TeleState Fall 2005

A forward-thinking rural telecommunications carrier and growing consumer demand for broadband have combined to produce a win-win situation for the company and its customers. Responding to the political will of policymakers and the demand from consumers for access to broadband Internet capability, Frontier Communications began aggressively investing in upgrades throughout its service territory in mid-2003. By the end of 2004, broadband was available to all 138 exchanges in the company.

“This was a capital investment in the millions for not just hardware and software to provide broadband, but also a substantial investment made in the data backbone of our offices and equipment – in router equipment and aggregation points that lead to our network in Rochester, New York,” said Kim Harber, the state vice-president and general manager of Frontier in Illinois.

The response to Frontier’s initial investment has been tremendous, according to Harber, who said consumers have already driven the company to upgrade the service. In January of 2004, the company had 1,305 customers take advantage of the high speed DSL Internet service it offered. By the end of December 2004, that number had increased to 7,261 and it currently totals almost 13,000. This represents about 11% of all of Frontier’s approximately 122,000 customers. Harber is pleased with the results.

“As a company, we’ve seen the effects of competition on voice lines,” Harber said. “But the company has seen significant broadband growth. We’re finding that the consumers love the fact that the service is always on, 24 hours a day, and at a stable speed. They are using it for financial purposes – online banking – and for shopping from home. Our customers don’t have to travel to shop now.

“This is not just a product customers subscribe to, it’s a product they are pushing us to upgrade to higher speeds,” Harber added. “As consumers get used to the product they find more and more things to do with it. As we reach capacity internally on our equipment, our consumers are driving us to upgrade, and we have.”

Frontier’s Illinois headquarters is in Carlinville, and the company serves about 122,000 customers in 138 exchanges predominantly down the western corridor of the state from East Dubuque in the north to Ina in the southern part of the state.

“We’re very pleased with customer acceptance of the broadband product,” Harber said. “Even more pleasing is the growth we’re seeing that is driven by consumer demand for better and better quality. A customer doesn’t just buy on cost, they want quality. And that’s what we offer them.”

The next step is going to be wireless service within the house or business that will complement the DSL line into the structure. Harber said customers are asking now to be able to use the high-speed Internet anywhere in the house or business, rather than be limited by the wireline connection.


Volume Fourteen Number Three Fall 2005	NEWS From the Illinois Telecommunications Association REPRESENTING The Telecommunications Industry in Illinois

Other States Deregulate, Leave Illinois Behind	Legislatures and regulatory bodies in states throughout the country are recognizing that the competitive landscape in telecommunications has changed, and that traditional telephone carriers are handicapped in comparison with their cable, Internet and wireless competitors in the race to bring new and better services to customers. This recognition by policymakers outside Illinois is resulting in the elimination of regulatory barriers for telephone carriers in other states. “The deregulatory actions being taken by many states now enable all telecommunications providers who compete in those states to do so on an equal footing, thereby promoting the development and delivery at reasonable prices of new services and products,” said Doug Dougherty, president of the Illinois Telecommunications Association. “Unfortunately for Illinois consumers and for Illinois’ traditional telephone carriers, policymakers here don’t recognize the economic impact of their lack of action.” Illinois is 49th out of 50 states in job growth since January of 2003. Telecommunications is a cornerstone industry for jobs and economic growth. While surrounding states such as Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana and Missouri have updated their telecommunications laws to recognize new technologies and innovations and the impact these new services and products have on the competitiveness of the telecommunications industry, Illinois has taken no action to update the laws in more than four years. “Other states are gaining jobs much faster than Illinois and are promoting an economic climate that helps attract businesses and employers,” Dougherty said. “In Illinois, the message is not positive for businesses and consumers.” This past spring, Missouri lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a revision to their telecommunications law making it easier and more efficient for incumbent phone companies to earn competitive status for individual exchanges. More than 100 exchanges statewide have already received this competitive designation from the Missouri Public Service Commission, enabling incumbent carriers to respond quickly and effectively through discounted rates and new services to the competitive market. In Michigan policymakers have approved legislation that would allow the Public Service Commission to retain regulatory authority over stand-alone, primary basic local exchange service. Residential bundled services and other items such as call waiting and caller ID would be priced according to market prices, enabling traditional (Go to Regulation on Back Page)

Community Leadership	Each issue of TeleState highlights how Illinois Telecommunications Association member companies and individual members invest in and give back to their communities. This issue highlights an innovative new service offered by Verizon.

Rural Teleco Makes Broadband Available in All Exchanges	A forward-thinking rural telecommunications carrier and growing consumer demand for broadband have combined to produce a win-win situation for the company and its customers. Responding to the political will of policymakers and the demand from consumers for access to broadband Internet capability, Frontier Communications began aggressively investing in upgrades throughout its service territory in mid-2003. By the end of 2004, broadband was available to all 138 exchanges in the company. “This was a capital investment in the millions for not just hardware and software to provide broadband, but also a substantial investment made in the data backbone of our offices and equipment – in router equipment and aggregation points that lead to our network in Rochester, New York,” said Kim Harber, the state vice-president and general manager of Frontier in Illinois. The response to Frontier’s initial investment has been tremendous, according to Harber, who said consumers have already driven the company to upgrade the service. In January of 2004, the company had 1,305 customers take advantage of the high speed DSL Internet service it offered. By the end of December 2004, that number had increased to 7,261 and it currently totals almost 13,000. This represents about 11% of all of Frontier’s approximately 122,000 customers. Harber is pleased with the results. “As a company, we’ve seen the effects of competition on voice lines,” Harber said. “But the company has seen significant broadband growth. We’re finding that the consumers love the fact that the service is always on, 24 hours a day, and at a stable speed. They are using it for financial purposes – online banking – and for shopping from home. Our customers don’t have to travel to shop now. “This is not just a product customers subscribe to, it’s a product they are pushing us to upgrade to higher speeds,” Harber added. “As consumers get used to the product they find more and more things to do with it. As we reach capacity internally on our equipment, our consumers are driving us to upgrade, and we have.” Frontier’s Illinois headquarters is in Carlinville, and the company serves about 122,000 customers in 138 exchanges predominantly down the western corridor of the state from East Dubuque in the north to Ina in the southern part of the state. “We’re very pleased with customer acceptance of the broadband product,” Harber said. “Even more pleasing is the growth we’re seeing that is driven by consumer demand for better and better quality. A customer doesn’t just buy on cost, they want quality. And that’s what we offer them.” The next step is going to be wireless service within the house or business that will complement the DSL line into the structure. Harber said customers are asking now to be able to use the high-speed Internet anywhere in the house or business, rather than be limited by the wireline connection.