Verizon To Offer $20 Broadband In California To Obtain Merger Approval

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Verizon agreed to offer $20-per-month broadband service to people with low incomes in California in exchange for a merger approval. In a bid to complete its $9.6 billion purchase of Frontier Communications, Verizon committed to offering $20 fiber-to-the-home service with symmetrical speeds of 300Mbps. Verizon also committed to offering a $20 fixed wireless service with download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps. Verizon would be required to offer the plans for at least 10 years, according to a joint motion (PDF) to approve the settlement agreement. After three years, Verizon would need to 'make commercially reasonable efforts' to increase the speeds 'while retaining the $20 price point.'

The joint motion filed by Verizon and the California Public Advocates Office seeks approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The $20 plans would be available to people who meet income eligibility guidelines and can be paired with Lifeline discounts. 'My team required those options to be California Lifeline eligible, which effectively makes it free for low-income Californians throughout the state,' wrote Ernesto Falcon, a program manager at the Public Advocates Office. California's Lifeline program provides $19 discounts. Falcon also wrote that the settlement would expand fiber deployment beyond what Frontier would have offered on its own. 'If the merger is approved, Verizon will deliver 75,000 new fiber-to-the-home connections in California beyond Frontier's entire buildout plan with a priority for low-income households,' he wrote. The deal also requires 250 new cell sites for Verizon's 5G network.

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