Frontier Spars With Conn. Consumer Counsel Over Information Access
Frontier Communications should disclose complete Connecticut network modernization plans to the state’s Office of Consumer Counsel, the OCC head told the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. OCC has access to that information under the 2014 PURA order approving Frontier’s acquisition…
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of AT&T wireline customers, said Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz in PURA oral argument on the access live-streamed Tuesday. The information will assist PURA in an investigation of whether Frontier is meeting transaction commitments on network upgrades. But Frontier has objected to sharing confidential parts of its business strategy with OCC because of the office’s role in municipal broadband procurement processes. A division called the Office of State Broadband (OSB) advises municipalities on broadband procurement, and if it knew Frontier's confidential business strategy -- but not that of other companies submitting proposals to municipalities -- it could advantage the other companies, testified Frontier outside counsel Daniel Venora. “It would be like giving our information to Cablevision or Comcast.” Frontier supports a May 12 ruling by PURA to restrict access to the confidential Frontier material only to OCC staffers who don't perform any OSB duties, he said. But the OCC believes the plan isn't practical, said Katz. The OCC has 12 staff members, and soon will have only 10 due to two planned retirements, she said. “Because of the size of our office, everyone works on everything,” including OSB matters, she said. “To wall off staff isn’t possible even if I were amenable to it.” Legally, the OCC head can’t delegate her authority to selected staff members and remove herself from the process, added OCC principal attorney Joseph Rosenthal. Katz said she felt personally offended by Frontier. “A new duty should not be interpreted to limit our rights,” said Katz. “This is nothing less than a personal attack on my integrity," she said: "This is saying I can't be trusted to handle confidential information, which is frankly offensive and unwarranted given OCC’s unblemished record in handling confidential information,” including major infrastructure plans and energy procurements. It “absolutely, 100 percent, is not” a personal attack on the OCC, said Venora. Since closing the AT&T deal in 2014, Frontier had major problems migrating customers from AT&T, an experience that Frontier CEO Daniel McCarthy described Monday as far worse than the transition issues in California, Florida and Texas (see 1605230046).