Frontier provided the Commission an update regarding the outages that have occurred on its system that adversely affected Frontier's ability to provide adequate and consistent 911 service to its customers. Frontier indicated that it is hardening its system to help eliminate
911 outages in the future. Frontier indicated that regardless of its improvements, outages may occur due to circumstances beyond the Company's control, such as third-party cable cuts and electric company power outages.
The Commissioners questioned Frontier regarding the experience and ability of its Board of Directors and management team to get Frontier on the right path to bring its 911 outages to an absolute minimum. The Commissioners stated several times that this issue is a life and death matter and is of the upmost importance to them. Commissioners believe that Frontier must be more proactive in dealing with this issue.
Some Commissioners questioned whether Frontier is the proper entity to provide telecommunications/911 service to rural Arizona. Commissioners acknowledged that Commission Staff is in the midst of its investigation into Frontier's handling of its 911 outages. Commissioners stated their desire for Staff to complete its investigation as soon as possible, while also stating they realize Staff is currently processing a large number of cases. When complete, Staff's investigation may contain recommendations for improvements to Frontier's system and/or a recommendation for an Order to Show Cause (OSC) against Frontier. The OSC could result in sanctions against Frontier.
All documents relating to this agenda item can be found in the Corporation Commission's online docket at