Verizon is buying Frontier for $20 billion, a day after the provider announced that the two companies were in talks. The deal will expand Verizon’s fiber network across the U.S., allowing it to better compete with its rival AT&T. Frontier will add 2.2 million fiber subscribers in 25 states, increasing Verizon’s reach to nearly 10 million customers in 31 states and Washington, D.C. Verizon has experienced a revenue shortfall, and acquiring Frontier could give it the boost it needed in less time than it would have taken to expand its own network.
“The acquisition of Frontier is a strategic fit,” Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg said in a statement. “It will build on Verizon’s two decades of leadership in fiber and is an opportunity to become more competitive in more markets across the U.S., enhancing our ability to deliver premium offerings to millions more customers across the combined fiber network.”
Frontier has experienced ups and downs over the past few years. The company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 and pivoted to a “leaner business,” but faced concerns about emptying its bank account before completing ongoing upgrades. In addition, the FTC sued Frontier in 2021, claiming it misrepresented its true speed. The company had to pay more than $8.5 million and remove all false information.
Weak material isn’t a problem if you have actors who can make the work they’re given look good, but, and it pains me to say this, that’s not Michelle Yeoh. Yeoh is an exceptional performer who has given many underwhelming performances over her long and distinguished career.
But she made her name by playing characters with deep interiority, not by playing scenery-chewing high-camp villains. Even in her redemption phase, it’s impossible to believe that Yeoh is the kind of monster that Star Trek needs Georgiou to be. Instead of narrowing the scenes and stakes to suit her talents, the film broadens the canvas and expects Yeoh to fill a space she never needed.
The rest of the gang is also under-served by the sheer amount of material and clutter that the film crams into the short time it has.
Scaling the Section 31 team to six people deep before meeting Georgiou means that every character other than her is a thumbnail sketch at best. This includes a sad guy, a “fun” guy, a tough guy, a robot guy, a hot guy, and a guy with a bad Orcish accent.