Frontier Business Internet Review: 2021

Frontier Communications provides internet to small businesses in certain states and ZIP codes, so if it’s available to you, there are a few good reasons to consider it for your business. We are most impressed by Frontier’s premier VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solution, Frontier AnyWare—a customizable, Cloud-based phone and communications system offered at a reasonable price.

On the other hand, in terms of pure internet power, availability, and customer service, Frontier lags behind several competitors. Still, the company’s products and footprint are growing, and we see a lot of interest from customers signing up for Frontier business internet.

But that’s not everything we have to say about Frontier. We’ve done the research, talked to customer service reps and experts—and the result is this review. Read our Frontier internet review to see if these internet plans are right for your small business.

Like most of Frontier’s fiber-optic options, these packages get symmetric download and upload speeds, which is great if your business needs a lot of online computing power for multiple users and large-file uploading. Add the top-tier VoIP plan and you get an impressive suite of internet and communication services for a business that needs to scale its online capabilities.

The fastest Frontier plan we could find is the FiberOptic 1G plan. However, at $239.99 per month, this plan may not be cost-efficient for small businesses.

Frontier markets its small-business products to companies with fewer than 20 employees. If you’re above that, you fit into its “medium-enterprise” segment. Because we focus on small-business internet, our recommendations for Frontier plans will have the below-20 companies in mind.

So what does Frontier do best? We love its mid-grade Fiber plans—most of which come with a three-year price guarantee. We’re also intrigued by the Frontier AnyWare unified communications product, which we’ll detail a bit later.

On the other hand, some Frontier factors left us underwhelmed. The company’s fastest plans are hard to find and verge on the too-expensive side.

We scoured the web, consulted experts, and talked to Frontier customer service reps to give you a comprehensive summary of Frontier plans, their costs, and more.

Compared to other providers, average costs for Frontier are higher than some but lower than others. Yet overall, Frontier internet plans are affordable for their relative speeds—and Frontier FiberOptic plans are an even better value.

Thanks to Frontier’s recent purchase of certain Verizon Fios fiber networks (more on that below), you can now purchase Frontier FiberOptic plans too (in certain areas). With download and upload speeds of up to 150 Mbps, you can choose from a couple of moderately fast and affordable plans to suit your business needs.

These three plans represent the most common Frontier Fiber plans we could find. The best thing about these plans is they have symmetric speeds, which means the plans’ upload speeds match their download speeds.

For most small businesses, we recommend the FiberOptic 500M plan. It offers solid, symmetric speeds that should meet the internet needs of many smaller businesses. If you're looking for faster speeds or lower costs, then consider one of the other two FiberOptic plans.

For extra savings on several services, consider bundling internet, phone, TV, and other products. Frontier has some compelling options to customize your service.

Frontier offers digital phone services and DISH satellite television services as bundle options with broadband internet plans. These are our three favorite Frontier small-business internet bundles:

Remember, you can add the Frontier AnyWare VoIP solution to just about any plan or bundle—a great option for businesses doing a lot of online collaboration and communication. Just keep in mind that the price of your bundle can vary based on where you live, as well as on the speeds and channels you need.

With your Frontier internet plan comes certain included features and the option to add other perks. From technical support to extra security, you can choose a valuable package to get the full internet services you need.

Frontier includes these features with every internet plan or bundle:

• 24/7 business-centered technical support
• 99.9% uptime reliability average (see below for more details)
• Dedicated line connection (meaning you don’t share your internet bandwidth with other customers)
• Secure wireless networking capabilities for several devices
• At least eight email accounts with 1TB (1,000GB) of mail storage

What’s more, you can purchase these internet and other technology add-ons to truly tailor your small business services:

• DISH satellite TV: Whether you run a dentist office or a dive bar, choose from a suite of TV packages to entertain your patients or patrons.
• Frontier Secure: This add-on gives you extra computer protection, cloud backup, and 24/7 premium technical support.
• Managed Wi-Fi: Keep your customers and employees connected with hotspots, network extenders, and remote management and monitoring services.
• Static IPs: If you host your own web servers, run a virtual private network (VPN), or need an unchanging IP address for any other reason, definitely upgrade to the static IP option.

If you have 20 or more employees, Frontier offers even more add-ons for its medium- and enterprise-level services, including advanced ethernet, IP VPN, and voice services.

Even more than residential customers, businesses need reliable internet that won’t disrupt their day-to-day operations. And if something goes wrong, you want access to technical support to resolve the issue quickly. In this category, Frontier gets a few high marks—but doesn’t make the grade in some areas.

Uptime is of utmost importance for business internet. No service is perfect, but the longer you experience downtime, the harsher the disruptions to your operations that depend on reliable internet.

A 99.9% uptime means you can expect downtime of about 43.8 minutes per month or 8.76 hours per year. There may be providers with stronger uptime averages, but with only about one disconnected working day per year, 99.9% isn’t too shabby.

Frontier offers 24/7 technical support for all of its business internet customers—fantastic! But not so fast—how good is that support?

We looked at a few sources to judge Frontier on this front, and here’s what we found:

• American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI): ACSI reported in 2020 that the customer satisfaction score for Frontier was the same as the previous year: 55 out of 100.¹
• Better Business Bureau (BBB): In every state where it operates, the BBB grades Frontier Communication Corp. at an F.² BBB notes in its “Pattern of Complaint” summary that many customers complain of poor service and missed appointments.
• J.D. Power: In its business satisfaction survey, J.D. Power ranked Frontier last out of eight for very small businesses—with a score of 681 points out of 1,000.³
  Yikes! These low grades should definitely give you pause, but we think the company may have suffered most from a tricky transition after its Verizon Fios acquisition. And the company is expanding its footprint, so we think its reputation has the opportunity to grow too.

We’ve shown you Frontier plans, pricing, and extra features, but there’s more you should know about. Here are some of the finer details and features to consider.

Frontier advertises a 36-month price guarantee for most of its internet plans—one of the best we’ve seen. Locking in your price for several years is helpful for managing a tight budget and avoiding the hassle of looking for new internet providers every year.

We had trouble ferreting out information about any extra fees Frontier charges. Installation fees? Frontier will “waive” these fees if you sign a one-year (or longer) contract. Activation fees? Unknown.

What about early termination fees? Here, Frontier notes a few charges you could pay. The first applies if you cancel your service before it’s even delivered to you. In that case, you’ll pay an “NRC” (non-recurring charge) fee plus one month of your monthly fee for the service.⁴ How much is the NRC? Sorry, we’re not sure.

Try saying that in one breath. Here’s our best translation: if you cancel early, you’ll pay your monthly service charge times the number of months left on your contract—plus some extra fees, probably.

Most Frontier plans require you to sign a contract with a minimum length of 12 months. Some promotional plans, however, may have higher contract lengths or require you to purchase additional services, such as phone.

Frontier includes a basic wireless router with certain plans and bundles, but the details are a bit murky here too. However, Frontier does have several equipment partners you can buy from.

For example, you can equip yourself with a business-grade router for better security, remote access, and more. Larger businesses with advanced needs can purchase or access equipment like these:

• Video systems: Conferencing and security surveillance
• Voice systems: Cloud or on-site services like IP PBX or VoIP and analog or digital phone sets
• Wired and wireless network systems: Routers, POE and LAN switches, servers, hubs, access points, controllers, firewalls, and storage devices

Left with more queries about Frontier and business internet? Let’s see if we can help.

In 2016, Verizon sold some of its fiber-optic lines—branded Fios—to Frontier.

Frontier FiberOptic availability jumped with its purchase of some of Verizon’s connections. Today, you can get fiber in certain areas of California, Texas, Florida, Oregon, Washington, and Indiana.

But we expect the service to grow quickly as the company expands its fiber capabilities.

Broadband is a general term for internet connections that are faster than the traditional over-phone-lines options of the dial-up era. Depending on the company or source, broadband may refer to all “high-speed internet” connections, including digital subscriber line (DSL), cable, and fiber.

DSL is a type of broadband internet that uses existing copper phone lines to deliver fast internet without interrupting the phone services and vice versa.

Frontier actively markets its Frontier AnyWare VoIP system, but what is VoIP exactly, and what’s it good for?

You can add the Frontier AnyWare VoIP solution to just about any plan or bundle—a great option for businesses doing a lot of online collaboration and communication.

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and is an electronic communications system that uses internet connections for calls and other services—in contrast to traditional analog or digital phone systems that use circuit-switching telephone lines. With VoIP, you can conduct conference calls, connect employee phones, add automation features, and more.

Frontier’s VoIP system, Frontier AnyWare, is a cloud-based communications system for businesses with up to 500 phones.

Frontier is worth considering for your business internet needs—especially if Frontier FiberOptic plans are available in your area. What’s more, the company’s impressive Frontier AnyWare VoIP system is a solid cloud-based communications system that can help you increase your collaboration abilities. If Frontier can iron out some of its downsides—like poor customer service ratings—our confidence in the company’s internet plans will grow even further.

Tell us your own experiences with Frontier business internet, or let us know if we left anything out. Join the discussion below and help us improve our Frontier internet review!

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.