Media Contact: (360) 664-1116 or media@utc.wa.gov
Docket Number: UT-190574
UTC approves Frontier Northwest sale
Northwest Fiber LLC to purchase company’s Washington operations
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Today state regulators approved an all-party settlement in the sale of Frontier Communications Northwest Inc. to Wave Division Capital (WDC) and Northwest Fiber LLC.
The three-member Utilities and Transportation Commission approved the settlement resolving the proposed sale of Frontier’s services in Washington. The proposed sale is part of a larger transaction involving the sale of Frontier’s services in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, a transaction valued at approximately $1.35 billion.
The commission determined that the settlement is in the public interest by ensuring that customers will continue to have access to services on which they depend. The settlement contains nine conditions intended to protect customers, including:
• Spending at least $50 million in Washington to increase broadband coverage;
• Committing to support the statewide transition to Enhanced 911; and
• Reporting on financial and service quality measures.
In December, the companies, UTC telecommunications staff, and the Public Counsel Unit of the Attorney General’s Office filed a proposed settlement in the sale.
Northwest Fiber LLC previously operated Wave Broadband, providing internet, video, and phone services on the West Coast, and serving customers in more than 70 communities in Washington state. The new company is headquartered in Kirkland, Washington.
Frontier is one of the largest local telephone companies in Washington, serving approximately 150,000 residential and business lines across the state.
The UTC regulates the rates and services of telecommunications companies, investor-owned electric utilities, natural gas and water companies, garbage-collection haulers, household-goods movers and charter-bus companies, commercial ferries, pipeline companies, and a low-level radioactive waste repository.
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Editor’s Note: A copy of the commission’s order is available at http://www.utc.wa.gov/190574.