Frontier Communications says now that California Public Utilities Commission has approved its restructuring plan, it has received all the necessary regulatory approvals for its restructuring and expects to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the coming weeks.
Connecticut-based Frontier declared bankruptcy in April 2020, after missing an interest payment on unsecured debt. It has continued to provide service in the meantime.
Frontier put together a restructuring plan that was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in the fall of 2020 and has been working on securing the necessary regulatory approvals since then. It won approval of its restructuring plan from the Federal Communications Commission in January of this year.
As of March 1, Nick Jeffery — formerly of Vodafone UK — officially took over as president and CEO of Frontier. Frontier announced earlier this month that Veronica Bloodworth has been appointed EVP and chief network officer; her most recent previous role was at AT&T, where she served as senior VP of construction and engineering and led the carrier’s Velocity IP infrastructure investment program.
“Strengthening our management team is a key step to our goal of transforming Frontier into a modern technology company, improving operating performance, growing our business, and enhancing our customers’ experience,” said Jeffery, who added that Bloodworth’s wireline and wireless network management experience “will strengthen our team and improve our performance across the company.” Meanwhile, Steve Gable, who has served as Frontier’s CTO, will take on the new role as chief digital and information officer and lead digital transformation within the network operator.
Once Frontier emerges fro bankruptcy, it says it will have reduced its total outstanding indebtedness by more than $10 billion. Among its other efforts during the Chapter 11 process has been raising capital through selling billions in bonds.
