There is a deal in the works to bring a new phone provider to the South Coast that plans to extend high-speed Internet service to more customers.

Verizon Communications is selling its landlines in Oregon and 13 other states to Frontier Communications of Stamford, Conn. The deal will nearly triple Frontier’s customer-base and expand its holdings in Oregon, which include northern Douglas and Jackson counties.

Verizon has about 357,000 customers in Oregon, including coastal communities from Florence to the California border, parts of the Portland area and northeastern Oregon.

Customers shouldn’t notice any changes in the next few months, said Stephanie Beasly, a Frontier spokeswoman.

“We are working together to make the transition as seamlessly as possible,” she said.

It will probably take about a year for Verizon to complete the transaction. After that, Beasly said more customers can expect to be offered high-speed Internet service. There is funding available in the federal stimulus package for increasing rural broadband, though Beasly said the criteria for projects to qualify still is being defined.

“Our core business is rural telephone and Internet services,” she said. “We see a lot of potential for growth and plan to look at opportunities to improve the current infrastructure.”

Frontier Communications has a 90 percent broadband penetration rate among its customers, compared to Verizon, which has a 78 percent rate. That means 90 percent of customers have the option of using broadband. The South Coast has a lower percentage of customers with high-speed Internet than the company’s average, said Kevin Laverty, a Verizon spokesman.

He said the deal will allow Verizon to focuses its efforts on its wireless and Internet protocol networks. Verizon has previously sold off its landline holdings in Hawaii and parts of New England.

“This is consistent with what the company has been looking at,” Laverty said.

Verizon shareholders must approve the deal, which also needs the go-ahead from the Oregon Public Utility Commission. The OPUC hasn’t been briefed on the particulars of the deal, said spokesman Robert Valdez, but it is scheduled to have a public briefing May 29.

Verizon has about 55 employees on the South Coast, primarily in Coos Bay.

“We don’t expect much change in the employment situation,” Laverty said.