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8 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J u n e / J u l y 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m making it difficult to attract and keep customers. e company said it lost 1.3 million customers between 2016 and January of this year. In addition to the fiber upgrades, Han has also pledged to improve employee morale and customer service at the company, which has been under investigation over con- sumer complaints in several states, including Connecticut. Frontier has continued to oper- ate during the bankruptcy pro- ceedings, with no interruption in service. Spokesman Javier Mendoza said in an email that a stronger NEWS FEATURE By Natalie Missakian In wake of April bankruptcy to relieve mountainous debt burden, telecom hopes new CEO and new direction will reverse its fortunes Frontier Justice? W hen Frontier Com- munications filed for bankruptcy in April, the company described a perfect storm of missteps and market forces that led to years of declining fortunes at the Nor- walk-based company. Weighted down with debt from two major and problem-ridden acquisitions, the cash-strapped telecommunications company let its fiber networks languish, at the same time that a surge in streaming and internet-connected devices had consumers demanding faster and faster internet speeds. Subscribers, many of whom complained of poor service, fled, lured by cable companies and other internet service providers prom- ising ultra-fast speeds and better pricing and service. e losses exacerbated the industry-wide cord-cutting trend set in motion years earlier, when legacy telephone subscribers began abandoning their landlines in favor of wireless phones and pay TV cus- tomers began switching to stream- ing services like Netflix and Hulu. By the time new CEO Bernie Han took the helm late last year, Frontier's stock had lost most of its value and the company was strug- gling to make payments on some $17.5 billion in debt. With more than $10 billion of that debt expected to be erased as part of its restructuring agreement with creditors, the question re- mains: Can Han successfully bring Frontier out of bankruptcy and turn the company around? Han declined to be interviewed for this story. But according to regulatory filings and statements he made at the time of the bankruptcy, the former DISH Network execu- tive's turnaround strategy hinges on using cash that previously went toward paying off debt to fund improvements in the company's fiber networks. In an investor presentation lead- ing up to the bankruptcy, Frontier outlined a plan to spend $1.4 billion on fiber upgrades and expansion through 2024, bringing fiber to about 3 million new households. Han acknowledged the compa- ny's reliance on slower copper net- works and "significant under-invest- ment in fiber deployment" for years helped fuel its current predicament,

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