Frontier CEO: Broadband Access is Critical for Rural Economy

The CEO of Frontier Communications, America's second largest rural telecommunications, provider told state utility commissioners Monday that quality broadband Internet service is the key to shoring up a rapidly evolving rural economy. Frontier Communications chairman and CEO Maggie Wilderotter addressed the growing demand for advanced services in rural Americans during a keynote presentation to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners committee on telecommunications. Frontier, provides telephone, television, broadband and wireless services to some 2.4 million customers, and is for many the only option for those services, Wilderotter said. From her company's vantage point, it is easy to comprehend the importance of "full, fair, and affordable communications... to the unserved and the underserved, " Wilderotter said. Wilderotter explained that rather than farming, most rural Americans own or work for small businesses. And those small businesses "deserve better" than what many telecommunications companies have offered them, Wilderotter said. The rural economy can best be strengthened by bridging the digital divide, Wilderotter said. Rural customers don't want broadband service just for watching videos, she explained, but instead need it "for commerce and education - and creating and finding jobs."