Week one of the transition for millions of ex-Verizon landline customers didn’t exactly go off without a hitch.  A few problems with support issues for certain business customers in West Virginia, a major multi-state DSL outage from a fiber cable cut in Virginia, and long hold times of 30 minutes or longer have afflicted the all-new, super-sized Frontier.  Also not inspiring confidence: a plummeting Frontier stock price as Verizon shareholders, which now own 68 percent of Frontier Communications are hurrying to dump their stock and get out.  It has gotten so bad, TradersHuddle declared Frontier Communications the worst performing stock on the S&P 500.

Not much of this comes as a surprise, particularly the fleeing of Verizon shareholders who received 0.24 shares of Frontier, worth about $1.75 on July 1st (but now dropping fast), for every Verizon share they owned on June 7.  They’ve learned from prior experience that holding onto spun-off stock from similar deals with companies like FairPoint Communications and Hawaiian Telcom ended in financial disaster — bankruptcy.  As we predicted last Halloween in our true-to-life telecom horror story, once this deal was completed, Verizon shareholders would rush for the exits, selling their Frontier stock even as the share price plummets.

Shanthi Venkataraman, a reporter for The Street, noted the selloff in progress after the 4th of July holidays.  On Tuesday the stock was down 4.5% to $7.02. More than 30 million shares have changed hands, five times its average trading volume of 6.3 million.  Analysts believe the “turbulence” in Frontier stock is likely to continue for another week as new shareholders from Verizon complete their sell-off.

Zack’s Analyst Blog notes shareholders should be concerned with the future of Frontier’s business model — focusing on a decaying landline business.  Frontier’s revenue is particularly in peril in their biggest service area, Rochester, N.Y., which represents 25 percent of the company’s total access lines.  Customers in the Flower City continue to dump Frontier’s phone and broadband services, preferring Time Warner Cable’s less expensive “digital phone” and far faster Road Runner Internet service.  Time Warner Cable has consistently reported much of their growth in new customers has come from departing landline and DSL broadband customers disconnecting service.

While shareholders have the power to cut ties with Frontier, rural telephone customers in 14 states now confronted with a shotgun wedding to Frontier are not so lucky.  For millions of rural customers, there is no other choice for telephone and broadband service.

Stop the Cap! has reviewed dozens of local news accounts regarding the transition Verizon customers are now confronting as they are introduced to Frontier Communications.  Overall, most of the rural communities are taking a “wait and see” approach, hoping Frontier’s near-universal promises of better broadband and improved customer service will come true.  Verizon effectively slashed spending at least a year or two ago in many of these communities knowing in advance they were not going to be around for much longer.  In states like West Virginia, the results have been devastating for broadband penetration statistics.  While Verizon prepared for a sale, it kept nearly the entire state waiting for better broadband that would never come from the telecom giant.  Now with news Frontier plans to spend millions to improve broadband in the state, residents are hoping that will actually bring a broadband breakthrough in West Virginia.  Time will tell.

Many communities who have long felt ignored as “too small to matter” in Verizon’s larger plans also hope Frontier will manage better customer relationships with residents. After all, Frontier is promoting itself as the phone company with the small-town feel.  But after week one, some customers are feeling Frontier is giving them the big city runaround.  We’ll explore that, and the reactions from community leaders, consumers and businesses to the promises Frontier is making in our multi-part series exploring their transition to Frontier.

[The article was updated at 10:30am to include promotional and coverage information not available when the article was published late last night]

Clearwire today announced the launch of its 4G mobile broadband service for businesses and consumers in Rochester and Syracuse, New York.  Designed to deliver the Internet at speeds four times faster than 3G, CLEAR is priced comparably to many wireless broadband plans, but has no usage caps.

Pricing from their website offers customers stay-at-home and mobile service plans (or both).  Customers choosing month-to-month service have to buy the equipment up front, starting at $70 and pay a $35 activation fee.  Those who commit to a two-year service contract can lease the equipment for $4-6 a month and skip start-up fees.  Packages start at $40 a month for 6/1Mbps service.  At $55 a month, they take the speed limit off, providing occasional bursts of wireless speed up to 10Mbps.  Another $15 on top of that buys you nationwide 3G roaming.  Sales tax is not included.  Customers get a 14 day trial period to evaluate the service and can cancel within that window with no obligation, although our Jay Ovittore reports they’ll drag you through the cancellation process.

At $40 for unlimited use, CLEAR’s 4G service beats Cricket, which charges the same price for 3G speeds, but limits consumption to 5GB per month before they start throttling your speed to dial-up.  Other mobile broadband services typically charge up to $60 for 5GB of usage at 3G speeds.  Ironically, while 4G service from Clearwire is unlimited, the slower 3G speed service is not — there is a usage limit of 5GB per month on the 3G network, and then overlimit fees of five cents per megabyte kick in.

A statement from the company released early this morning talks up the fact CLEAR does not burden their 4G customers with Internet Overcharging schemes like other wireless broadband providers.

“Our residents now have a fast Internet connection that’s as mobile as they are,” said Jerry Brown, regional general manager for CLEAR. “And we’re thrilled to offer affordable rate plans with no limits on the amount of data customers use. No caps on usage, no penalties – our customers just use the Web as much as they want wherever they go – it’s that simple.”

Clearwire's coverage area in Rochester & Syracuse

In Rochester, CLEAR covers approximately 560 square miles and more than 600,000 people with service extending as far north as Lake Ontario, as far south as Canandaigua and Geneva (Ontario County), as far west as Spencerport, and as far east as Webster.

In Syracuse, CLEAR covers nearly 230 square miles and more than 265,000 people with service extending as far north as Brewerton, as far south as Nedrow, Auburn, and Cortland; as far west as Village Green, and as far east as Fayetteville and Manlius.

However, the company’s 4G coverage area is spotty in many areas in both cities.  Verifying coverage from their website is essential before considering CLEAR.  Anecdotal reports from some of our readers and others suggest 4G service from Clearwire is not nearly as robust as 3G service from some other providers, and dead zones and slow speeds have caused some to cancel service.  Here’s an example of their coverage in my part of the town of Brighton, just southeast of Rochester:

Clearwire's coverage of the 12 Corners/Elmwood Avenue area of Brighton, N.Y.

Some minor gaps in coverage are apparent near Commonwealth Drive, and if you were getting gas at the 12 Corners Mobil station or visiting Citizens Bank behind it, you’d be out of luck, but otherwise coverage looks fairly good to the west of Interstate 590.  However, a very strange gap pops up between Valley Road and South Grosvenor Road, also impacting a few apartment buildings at Elmwood Court Apartments, 3100 Elmwood Avenue.  That’s odd because although that part of Elmwood slopes slightly downwards, it’s still much higher than the homes on Valley Road or the apartments further back in the complex.  A major service gap opens up on Elmwood at Clovercrest Drive and extends into the very tony neighborhoods around Ambassador Drive and Clover Street.  But the country club set will do fine browsing away on the golf course at the Rochester Country Club further east.

In short, service can vary dramatically street by street, block by block, from nothing at all to full speed ahead.  Be sure to check your area before you commit to keeping the service, much less sign a two year contract for it.

For the rest of Rochester, if you live in the city or an inner-ring suburb, coverage is generally available.  Those further out in towns like Henrietta, North Chili, southern Pittsford, Honeoye Falls, Avon, Scottsville, Churchville, Brockport, Penfield and Perinton face significant gaps or no coverage at all.  Things improve dramatically in Ontario County in towns like Farmington and Victor and the cities of Canandaigua and Geneva.

For the greater Syracuse area, coverage pops up in Auburn and then disappears eastward until reaching Camillus.  Generally, coverage in Syracuse is not nearly as dense as in Rochester, with large gaps opening between suburbs and the city itself.  Mattydale is solidly covered, for instance, while Minoa isn’t.

Now that CLEAR has launched 4G service in Rochester and Syracuse, Road Runner Mobile, which is simply CLEAR rebranded as a Time Warner Cable service (they partly own Clearwire) will also soon be on the way.  Pricing in other Time Warner Cable cities wasn’t much different than from Clearwire direct, and some cable plans really push service contracts, which you really do not want on a service this new.  Do not commit to one unless you are satisfied with the service where you plan on using it.

Clearwire’s 4G Network in 2010

CLEAR 4G service is currently available in 44 markets across the United States, including: Syracuse and Rochester, N.Y.; Atlanta and Milledgeville, Ga.; Baltimore, Md.; Boise, Idaho; Chicago, Ill.; Las Vegas, Nev.; St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo.; Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Reading, Lancaster and York, Pa.; Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro, NC; Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; Seattle, Tri-Cities, Yakima and Bellingham, Wash.; Salem, Portland and Eugene, Ore.; Merced and Visalia; Calif.; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Waco and Wichita Falls, Texas; central Washington, D.C.; Richmond, Va.; and Salt Lake City, Utah.

In the summer of 2010, CLEAR 4G will launch in Tampa, Orlando and Daytona, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Modesto and Stockton, Calif.; Wilmington, Del.; and Grand Rapids, Mich. By the end of 2010, CLEAR 4G will also be available in major metropolitan areas such as New York City, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

You can read a company-provided tutorial about the service below the jump.

… Continue Reading

Frontier Communications today announced it was keeping a commitment to use only American-based call centers to provide customer service.  That will be a welcome change for former Verizon customers who often found their customer service calls transferred to overseas help desks and representatives.

“In addition to voice customer service, our broadband Internet help desk jobs will continue to be staffed by a 100 percent U.S.-based workforce. This will include the creation of 500 new US-based jobs replacing work that Verizon sent overseas,” said Maggie Wilderotter, Frontier’s Chairman and CEO.

Many calls for assistance with Frontier’s Internet service end up in Henrietta, New York — near Rochester.  A good deal of Frontier’s general customer service assistance is provided from a large call center in DeLand, Florida — midway between Daytona Beach and Orlando.

Frontier is also pr0mising its customers appointment windows within two hour blocks, making it easier to know exactly when a technician will arrive.  If Frontier keeps its appointments, it means customers don’t have to take an entire day off from work waiting for someone to show up.

Time Warner Cable is back again with another offer to existing Frontier Communications customers trapped in multi-year service agreements.  If you dump your Frontier landline overboard for Time Warner Cable’s Digital Phone service, the cable company will send you a gift card worth $200 good towards defraying your early termination fee, if any.  If you don’t have such a fee, you pocket the $200.  A year ago on this date the company ran a similar promotion heavily promoted in local cable television ad spots.

Time Warner will provide free installation of the phone line including unlimited nationwide long distance for $24.95 a month for 12 months.  With the $200 gift card, that’s above and beyond their usual promotion.  The company is also extending a bundled discount if a customer also takes Road Runner broadband service with their “digital phone” service.

For Frontier customers looking for an early exit, this offers one opportunity.

Existing cable subscribers can take advantage of the offer.  There are terms and conditions to consider, starting with where the offer is available.  The following Time Warner Cable service areas qualify:

• TWC Western New York
• TWC Central New York
• TWC Albany, NY
• TWC New England
• TWC Dothan, AL
• TWC Enterprise, AL
• TWC Yuma, AZ
• TWC El Centro, CA
• TWC Gunnison, CO
• TWC Telluride, CO
• TWC Coeur d’Alene, ID
• TWC Moscow, ID
• TWC Madison, IN
• TWC Newburgh, IN
• TWC Terre Haute, IN
• TWC Ashland, KY
• TWC Owensboro, KY
• TWC Richmond, KY
• TWC Kansas City, MO
• TWC Lincoln, NE
• TWC Ironton, OH
• TWC Richlands, VA
• TWC Pullman, WA
• TWC Clarksburg, WV

Next, the offer is only good for residential customers switching from Frontier’s landline service.  Limit one gift card per customer.  Your final Frontier phone bill showing a disconnect request must be furnished to Time Warner Cable within 30 days to qualify.  Your name and address must match on both bills.  Offer is not available to customers with past due balances with Time Warner Cable, defined as any money owed in the past 30-60 days or customers who have been disconnected for non-payment in the twelve (12) month period preceding this offer.  Service must be ordered by Dec. 31, 2010, and installation must occur within thirty (30) days of order date.

If you’ve contemplated a change in providers but didn’t want to be subjected to a steep early cancellation fee, this isn’t a bad offer.  Although I don’t use Time Warner Cable Digital Phone myself, others in my family do and they are satisfied with the service, although there have been at least two serious outages so far this year that ran several hours.  Since most people also carry a cell phone, any cable outage or power interruption that also takes out your phone line isn’t as serious as it might have been in earlier years.

And, ahem, unlike Time Warner Cable’s attitude towards broadband, they really do provide unlimited calling with their “digital phone” service.

Time Warner Cable is mailing this letter to Frontier Communications customers in the Rochester, N.Y. market. (Click to enlarge)

Tired of paying that high Verizon Wireless bill?  Verizon’s handsome profits can translate into some great benefits, if you’re an employee.

For western New Yorkers, here’s your chance.

Verizon Wireless is hiring 200 call center employees in Rochester this year to bolster its existing 1,200 employee customer service department.

“As our customer base grows and the devices and services they use become more sophisticated, providing an outstanding customer experience becomes even more important,” said Russ Preite, president of Verizon Wireless’ Upstate New York Region. “We’ve been fortunate to continue to find top-quality, highly skilled talent in the Rochester area. Today’s announcement further endorses our commitment to Rochester and to maintaining superior customer service for our customers.”

Verizon can afford to pay employees some nice benefits:

• competitive salaries
• health, dental and vision coverage that begin on the first day of employment
• a 401(k) program with a 6 percent company match of the employee’s contribution
• annual bonus program
• profit sharing
• merit increases
• tuition assistance
• adoption assistance
• an on-site health and wellness facility, and more.

You can apply online.  If you land a job there, why not take a portion of your paycheck and send Stop the Cap! a contribution.  We’ll put their money to good use.