Navajo Communication Company on Shaky Ground

1/29/2021   

Frontier Communications, which owns Navajo Communications Company, Inc., filed for bankruptcy on April 14, 2020. Some Frontier customers, who live nationwide, have been concerned that their service will be cut off. But the bottom line appears to be that telephone and Internet services will keep on running. However if Frontier owes you money, you might just be out of luck.

On January 15, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved Frontier for its Chapter 11 restructuring. Frontier now has regulatory approvals, or favorable determinations, for its required change-in-control applications related to its court-supervised restructuring from the FCC and 13 states: Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

Also on January 15, Frontier announced that it plans to emerge from Chapter 11 protection early in 2021. Frontier shares closed at $ 0.44 per share on January 28, down from a high of $124 in 2015. Some investors say that there’s nothing in the reorganization plan for current shareholders. Others disagree. Frontier’s annual revenues are still about $7.4 billion.

But regardless, one can’t hope but wonder if the Navajo people are receiving the highest possible quality service from a company on shaky grounds.