Rim may be here!
Frontier will offer cable TV to ward off competition
Copyright 2003 McClatchy Newspapers, Inc.
Sacramento Bee
October 9, 2003, Thursday METRO FINAL EDITION
Hoping to head off inroads by new competitors, Elk Grove telephone provider Frontier said Wednesday it plans to offer cable television service to its customers.
The company, a unit of Connecticut-based Citizens Communications, declined to say when it would launch the service.
Frontier will stream television programming over its existing phone network, said Frontier spokesman Lare Garcia. "Most of the architecture already is in place," he said.
When it turns on its service, Frontier will be competing with Comcast, which already serves the area with video and Internet services. SureWest Broadband, based in Roseville, is expected to begin operating in Elk Grove in mid-2004 with a combination of cable television, telephone and high-speed Internet service.
The SureWest offering could provide the greatest threat to Frontier by bundling telephone service with its video and Internet connections.
With three cable providers fighting for customers, Elk Grove would have one of the most competitive cable markets in the nation, said Richard Esposto, executive director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission.
AI
