- The FTC and the DAs of two California counties have reached a settlement to resolve allegations that internet service provider Frontier Communications Corporation and related entities (“Frontier”) violated the California Unfair Competition Law and the California False Advertising Law by misrepresenting internet speeds and failing to deliver promised high-speed internet to California customers.
- As previously reported, the complaint filed by the FTC, California DAs, and five state AGs alleged that Frontier advertised and sold different plans of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Internet service, tiered on the basis of download speed, but failed to actually provide consumers with the speeds they purchased, and continued to provide slower service despite thousands of consumers complaints.
- Under the terms of the stipulated final order, Frontier will pay $8.5 million in civil penalties to the DAs and $250,000 in restitution for distribution to California customers, and must deploy high-speed fiber-optic internet service to 60,000 California residential locations over the next four years and provide refunds to customers receiving slower-than-promised internet speeds, at an estimated cost of $50-$60 million. Frontier must also confirm its ability to deliver promised internet speeds before signing up or upgrading customers, and notify existing customers who are not receiving promised internet speeds that they may downgrade their service plan at no charge.