EKB News

In a $8.6 billion deal, Frontier Communications has proposed acquiring more than 600,000 additional Verizon telephone access lines in West Virginia and 13 other states, but the deal must first receive PSC approval. Earlier this week, the Public Service Commission's staff and Consumer Advocates Division recommended a rejection of the proposal. The Consumer Advocate Division says Frontier doesn't have the financial resources needed to fix the sub-standard network which has suffered neglect in West Virginia for years. Verizon West Virginia President Keith Fulton says Frontier can better manage the state's telephone lines, an opinion not shared by all communication workers. Thursday, about two dozen members of the Communication Workers of America went to the Kanawha County Commission asking them to weigh in on a deal they feel could force the company into bankruptcy. But, if the deal is approved, staff members say Verizon should be required to invest $300 million in its West Virginia landlines. The PSC has planned hearings in January.