Frontier's Verizon Takeover: What Tampa Bay Needs To Know

SARASOTA, FL — Floridians who rely on Verizon for its FiOS service or landlines will have a new provider as of Friday morning. Frontier Communications is poised to complete its acquisition of Verizon’s Sunshine State accounts on April 1.

As the Connecticut-based telecom company completes its takeover of telephone, cable and Internet services for more than an estimated 500,000 Tampa Bay area customers, there are some things folks might want to know about, including:

Anticipated Service Changes

Frontier reports that Verizon residential customers will not see their services change on April 1. FiOS TV customers who use streaming apps, such as HBO GO, however, won’t be able to sign in using their Verizon IDs anymore. They’ll have to create a Frontier ID instead. More information on doing that is available on Frontier’s website.

Frontier Rates

At this time, Frontier says it “plans to continue to charge the same rates for services that were provided by Verizon.” That said, some variations in taxes, surcharges and fees may result “as they vary by state,” the company’s website says.

Internet Speeds

Frontier assures FiOS and high-speed Internet customers that their download and upload speeds will not change.

FiOS TV Remotes and DVRs

The old Verizon remotes should keep working the same as they always have as should the DVRs customers currently have.

Verizon Email Change

Current Verizon customers with Verizon email accounts can keep their current accounts, but they have to transfer them to AOL Mail, Frontier reported on its website. To do that, customers need to visit Verizon online. Help for transfers after the April 1 transfer can be found on AOL Mail for Verizon Customers.

Paying The Final Verizon Bill

Frontier reports that current Verizon customers will not be able to pay their final invoices on the Verizon.com website after April 1. Instead, they will have to mail their payments, use a Frontier walk-in payment location (such as a Walmart) or call Frontier at 1-800-801-6652 to make a payment. Other options are outlined on Frontier’s website.

How To Contact Frontier

Residential clients can reach out to Frontier’s customer service and billing departments by calling 1-800-921-8101. Live chat and technical support is also available on the company’s website.

For customers concerned the Florida switchover might involve outages like those experienced during previous takeovers, officials assure the company is poised to make the transition as smooth as possible. While some interruptions in service might occur on Friday morning, major problems aren’t anticipated.

"I would never say we're 100 percent certain it will go perfectly," Mike Flynn, Frontier's regional president, told the Tampa Bay Times. "But we're doing everything we can within our power … from the experience we've gleaned from every conversion we have done to make the next one better.

Frontier Communications acquired Verizon’s Florida, California and Texas networks for $10.5 billion. The buyout did not include Verizon Wireless services. To find out more about the switchover, visit Frontier online.

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