Public Service Commission of West Virginia greenlights Verizon acquisition of Frontier Communications

Charleston, WV (WOAY)- The Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) has approved the acquisition of Frontier Communications and its subsidiaries by Verizon Communications. 

In a fourteen-page ruling released Friday, the commission said Verizon must deposit at least sixty million dollars into an irrevocable escrow account.

That money will be used to improve copper service for customers who still rely on traditional landlines, especially in rural areas where broadband access is limited. 

The sixty million is in addition to what Verizon initially offered to spend. 

Frontier and its subsidiary, Citizens Telecommunications Company of West Virginia, currently serve about two hundred twenty-five thousand access lines statewide.

Verizon has also promised to improve response times to customer complaints, expand service options, hire twenty-five full-time technicians, and honor all broadband grant commitments. 

For more information on the case, visit the PSC website at psc.state.wv.us, under case number 24-0853-t-pc.