Verizon could be on the verge of a major acquisition, with the company reportedly closing in on a deal to buy Frontier Communications.

Frontier is a popular broadband provider, serving customers in 25 states in the US. According to The Wall Street Journal, talks between the two companies are in the advanced stages. Frontier’s market value is upwards of $7 billion, making any deal a substantial commitment on Verizon’s part.

As the outlet points out, Verizon sold network infrastructure to Frontier in 2016, meaning a deal would bring those assets back to the nation’s largest wireless carrier.

Verizon has been increasing its broadband business, both its Fios Home Internet, 5G Home Internet, and LTE Home Internet. A deal with Frontier would bolster the carrier’s broadband offerings and help it compete with T-Mobile’s popular home internet service, a service that has a larger footprint than Verizon’s wireless home internet options.

The deal also comes at a time when Frontier is vulnerable to a takeover. As WSJ points out, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020. Although it came out of that a leaner company, Frontier is facing an expensive upgrade cycle as it converts from copper to fiber. With the state of the economy, investors have grown increasingly concerned that the cost of the network infrastructure upgrades could lead to a repeat of 2020.