Frontier Says it has No Plan to Implement Usage Caps Frontier Communications CEO Dan McCarthy says the company has no plans to implement usage caps and overage fees anytime soon. Back in 2008 Frontier Communications started experimenting with the idea of imposing usage caps, insisting that anything beyond 5 GB was considered excessive usage. By 2011 Frontier was conducting trials of usage caps as low as 100 GB per month, but backed off the idea after public backlash made it clear that customers would switch to a competitor should usage caps come to pass.

Fast forward to this week and McCarthy told attendees of a conference this week that usage caps aren't on the company's radar -- despite ISPs like AT&T and Comcast running full steam toward such limits. "We have not really started or have any intent about initiatives on usage based pricing," McCarthy said. "We want to make sure our products meet the needs of customers for what they want to do and it does not inhibit them or force them to make decisions on how they want to use the product." McCarthy also basically admitted what several other ISP executives have stated candidly when they thought people weren't paying attention: that congestion isn't an issue and the cost of delivering broadband service has dropped considerably. "The nice part of technology and what has happened is that transport costs continue to decline and by putting in the packet optical fabric it takes away a lot of those constraints," McCarthy said. "There may be a time when usage-based pricing is the right solution for the market, but I really don't see that as a path the market is taking at this point in time." Granted after the debacle that was the bungled transition of millions of former Verizon customers in Florida, California and Texas, suddenly announcing plans for usage caps would be PR seppeku for a company that desperately needs an image boost. It's also worth noting that a Frontier filing with the FCC just last year indicated the company was still contemplating the option. "We continue to monitor the market and continue to consider a usage-based offering as an option," Frontier said. "Factors Frontier considers in this process include the FCC's Open Internet rules, policies of other companies, consumer demand, network capacity, and cost, among other factors." In other words, never say never. In other words, never say never.







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Most recommended from 31 comments

silbaco

Premium Member

join:2009-08-03

USA 13 recommendations silbaco Premium Member Usage Caps I love how everyone around here bitches and complains about usage caps. But when a major telco comes out and says it won't implement caps they get criticized and made fun of. Frontier is actually trying to improve and retain their wireline customers unlike At&t and Verizon.

woody7

Premium Member

join:2000-10-13

Torrance, CA 6 recommendations woody7 Premium Member hmmmmmm why have usage caps if you can't connect......................./

kdwycha

join:2003-01-30

Ruskin, FL 5 recommendations kdwycha Member Laughable



Reviewing the Frontier forum, it seems a common Frontier connection is 0.1-0.5mbps download with average latency of 700ms, bit hard to hit a cap with those speeds Considering most of Frontiers customers besides the few FiOS customers they have are on last gen DSL with over subscribed DSLAMs no one could reach the caps anyway.Reviewing the Frontier forum, it seems a common Frontier connection is 0.1-0.5mbps download with average latency of 700ms, bit hard to hit a cap with those speeds ncted

join:2010-10-25

Durham, NC 3 recommendations ncted Member Feeling Lucky I feel very lucky to have a rock-solid vdsl2, 24/2 connection from Frontier with no caps. It is not as fast as others, but it works fine for my wife and I, and it doesn't slow down at night like TWC "Maxx" that my neighbors have. CyberGuy

join:2006-08-21

Colbert, WA 2 recommendations CyberGuy Member It would make them look bad When nobody could achieve the cap due to network speed and disconnections.