How the Verizon-Frontier Internet Merger Affects You

Answering your biggest Verizon-Frontier questions

Who says you can’t go home again? Nearly 20 years after Frontier kickstarted its FiOS internet network via a sale from Verizon, it has now become part of Verizon. Verizon’s purchase of Frontier closed earlier this year, giving the provider’s Fios fiber network a valuable boost. Thanks to Frontier, Verizon’s fiber internet will now cover 31 states and have a combined install base of nearly 10 million fiber subscribers.

What’ll it mean for your home internet setup? Whether you’re a Frontier customer worried about losing your grandfathered deals or a Verizon customer afraid of price hikes, here’s what you need to know about the Verizon-Frontier internet merger.

Why did Verizon buy Frontier?

The Verizon-Frontier merger was initially announced in November 2024, and it’s part of the wave of purchases and consolidations (T-Mobile, Metronet, and Lumos; Spectrum and Cox; and Google Fiber and Astound) we’ve seen in recent years.

For ISPs, mergers offer a quick way to create cost savings and expand fiber coverage via acquisitions. Shareholders also tend to benefit from the windfall. (And under Republican leadership, federal regulators have also been increasingly willing to rubber-stamp mergers with minimal requirements.)

Frontier’s fiber network isn’t massive, but it still gives Verizon Fios a nationwide fiber network virtually overnight. Verizon Fios’ network was no slouch previously, but its nine-state map was limited to the Mid-Atlantic and tri-state area. The merger also gives Verizon another channel to push services like its cell phone and 5G home internet plans.

Will Verizon shut down Frontier?

At the moment, no! Verizon’s original plan was to run Frontier as a Verizon subsidiary, and so far, they’ve stuck to this playbook. Frontier’s site, deals, and plans are currently untouched, except for the Verizon branding right under Frontier’s logo.

What’ll happen to Frontier internet for Frontier customers?

For now, the Frontier side of Verizon is keeping things the same for its existing customers. Verizon says that current Frontier customers won’t have their internet prices changed, have to switch customer service teams, or need to exchange equipment due to the merger. (One of the few clear changes for Frontier customers is the ability to qualify for Verizon’s bundle deals with a Frontier internet plan and Verizon cell phone service. However, this won’t apply for Fios TV and your sole Frontier TV bundle option will be its one-year YouTube TV discount.)

That said, Verizon hasn’t confirmed if this’ll remain the case. Between Verizon’s need to trim operating costs and the number of qualifiers on Verizon’s acquisition FAQ, there’s no guarantee that Verizon won’t retire Frontier’s branding and combine everything under its Fios umbrella. In an interview with The Wilton Bulletin, a Connecticut-based local newspaper, the president of a local Communications Workers of America chapter said that Verizon is still evaluating its long-term strategy for Frontier’s local assets.

What Verizon-Frontier merger means

For consumers, the conventional wisdom about provider mergers is usually bad at best—ISPs will raise prices, lay off employees, and cut corners to squeeze more profit from their customers. In Verizon-Frontier’s case, we’ll be keeping an eye on a few things:

• Customers generally tolerate Verizon and Frontier at best, so how will they handle a Verizon-run Frontier? Neither company had awful marks in our Internet Customer Satisfaction polling, but they were firmly second-tier to leading providers like Google Fiber and AT&T Fiber.
• Verizon’s dealt with headwinds by doing layoffs, and with a $20 billion overall price tag, Frontier didn’t come cheap. Will Verizon have Frontier’s team do more with less, or combine it with Verizon’s existing resources? Is that going to make the customer service experience worse for you?
• From pricing to speeds, Frontier and Verizon’s fiber internet catalogs are substantially different. (Frontier also uses fine-print shenanigans like early termination fees that fiber competitors have largely dropped these days.) The playbook for these mergers varies widely by provider—Cox will eventually be fully merged into Spectrum, for instance—but we’ll be interested to see what Verizon decides to do with the Frontier name.

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