Delegate Campbell gets Frontier Internet upgrade plans

Delegate Denise Campbell (D – 43rd District) is aware of concerns about the quality of Internet service in Pocahontas County. In order to obtain information from Frontier Communications about improvements to that service, Campbell recently met with two company executives. Frontier is the sole Internet service provider in most of Pocahontas County.

“My goal was to find out Frontier’s plans for Pocahontas County,” she said.

The Frontier executives, Kathy Cosco and Chris Albertson, provided Campbell with a schedule of future upgrades.

“Nothing’s a hundred percent, but these are projects that they hope to have completed,” said Campbell. “What they’re trying to do is speed up their remote terminals and trying to turn those up, so people who are within a three to three-and-a-half mile radius of that – their Internet speed is going to be better. They have 13 projects planned for Pocahontas County. It’s not a definite but these are the areas they’re looking at. It’s not 100 percent guaranteed, but it’s very highly likely.”

Campbell reported that Frontier is currently working on remote terminals at Brush Run and Droop Mountain and has plans to upgrade equipment at the following locations: Durbin, Frank, Hosterman, Dunmore, Central Office-Arbovale, Laurel Run, Denmar, Caesar Mountain, Hillsboro, Central Office-Hillsboro and Brown’s Creek.

“None of this is in stone, so please, let people know that these are things that they are hoping to accomplish,” said Campbell. “It’s not totally definite but it’s very highly likely. Their goal is to have a lot of this completed by the end of the summer. The total investment in that is $474,000.”

Campbell said the meeting with Cosco and Albertson was cordial.

“It was a very nice meeting,” said Campbell. “I thought we’d only meet about 45 minutes or an hour, but we talked for two hours. They understood. I asked them, ‘what would you think if you saw on TV – $19.99 Internet – you see that advertised and you see it in your mailbox and you call and they say it’s not happening for you?’”

Campbell is trying to arrange a public meeting with Frontier representatives.

“If we could get them to come to a public meeting, then we all could have our questions answered,” said Campbell. “First, they have to go back and talk to the people that they answer to. I assured them that I will be there and we will have a nice public meeting.”

The delegate said she was waiting on an answer from Frontier about proposed public meetings in both Pocahontas and Randolph counties.