CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Frontier Communications plans to continue its investment into upgrades for its network in West Virginia. The company is investing another $100 Million in 2023 to replace the old system with fiber optic technology.
During a recent appearance on MetroNews Talkline, Frontier Senior Vice President Jason Fields noted the effort is already well underway in the Mountain State.
“In the past two years we’ve already passed 125,000 homes with fiber, all the way to their house. This year we plan to invest another $100 Million and pass another 100,000 homes across rural and urban communities in the state,” he explained.
The project is part of Frontier’s national effort called “Gigabit America.” The overall plan calls for the installation of fiber into 10-Million homes by 2025. Since 2021, Fields said they’ve extended the service into Beckley, Bluefield, Charleston, Huntington, and Hurricane. During the next 12 months, the plan is to upgrade service to customers in Elkins, Fairmont, Hinton, St. Albans, Weirton, Woodsdale and several other West Virginia communities.
What plans do @FrontierCorp have with its $100 million investment for West Virginia? Jason Fields, Senior VP of Operations at Frontier Communications, joins @DaveWilsonMN to discuss the investment. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/12nCCxBvdg
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) February 6, 2023
Some of those customers are in urban areas but others are in rural parts of the state and are often difficult to reach. Fields noted regardless of the obstacles, the are committed to service.
“I’ve lived here all my life, so I appreciate the mountains and their beauty. But it does come with challenges. A lot of the areas we’re working this year are in those rural areas and it’s tough, but it’s not going to stop us. We’re very committed to this,” he explained.
Frontier has aging equipment along its network and Fields acknowledged they are an easy target for criticism, many times deservedly so, but he said the commitment is to replace the lines they’ve been trying to maintain throughout their system for years.
“We recognize it’s been a challenge. We have an older, copper network that’s been in the state for a long time. It’s time to upgrade. The network we’ve had and have tried to maintain, we’re replacing that,” he said.
Fields said even beyond the upgrades, customers will be getting some of the fastest internet speeds possible with the upgrades. He said in most areas the download and upload speeds on the system will be identical.
“We are taking fiber right down the same poles and going right across our copper network and replacing it all the way to the house. We’re putting in the newest technology and best medium to provide the internet to West Virginia, he said.