Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR) is shutting down FiOS in Oregon. Barely a year after acquiring the fiber optic TV service from Verizon (NYSE: VZ), the telco is taking steps to move away from video and concentrate on data and voice. The first step: terminating cable TV franchises with McMinnville, Dundee, Newburg and Wilsonville, Ore.
While that's a regulatory step, Frontier made a more realistic move to discourage any more FiOS subscribers by raising its installation fee from $79 to $500. Relatively speaking, Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) charges $28-$40 and DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) and Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) are free.
Frontier argued that it costs the company $800 to install a new fiber hookup so it's still subsidizing new customers. While Frontier maintains that the cable TV cutoff is still months away, a letter to McMinnville City Manager Kent Taylor indicated that the decision is final because "customer growth has been disappointing and stagnant and Frontier has not achieved a commercially reasonable level of subscriber penetration."
For more:
- the Yambill Valley News Register has this story
Related articles:
Frontier vows smooth transition for Verizon FiOS customers
Frontier FiOS rate hike on hold ... for now
Frontier's FiOS cable TV rates to skyrocket, effectively ending competition with Comcast