FairPoint to delay takeover

PORTLAND – North Carolina-based FairPoint Communications reluctantly agreed to a two-month delay in completing its takeover of Verizon’s northern New England landlines after a consultant funded by regulators expressed concern about FairPoint’s readiness to assume full control, the Maine Sunday Telegram reported.

FairPoint officials had hoped for a network cutover in September, but The Liberty Consulting Group reported this month that the target date was unrealistic.

FairPoint said Tuesday it would abide by the assessment of the Pennsylvania-based telecom consultant that utility regulators in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont hired at a cost of $600,000 to monitor FairPoint’s progress toward a smooth cutover.

FairPoint completed the $2.3 billion purchase of Verizon’s wired telephone and Internet business in northern New England in March.

A condition of the sale was an ongoing review process that would allow regulators to suspend the cutover if they have reason to suspect major problems. Critics of the sale have cautioned that Charlotte, N.C.-based FairPoint was too small and was assuming too much debt to become the region’s dominant phone carrier.

Vendean Vafiades, a member of the Maine Public Utilities Commission, said those concerns are misplaced. She said she has yet to see anything from her staff or the consultant to cast doubt on FairPoint’s ability to successfully operate the system.

“I’m not concerned at this point, based on the information I have,” said Vafiades.

Regulators and consumer advocates in Vermont and New Hampshire agree that it’s better to wait and get things right. New Hampshire’s consumer advocate, Meredith Hatfield, said she regretted the delay but was pleased the company was taking the time it needed.

Regulators are continually reviewing FairPoint’s progress in meeting a cutover readiness plan, which lays out key components that Liberty says must be operating successfully before the hand-off can take place.