FAIRPOINT’S READINESS

Continued problems with 911 systems, which have now spread to Penobscot County, are a good reason for FairPoint Communications to slow down its takeover of phone and Internet service in northern New England. The problems also show the wisdom of and need for continued close monitoring of the transition, with regulators stepping in with corrective measures as necessary.

Problems were first discovered on June 13 at the Penobscot Regional Communications Center, which handles 911 calls for more than 50 communities. Emergency calls were routed to the Department of Public Safety in Orono, while technicians searched for the source of the problem.

The problem, with a power source, was identified and corrected last Tuesday.

The Penobscot County system was the third 911 emergency phone system to malfunction over the past two months. In late May, the state police dispatch center in Gray had an unexpected shutdown. The problem was diagnosed as a software configuration issue.

In the worst situation, the Cumberland County Regional Dispatch Center in Windham went down. Calls weren’t switched to the state police center in Gray for more than an hour. This is supposed to happen automatically. As a result of this incident, $25,000 was deducted from FairPoint’s 911 services contract.

The Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee plans to meet next month to look at the 911 problems.

In addition to the 911 problems, a consultant hired by Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, Liberty Consulting Group, recommended a delay until November in the completion of FairPoint’s takeover of Verizon Communications’ landline services in the three states. The cutover was supposed to be complete in September. FairPoint has agreed to the delay.

Liberty recommended the delay because testing of systems ranging from billing to maintenance to human resources was far from complete. The company’s report, released on June 6, says that “a very important testing item that is currently missing is an acceptable testing strategy for E911.”

It also raised concerns about staffing and training.

“In general, Liberty believes that the cutover preparation is proceeding well and with more time FairPoint should be able to demonstrate cutover readiness,” the company concluded. “A November date would require FairPoint to demonstrate cutover readiness by early September. At this point, Liberty does not anticipate any substantial roadblocks to FairPoint’s meeting that date.”

The Public Utilities Commission, which approved of the FairPoint takeover contingent upon the company meeting numerous conditions, must be convinced that FairPoint is fully ready to take over operations before allowing the deal to be officially complete. It has nearly a dozen staff members working with FairPoint employees to monitor the switch from Verizon.

With this much scrutiny, the public should be reassured that FairPoint will not be running the state’s communications systems until the company has proved it is capable of doing so.