Published on 5/3/2023

Filed under: Telecommunications

In-Person Public Hearings Will Be Held in Early June in Tioga, Bradford and Wyoming Counties; Consumers Encouraged to Pre-Register for Hearings

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today announced a series of early-June hearings to gather public input in a case involving complaints about telephone and/or internet services provided by Commonwealth Telephone Company, LLC, doing business as Frontier Communications Commonwealth Telephone Company (Frontier).

Public Input Hearings

The in-person public input hearings for the Frontier complaint case will be held at the following locations:

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Wellsboro Fireman’s Annex, 21 East Avenue, Wellsboro, PA 16901
The Wellsboro hearing begins at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Towanda Fire Department, 101 Elm Street, Towanda, PA 18848
The first Towanda hearing will begin at 2 p.m.
The second Towanda hearing will begin at 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Triton Hose Company, 116 W Tioga Street, Tunkhannock, PA 18657
The Tunkhannock hearing will begin at 2 p.m.

Administrative Law Judges Steven K. Haas and John M. Coogan will preside over the hearings.

Signing Up for the Public Input Hearings

If you wish to testify at the in-person public input hearings, you are encouraged to pre-register with the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) prior to the date of your hearing.  Those who pre-register and provide the information listed below will be called to testify at the hearing in the order in which they pre-register.  

To pre-register, please contact the OCA by phone at 800-684-6560 or by email at consumer@paoca.org and provide:

• Your first and last name.
• The date and time of the public input hearing at which you wish to testify.
• A phone number where you can be reached prior to the hearing if it is necessary to contact you.
• Your email address if you have one.
• If you require an interpreter to participate in the hearing, the language of the interpreter.
  

Requests for Interpreters

If you require an interpreter, please pre-register as soon as possible.  If you register too close to the hearing date, there may not be enough time to arrange for an interpreter.  If you request an interpreter, we will make every reasonable effort to have one present. 

Hearing Exhibits

If you have any hearing exhibits to which you will refer during the hearing, you are encouraged to email them to the OCA at consumer@paoca.org. The OCA will forward the exhibits to the judges and all parties.

If you have any questions, please contact the OCA toll-free at 800-684-6560 or consumer@paoca.org. 

Frontier Complaint Case

In January 2023 the OCA and Pennsylvania Office of Small Business Advocate (OSBA) filed a joint formal complaint against Frontier, following informal written complaints from several hundred consumers. 

The complaints noted by OCA and OSBA in the joint complaint filed with the PUC raise concerns about current and persistent service issues in Frontier’s service territory, including extended and recurring outages, line noise and other quality of service issues, difficulty reaching consumer services representatives, and difficulty obtaining a satisfactory response to their outages and other service complaints.

Offering Testimony at a Public Input Hearing

The PUC offers tips on how to participate in a public input hearing, including:

• Prepare what you are going to say beforehand. Even though it is not required, you may want to write out your statement, which can be read.
• Any formal testimony that is offered during the hearing will become part of the record on which the PUC will issue its final decision.
• Understand that parties in the case may want to ask you a question to clarify something you said.
  

About the PUC

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

Visit the PUC’s website at puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

# # #

Docket No.: C-2023-3037574