Frontier Adds 97,000 Fiber Subs
The company is being acquired by Verizon.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2024 – Frontier Communications added 97,000 fiber subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2024, slightly less than analysts had expected but enough to keep net additions positive.
The company shed 60,000 copper subscribers, giving a total of 37,000 new consumer and business customers for the quarter.
Frontier hit its target of 1.3 million new fiber passings for 2024, with 241,000 coming in the fourth quarter compared to the 325,000 analysts had been looking for.
“They slowed the pace of the build in the fourth quarter. We and others had assumed they would continue building at a similar pace, exceeding guidance,” New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin wrote in an investor note.
The company and its 7.8 million fiber passings are being acquired by Verizon, with the deal expected to close by early next year. Frontier didn’t hold an earnings call Thursday, citing the pending acquisition.
“We see no risk to deal close. Verizon should be happy with these results,” Chaplin wrote.
Like the other big wireless carriers, Verizon is looking to expand its fiber footprint as quickly as possible in a bid to offer customers both fixed and mobile broadband. The Frontier purchase is set to help Verizon hit its target of 30 million fiber passings by 2028.
“2024 was a landmark year for Frontier, marking the culmination of an ambitious turnaround that started when we emerged from bankruptcy in 2021,” Frontier CEO Nick Jeffery said in a statement. “Our goal was to return the company to growth, and in less than four years, we delivered.”
