A group of state lawmakers is urging customers of both Frontier and Verizon Communications to weigh in on the proposed merger of the two companies at a series of upcoming hearings to be held by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC).

In-person Public Input Hearings are scheduled as follows:

• Monday, Feb. 10, at 6 p.m. at the George A. Smith Middle School Auditorium, 645 Kirkwood Pike, Quarryville, Lancaster County.
• Thursday, Feb. 13, at 6 p.m. at the Wellsboro Fire Company Annex, 21 East Ave., Wellsboro, Tioga County.

Telephonic Public Input Hearing sessions will be held on Thursday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Participants can call in, toll free, at 866-759-6860 and use PIN Number: 71568747.

Additional hearings may be scheduled, including one in Bradford County or Wyoming County.

Reps. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Wyoming), Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford), Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter), Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster), Jonathan Fritz (R-Susquehanna/Wayne) and Joe Hamm (R-Lycoming/Sullivan) represent thousands of residents and businesses that receive telephone and/or internet services from Frontier. They offered the following statement:

“After years of dealing with poor service from Frontier, these customers deserve assurances they will be treated better by Verizon. One way to do that is to specifically outline our expectations for things like services provided, maintenance and enhancement of our communications infrastructure, timelines for repairs, and overall customer service accessibility and responsiveness.

“These are improvements the Office of Consumer Advocate and Office of Small Business Advocate successfully fought for on our behalf as part of their settlement with Frontier last year. We must ensure we preserve any progress we’ve made as a result of this settlement and hold Verizon accountable for building on that progress.

“We are calling on customers of both Frontier and Verizon to come forward and let the PUC know what we need and expect out of this change of ownership. This is our opportunity once again to advocate for quality communications and connection for rural communities like ours.”

Registration to speak at the hearings is encouraged but not required. To pre-register, contact the Office of Administrative Law Judge at 717-787-4497 or by email at lakjackson@pa.gov and provide the following information: first and last name, email address or phone number, date and time of the desired hearing, and whether an interpreter is needed. Those registering for a telephonic hearing should also provide the phone number that will be used to call in. Those who pre-register and provide the necessary information will be called to testify at the hearing in the order in which they pre-register. People who simply want to listen in need not pre-register.

Last fall, Frontier and Verizon announced the proposed merger with Verizon buying all of Frontier’s assets, not only in Pennsylvania but across the nation. For this estimated $20 billion acquisition to take place, Verizon and Frontier must obtain approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), along with similar commissions in other affected states.