Broadband World News - Frontier on the ropes

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Frontier on the ropes Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief, 3/16/2020 Email This Print Comment Login 50% 50% Frontier Communications' share price lost more than 23% of its value Monday after the company announced it had deferred by 60 days debt payments due to be made today "and enter a 60-day grace period as it continues constructive discussions with its bondholders regarding Frontier’s capital structure." The news sent the fixed-line, broadband and video service provider's share price down by $0.08, more than 23%, to $0.26, giving it a market valuation of less than $30 million, though it's fair to point out that stocks tumbled across the board Monday (the S&P 500 index was down 12%). Frontier, which has more than 4 million customers (residential and business) across its US markets and about 19,000 staff, generates revenues of about $2 billion per quarter but has a debt pile of about $17.5 billion. Bloomberg has previously reported that Frontier has been in talks about Chapter 11 planning and noted today that this deferment takes the operator to the brink of a default and one step closer to bankruptcy. The operator currently provides its services in 29 states but is in the final stages of selling off its operations and assets in four states – Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana – to WaveDivision Capital and Searchlight Capital Partners for $1.35 billion. (See Rural Is Central to Frontier's $1.35B Broadband Sale .) — Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading, special to Broadband World News comments		Latest Articles Playlist: 'The Divide' on the Light Reading Podcast Here's where you can find episode links for 'The Divide,' Light Reading's podcast series featuring conversations with broadband providers and policymakers working to close the digital divide. Cable Next-Gen Europe returns online As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will present our Cable Next-Gen Europe conference as a free digital symposium on June 21. Charter starts to book RDOF revenues Charter has sparked RDOF work in all 24 states where it won bids. The cable op booked about $19 million in RDOF revenues in Q1, and expects to have about $9 million per month come in over the next ten years. Cable Next-Gen event goes online again As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will stage the Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference as a free digital event over two half-days in mid-March. AT&T lights up multi-gig fiber speeds in dozens of US markets Launch of 2-Gig and 5-Gig FTTP tiers in 70-plus markets puts more pressure on cable ops to enhance their existing DOCSIS 3.1 network or accelerate their upgrade activity centered on the new DOCSIS 4.0 specs. More Blogs Information Resources >> Is Network Security Keeping You Awake at Night? >> Does Your Fiber Plant Have What It Takes To Support 10G Services >> Customer Support Blueprint: Your Guide to Key Performance Indicators >> The Marketer and the Broadband Service Provider: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities >> eBook: Three Steps to Plan, Fund, and Design a Solid Broadband Network >> How regional ISPS are bridging the digital divide through innovation >> IPv4 Cost Estimator >> The Customer 360 Playbook >> Heavy Reading Whitepaper: Monetizing 5G with B2B2X >> Drive Down Costs, Drive New Services Forward: Discover the Freedom of Disaggregation in Your Network All resources