced plans to stream its National Football League games live online this fall, with exclusive access to extra camera angles and multiple video streams, in near high definition broadband bitrates.   Viewers will also have access to live blogging from NBC sports announcers and game highlights and live statistics. Plus, fans can stay updated on their NFL Game Line picks, making the online experience even more engaging and interactive.

NBC & The National Football League plan to stream pro football this fall, but those with usage capped broadband will probably have to stick with old fashioned TV to watch.

Unfortunately, broadband customers on usage capped services need not apply – the video quality will consume too much bandwidth and will drive many customers well over their monthly caps before the season comes to an end.   So while Verizon FiOS customers will be able to sit back, popcorn in hand, Frontier DSL customers will need to stick to the live blogging, text based web pages,  and hope their favorite game is on local television.

NBC has also warned metered broadband customers to avoid the 2,200 live hours of Olympics coverage starting in the next few days.   It will simply be untenable for a usage capped customer to spend time viewing live coverage without quickly exceeding their usage cap.

It’s just another example of the impact usage caps bring to Americans trying to take advantage of the latest benefits the broadband platform can provide.   Virtually every day, customers will find another application they simply cannot afford to access, all because of unjustified bandwidth limitations.

The NBC logo is a registered trademark of NBC/Universal.   NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.   Their use does not constitute approval of the content herein.

Your Money = Their Money

With the imposition of a 5GB monthly cap across their nationwide service area, consumers might find it useful to break down the cost of what different broadband services charge for service per gigabyte, and what kinds of profits companies can expect to receive from those charges.   The average cost of traffic for most national broadband providers amounts to pennies per gigabyte transferred.   But what will you pay?

Frontier offers different pricing across several promotions, ranging from $19.99-$49.99.   The lower priced tiers correspond with service contracts that require multi-year commitments, with a substantial penalty for early cancellation.   They also charge a monthly modem rental fee (MRF) of $3.99.   In some areas this fee is levied even if you wish to use your own DSL modem.   Since this fee is universally imposed in many areas, its cost has been included in the price breakdown.   Excluded from the review are additional taxes, surcharges, and fees which are imposed by various taxing authorities but are outside of Frontier’s control.

Frontier High Speed Internet Cost Review
(per  GB downloaded,  5GB per month)

Your Monthly Price      Per GB     Frontier Pays Per GB
$49.99 + $3.99 MRF      $10.80            less than 10c
$39.99 + $3.99 MRF      $ 8.80            less than 10c
$29.99 + $3.99 MRF      $ 6.00            less than 10c
$19.99 + $3.99 MRF      $ 4.00            less than 10c

The cost for watching an average 4GB high definition DVD quality movie over Frontier DSL is $43.20.   One DVD will be all you get, because any more than that puts you over the limit.  With a growing number of Americans using the Internet to access multimedia content online, exceeding 5GB of usage per month is easier than ever.

Stop the Cap! challenges Frontier to make public their own study which sources have told us show up to 40% of their existing customers already exceed 20GB of usage per month using Frontier DSL.   How does the company justify calling nearly half of their loyal customers bandwidth piggies and abusers?

Since low usage customers represent enormous profits for broadband providers, as the above chart illustrates, kneecapping the average user and beheading the high bandwidth customer with a draconian limit on monthly usage allows Frontier to vastly expand profits.   As their own financial reports to shareholders illustrate, Frontier’s investment in their network does not come close to corresponding with the massive profit taking a 5GB usage cap allows.

Cherry pick the weekend e-mailer and occasional web browser, throw everyone else under the nearest bus, and  high five one another all the way to the bank.   That’s the Frontier way.