FORT WAYNE – Critics continue to wage war against Verizon Communications Inc.’s proposed $8.6 billion plan to sell thousands of landlines to Frontier Communications Corp.
On Sunday, union members and politicians intend to stage a rally in Charleston, W.Va. The leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers called the telecommunications deal that involves the sale of telephone assets in 14 states, including Indiana and Ohio, “crazy.”
During a Thursday conference call, IBEW President Edwin Hill said the transaction would result in higher prices and poor customer service. Verizon has about 718,000 lines in Indiana and 435,000 lines in Ohio.
The Communications Workers of America union also is urging attendance at the rally in West Virginia’s capital. The state’s Public Service Commission will conduct hearings next week on the proposed sale, which would affect millions of customers. The commission’s staff and consumer advocate division have recommended rejecting the proposal. The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and three other states have supported it.
Bruce Getts, business manager for IBEW Local 723, said he sees potential nightmares for customers, particularly rural Indiana residents, of New York-based Verizon.
“They could be stuck with dial-up Internet. … The infrastructure hasn’t been properly maintained,” Getts said. His union represents 900 Verizon employees, including installers, repair technicians, customer service representatives and dispatchers. The average salary for the employees is $20 an hour, he said.
“I just think Frontier is taking on too much debt and won’t have the money for good broadband deployment,” Getts said.
Verizon spokesman Harry Mitchell said the unions “are doing their membership a disservice.”
“They’re masking over the good parts of this deal,” he said. “Frontier (specializes) in small- to medium-sized markets like Indiana.”
Some estimates, however, have Frontier swallowing more than $3 billion in debt.
Even so, Getts said he doesn’t think Stamford, Conn.-based Frontier will eliminate jobs in Indiana.
Frontier officials say the company is well positioned for the deal, in large part because it has reduced its debt by cutting shareholder quarterly dividends by 25 percent and issuing new stock.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
