Frontier announces system upgrade, expansion

PONDERAY — Frontier Internet customers will be picking up speed on the information superhighway as the company rolls out enhanced features throughout its service area.

Since Frontier acquired Verizon’s data operations throughout Bonner County last July, the company has been steadily expanding their infrastructure to improve services.

“Starting day one, we did a complete audit of all our equipment,” North Idaho General Manager Vickie Bullard said. “The next day we began installing equipment at our sites, and work has progressed ever since then.”

Frontier workers labored throughout the winter, sometimes during very low temperatures, to prepare for the equipment’s March debut. With upgrades in place, Frontier officials said they will be able to offer higher connection speeds and improved service on all levels to customers.

“Eight months after acquisition, it’s exciting to turn up some of the sites we’ve worked so hard on,” Bullard said. “It’s very sweet to be in this position where we can see the fruits of our labors.”

Current subscribers to Frontier Internet service should see a benefit regardless of their data package. Thanks to a widened pipeline, current subscribers should see higher download and upload speeds and less slowdown during peak hours. Frontier will also be offering higher speed caps in new areas of Bonner County for those wishing to upgrade their services.

Now that the company is ready to roll out services, it has prepared a series of promotional events to help set customers up. Representatives set up special sign-up events at Yoke’s, one on Thursday and another today. Frontier has also teamed up with DirecTV to offer service bundles that discount prices and reduce the number of bills to pay.

Frontier officials specifically cited the areas around Bonner Mall, Triangle Drive in Ponderay, Moyie Springs and Three Mile north of Bonners Ferry as regions with new access to high-speed Internet. Meanwhile, customers in Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry will have new services like online hard drive backup, increased virus protection and Internet television at their disposal. In addition, representatives said they’d be investing millions of dollars into continue improving Internet infrastructure across North Idaho.

“We know that broadband is a catalyst for a health economy and job growth,” Bullard said. “We are committed to deploying broadband to unserved and underserved areas, and this is the first of many steps toward meeting our commitments to the citizens of North Idaho.”

Call Frontier’s local office at 263-4867 with questions regarding service availability and promotions.