Commitments And Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Commitments And Contingencies [Abstract]

(21) Commitments and Contingencies:

Although from time to time we make short-term purchasing commitments to vendors with respect to capital expenditures, we generally do not enter into firm, written contracts for such activities. In connection with the fiber expansion build, we have prioritized diversifying our vendor base and solidifying partnership agreements with vendors for relevant labor and materials, to enable our build growth and customer expansion. Some of these key supplier agreements have multi-year terms and purchase commitments as we deem advisable in order to strengthen future supply.

In 2014, Citynet, a competitive local exchange carrier doing business in West Virginia, filed a qui tam action in federal court in the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia against Frontier West Virginia, Inc. and others on behalf of the U.S. Government concerning billing practices relating to a government grant. The complaint became public in 2016 after the U.S. Government declined to participate in the case and instead allowed Citynet to pursue the claims on behalf of the U.S. On December 6, 2022, the parties reached a settlement in principle. On May 23, 2023, the parties finalized the terms of the settlement agreement to resolve the case in its entirety, the terms of which were made part of the public record and which requires a payment of approximately $18 million.

In addition, we are party to various legal proceedings (including individual actions, class and putative class actions, and governmental investigations) arising in the normal course of our business covering a wide range of matters and types of

claims including, but not limited to, general contract disputes, billing disputes, rights of access, taxes and surcharges, consumer protection, advertising, sales and the provision of services, intellectual property, including, trademark, copyright, and patent infringement, employment, regulatory, environmental, tort, claims of competitors and disputes with other carriers. Litigation is subject to uncertainty and the outcome of individual matters is not predictable. However, we believe that the ultimate resolution of all such matters, after considering insurance coverage or other indemnities to which we are entitled, will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

Frontier has been named as a defendant in various intellectual property disputes. In each case, we have denied the allegations and are mounting a vigorous defense. We have accrued an amount for potential damages that we deem probable and reasonably estimable. We do not expect that any potential damages, if ultimately incurred, will be material.

In October 2013, the California Attorney General’s Office notified certain Verizon companies, including one of the subsidiaries that we acquired in the CTF transaction, of potential violations of California state hazardous waste statutes primarily arising from the disposal of electronic components, batteries, and aerosol cans at certain California facilities. We are cooperating with this investigation. We have accrued an amount for potential penalties that we deem to be probable and reasonably estimable, and we do not expect that any potential penalties, if ultimately incurred, will be material.

We accrue an expense for pending litigation when we determine that an unfavorable outcome is probable, and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Legal defense costs are expensed as incurred. None of our existing accruals for pending matters, after considering insurance coverage, is material. We monitor our pending litigation for the purpose of adjusting our accruals and revising our disclosures accordingly, when required. Litigation is, however, subject to uncertainty, and the outcome of any particular matter is not predictable. We will vigorously defend our interests in pending litigation, and as of this date, we believe that the ultimate resolution of all such matters, after considering insurance coverage or other indemnities to which we are entitled, will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or our cash flows.

In 2015, Frontier accepted the FCC’s CAF Phase II offer, which provided $313 million in annual support through 2021 in our current 25 states in return for the Company’s commitment to make broadband available to households within the CAF II eligible areas. The Company was required to complete the CAF II deployment by December 31, 2021. Thereafter, the FCC has been reviewing carriers’ CAF II program completion data, and if the FCC determines that the Company did not satisfy applicable FCC CAF Phase II requirements, Frontier could be required to return a portion of the funds previously received and may be subject to certain fines, requirements and obligations.

On January 30, 2020, the FCC adopted an order establishing the RDOF competitive reverse auction to provide support to serve high-cost areas. Under the FCCs RDOF Phase I auction, we were awarded approximately $371 million over ten years to build gigabit-capable broadband over a fiber-to-the-premises network to approximately 127,000 locations in eight states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia). We began receiving RDOF funding in the second quarter of 2022 and we will be required to complete the buildout to the awarded locations by December 31, 2028, with interim target milestones over this period. To the extent Frontier is unable to meet the milestones or construct to all locations by the required deadlines, Frontier could be required to return a portion of funds previously received and may be subject to certain fines, requirements and obligations.

The FCC currently classifies fixed consumer broadband services as information services, subject to light-touch regulation. In October 2023 the FCC released a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking to reclassify certain broadband services as lightly regulated telecommunications services imposing certain network neutrality requirements on the reclassified internet services. At this time, it remains uncertain whether the FCC will adopt these new network neutrality regulations and what impact that may have on Frontier’s business.

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law. The legislation appropriated funding for the establishment of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and FCC-administered monthly, low-income broadband benefit program. The ACP provides qualified customers up to $30 dollars per month (or $75 dollars per month for those on Tribal lands) to assist with their internet bill. Frontier is a participating provider in the ACP program. Absent additional funding, at present pace, the ACP funds are projected by the FCC to exhaust in April of 2024.

We conduct certain of our operations in leased premises and lease certain equipment and other assets pursuant to operating leases. The lease arrangements have terms ranging from 1 to 99 years and several contain rent escalation clauses providing for increases in monthly rent at specific intervals. When rent escalation clauses exist, we record annual rental expense based on the total expected rent payments on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Certain leases also have renewal options. Renewal options that are reasonably assured are included in determining the lease term.

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As of December 31, 2023, we had total “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities” of $1.1 billion, of which $857 million is related to accounts payable. As of December 31, 2022, we had total “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities” of $1.4 billion, of which $1.2 billion is related to accounts payable.

We have negotiated favorable payment terms with some of our vendors that allow for a longer payment period than our normal customary terms (referred to as vendor financing), which are excluded from capital expenditures and reported as financing activities on the statement of cash flows. As of December 31, 2023, we had $263 million of vendor financing liabilities included in “Other current liabilities” on our consolidated balance sheets, of which $255 million is associated with capital expenditures. For the year ended December 31, 2023 we have made $5 million in vendor financing payments, of which $4 million is related to capital expenditures and $1 million is related to operating expenses.

We are party to contracts with several unrelated long-distance carriers. The contracts provide fees based on traffic they carry for us subject to minimum monthly fees.

At December 31, 2023, the estimated future payments for obligations under our noncancelable long-distance contracts and joint pole and communications service agreements are as follows:



($ in millions)	Amount

Year ending December 31:
2024	$	204
2025		125
2026		2
2027		1
2028		-
Thereafter		-
Total	$	332

At December 31, 2023, we have outstanding performance letters of credit as follows:



($ in millions)	Amount

CNA Financial Corporation (CNA)	$	29
AIG Insurance		28
Zurich		124
Total ⁽¹⁾	$	181

⁽¹⁾At December 31, 2023, we had total letters of credit outstanding of $358 million, of which, $56 million was used for various Federal

Communications Commission (FCC) rural deployment programs in which the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) provides funds to Frontier to support the construction of rural broadband connectivity, and $6 million was used for rent obligations under our administrative office lease terms.

CNA serves as our insurance carrier with respect to casualty claims (auto liability, general liability, and workers’ compensation) with dates of loss prior to June 1, 2017 (except for those claims which arise out of the operations acquired from CTF that have dates of loss prior to April 1, 2016). As our insurance carrier, they administer the casualty claims and make claim payments on our behalf. We reimburse CNA for such services upon presentation of their invoice. To serve as our carrier and make payments on our behalf, CNA requires that we establish a letter of credit in their favor. CNA could potentially draw against this if we failed to reimburse CNA in accordance with the terms of our agreement. The amount of the letter of credit is reviewed annually and adjusted based on claims history.

Zurich serves as our insurance carrier with respect to casualty claims (auto liability, general liability, and workers’ compensation) with dates of loss from June 1, 2017 and going forward. As our insurance carrier, they administer the casualty claims and make claim payments on our behalf. We reimburse Zurich for such services upon presentation of their invoice. To serve as our carrier and make payments on our behalf, Zurich requires that we establish letters of credit in their favor. Zurich could potentially draw against these letters of credit if we failed to reimburse Zurich in accordance with the terms of our agreement. The amount of the letters of credit is reviewed annually and adjusted based on claims history.

AIG Insurance serves as our insurance carrier with respect to casualty claims (auto liability, general liability, and workers’ compensation) that were acquired from CTF, as well as new claims which arise out of the operations acquired from CTF that have dates of loss prior to April 1, 2016. Sedgwick, a third-party claims administrator, administers the casualty claims and makes claim payments on our behalf. We reimburse Sedgwick for such services upon presentation of their invoice. However, to serve as our insurance carrier, AIG Insurance requires that we establish a letter of credit in their favor. AIG Insurance could potentially draw against this letter of credit if we failed to meet the insurance-related and claims-related obligations we assumed in accordance with the terms of our agreement. The amount of the letter of credit is reviewed annually and adjusted based on claims history.