Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., expressed some misgivings Tuesday about AT&T’s decision to sell its Connecticut operations to Frontier Communications, which is based in Stamford.
“While this deal may be good for AT&T and Frontier, I want to make sure it is right for consumers,” said Blumenthal, a former and longtime Connecticut attorney general. “I look forward to reviewing what it means for the people of Connecticut, and I will fight to make sure their interests are protected as (the Justice Department) and the Federal Communications Commission review this transaction.”
As part of the deal, Frontier will receive approximately 900,000 phone and 180,000 video residential connections of AT&T in Connecticut, as well as AT&T’s local business connections. Forbes magazine estimates that the telecommunications giant gets about $1.2 billion in annual revenue from its Connecticut holdings, which is less than 1 percent of its total annual revenues, as of 2013. Frontier will pay AT&T $2 billion in cash for these assets.
Frontier will be required to file with the U.S. Department of Justice, the FCC and the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to ensure the deal doesn’t violate antitrust regulations, Blumenthal said in a statement.