Verizon Hits Roadblock Migrating Calif. TracFone Customers

Verizon needs another year to migrate TracFone California customers to its network due to inaction by affected users, Verizon said in a Friday letter to the California Public Utilities Commission. In 2021, the CPUC approved Verizon’s TracFone buy with a condition that it migrate all TraceFone customers to Verizon’s network by Nov. 22 this year. Verizon seeks an extension to Nov. 22, 2024, “to align with federal regulatory obligations and to continue its efforts to persuade TracFone’s California-based customers to migrate through customer-friendly incentives in light of widespread customer inaction despite Verizon and TracFone’s robust outreach to affected customers.” The FCC’s merger approval allowed three-years minimum for customer migration, Verizon said. Saying it can’t force anyone, the carrier said it’s doing everything it can to move customers. “Despite robust outreach and generous incentives, a large number of customers have not migrated,” it said. “These customers have been contacted on a nearly weekly cadence, with some customers having received over 50 communications to date.” The carrier later in the letter described the number of unmoved customers as a “large percentage of the original universe of TracFone customers on non-Verizon networks.” If customers don’t move by the current deadline, Verizon would continue to provide service for the time being but cease to communicate migration offers, it said. “Such customers, assuming they do not switch service providers of their own volition, will remain in this status until TracFone ceases to provide service over the third-party network used to serve the customers.” Verizon would inform customers before they lose service, it said. The carrier asked the CPUC to extend the deadline by June 22.