Judge advises against Verizon-Frontier deal

Administrative law judge Lisa M Tapia advised state regulators to deny a deal that would allow Verizon to divest operations in 14 states to Frontier Communications. The deal would be worth $8.6 billion, TeleGeography CommsUpdated reported.

The deal, which would see service for a total of 4.8 million fixed line customers change hands, was agreed between the two parties in May 2009. It has been awaiting regulatory approval.

Tapia told regulators that evidence presented before the Illinois Commerce Commission did not support the sale, primarily because the transaction would leave Frontier too laden with debt to be able to properly manage the lines and other infrastructure.

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