Tennessee Senate Panel Supports Penalizing Frontier for Breaking Speed Promises
Frontier Communications is “clearly violating” the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act by failing to provide broadband speeds as high as what it promises customers in contracts, said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Paul Bailey (R) at a Tuesday hearing webcast from Nashville.…
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The panel voted 6-1 for SB-2851, which designates such failure as an unfair or deceptive practice under the act and allows the state attorney general to assess $5,000 to $15,000 per violation. Bailey cited numerous complaints over the past few years that he said were met by excuses or silence by Frontier. The carrier promised to submit a corrective plan to Bailey by the end of last week, but he never received it, the senator said: “At a time when Tennessee continues to invest in rural broadband, this company is hindering our ability to provide this important service to individuals who desperately need it.” Several states are probing the telco and responding to reports the company might seek bankruptcy protection (see 2002200022). The phone service provider didn’t comment.