Frontier CommunicationsCopied

Frontier debuted the logo on 6 January 2016, weeks before closing its $10.54 billion purchase of Verizon's wireline properties in California, Florida and Texas. Telecompetitor's Bernie Arnason framed it plainly: Frontier was turning itself into a national broadband player through acquisitions of former Verizon and AT&T territories, so why not reboot the look. He reported that once the deal closed Frontier would pass 14.5 million locations, up from 8.5 million when it was announced, with broadband subscribers growing from 2.3 million to 4.5 million.

Both Telecompetitor and Fierce's Sean Buckley quoted the company's description. The evolved look reflects a transformed typeface, a brighter colour palette, and a reimagining of the arc to represent the transfer of data and the importance of connectivity. The logo also uses the full name Frontier Communications rather than just Frontier, which the company said was to avoid confusion in the marketplace. Chief customer officer Cecilia McKenney said the timing matched the entry into the Verizon markets, and that a brand promise was still being refined for unveiling when the deal closed.

Buckley added a pointed note: Frontier still had PR problems, having agreed to pay $150 million over three years to raise broadband speeds in West Virginia, settling a 2014 lawsuit by the state attorney general that accused it of promising up to 6 Mbps and delivering 1.5 Mbps or less.

That context is the real story. An arc that represents the transfer of data is a fine piece of copywriting for a company that had just settled a lawsuit over how little data it transferred. Brighter colours and a longer name do nothing about that, and a brand promise still being refined while the logo ships suggests the identity came before the idea. Adding Communications to avoid confusion is sensible but dull, the kind of fix that makes a logo longer rather than better.