Frontier Communications has grabbed headlines with its plans to build fiber to more than 10 million locations across the country, but another major transformation is underway at the company. Behind the scenes, Consumer EVP John Harrobin said it’s been working to overhaul its product portfolio and customer experience. And, taking a page from T-Mobile, Harrobin said Frontier’s strategy centers on becoming the “un-cable” option in the market.
What does that mean?
According to Harrobin, Frontier’s approach is focused on simplifying its offerings and eliminating customer pain points. Already it has streamlined its portfolio to go from “hundreds of different price plans that resulted in confusing, inconsistent bills” to just three consumer tiers. It also added digital capabilities and beefed up its in-home Wi-Fi delivery by utilizing Amazon eero.
And easier pricing…
He noted a major move for Frontier was the pivot to flat pricing. This refers to a pricing model which maintains a consistent rate over time rather than dramatically increasing a consumer’s bill after a promotional period, usually of 12 or 24 months. Harrobin said Frontier’s research identified this price jump as the number one pain point for customers.
“So, we said we’re not going to do it,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we’re not going to increase prices. We’re going to increase prices for certain. But we’ll do it on a more human, logical, natural progression versus doubling the price after one or two years.”
Blandin on Broadband 