November 26, 2008

FairPoint tells Verizon: We're ready for January cutover

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – FairPoint Communications, Inc. announced Wednesday it has delivered its irrevocable notice of cutover readiness to Verizon Communications.

Maine OKs final FairPoint takeover

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – The Maine Public Utilities Commission has accepted FairPoint Communication’s decision to complete its takeover of all landline telecommunications systems and operations in Maine that were formerly owned by Verizon Communications.

November 18, 2008

FairPoint puts "hold" on new hiring

By CINDY KIBBE New Hampshire Business Review

A recently announced hiring “hold” by FairPoint Communications Inc. will temporarily slow the creation of new positions in New Hampshire.

November 17, 2008

Meeting today on final takeover of phone lines

KITTERY — Maine and New Hampshire regulators will meet Nov. 17 in Kittery, Maine, to discuss the final step of completing FairPoint Communications Inc.'s takeover of Verizon's land lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

November 16, 2008

S&P may lower FairPoint rating

NEW YORK (AP) – Standard & Poor's indicated Thursday that it may lower the debt rating of FairPoint Communications Inc. The ratings agency said the Charlotte, N.C.

November 13, 2008

FairPoint says it is ready to start transfer

By CHELSEA CONABOY Concord Monitor

FairPoint Communications on Wednesday notified Verizon that it will be ready to accept the transfer of Verizon's network at the end of January.

November 07, 2008

FairPoint on lookout for successor for exec

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – FairPoint Communications confirmed Thursday it is searching for a successor to chairman and chief executive Eugene Johnson but said it has no deadline to replace him. Johnson's contract expires at the end of next year.

November 06, 2008

FairPoint reaffirms support for CEO

Responding to reports that FairPoint Communications was seeking to oust its CEO and co-founder, the company on Thursday morning "reaffirmed Eugene B. Johnson’s standing as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer."

Report: FairPoint seeks new CEO

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that FairPoint Communications is looking to replace its CEO and co-founder, Gene Johnson, as the company continues to work toward integrating Verizon's phone system in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.

September 25, 2008

Story details complexity of switchover

A story in Telecommunications Online details the complexity of the switchover from Verizon to FairPoint: Some points from the story:

September 17, 2008

FairPoint delays Verizon takeover

By ASHLEY SMITH Staff Writer

FairPoint Communications has announced a second, two-month delay in its official break from Verizon, pushing the takeover date back to late January.

September 16, 2008

FairPoint delays cutover; consultants say they're not ready

FairPoint Communications has again delayed the takeover of former Verizon operations in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont to FairPoint, by 60 days to the end of January. The "cutover" was originally scheduled for this month, then had been delayed to the end of November.

September 14, 2008

Fiber-optic service may stall for some

By DAVID BROOKS Staff Writer

The fiber-optic Internet service in Nashua and southern New Hampshire that was built by Verizon has been given a new name – FAST – by its new owners, but that doesn’t mean the high-speed system is going to expand any time soon. “We’re adding 100 customers here, 100 customers there . . .

September 11, 2008

FairPoint board declares dividend

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The board of directors of telephone and broadband provider FairPoint Communications has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2575 per share on FairPoint's common stock.

September 05, 2008

FairPoint offers to speed up DSL customers

By DAVID BROOKS Staff Writer

Some FairPoint Internet customers are getting the option to buy faster service under what might be called an interim tweak to the DSL network that the company bought from Verizon. "We're using some enhanced equipment to provide the increase . . .

September 04, 2008

FairPoint, Vermont study 911 problems

Officials running Vermont's Enhanced 911 emergency calling system said they were trying to determine what emergencies the system missed Wednesday when, for a period of nearly two hours, 911 calls placed in northern Vermont failed to connect.

August 13, 2008

Burned fiber cable cut long-distance service

CONCORD (AP) - FairPoint Communications said telephone problems that plagued a large part of New Hampshire since Monday night have been repaired.

August 12, 2008

FairPoint shares jump 17.5%

Shares of FairPoint Communications rose sharply Friday, a day after the telecom carrier reported its second-quarter results. Shares gained $1.05, or 17.5 percent, to $7.06 in afternoon trading. The stock has ranged from $5.95 to $19.83 over the past year.

August 03, 2008

FairPoint: Broadband to 75 percent of NH by September 2009

MANCHESTER (FairPoint press release) – FairPoint Communications will invest more

July 15, 2008

FairPoint tells Maine 911 problems are fixed

The Portland Press-Herald says FairPoint officials told a Maine hearing that 911 problems which plagued Cumberland County, Maine, from April to June have been fixed. New equipment has been installed and emergency officials from the area said problems have not resurfaced.

July 10, 2008

FairPoint looks to fill open positions

By ASHLEY SMITH Staff Writer

FairPoint Communications is holding a job fair today in hopes of filling 120 open positions in New Hampshire.

July 07, 2008

Another blog for FairPoint watchers

The Web site DSLReports has established a forum (basically the same thing as this "blog") to discuss FairPoint. It gets pretty technical at times, but is still worth a look:

June 29, 2008

Phone service handoff not without issues

By DAVID BROOKS Staff Writer

Three months into the biggest telecom transition in northern New England history, the top issue at the regulatory level involves the complicated matter of handing off thousands of technical and support systems from Verizon to new owner FairPoint, a process that has been delayed until early winter.

FairPoint Watch

A variety of issues have cropped up among the 30 people who have contributed at one point or another to The Telegraph's FairPoint Watch program. Here are the most serious:

Switching problem cut off long-distance

MANCHESTER (AP) – Telephone service was disrupted for Fairpoint Communications customers in southern New Hampshire for about 90 minutes on Saturday.

June 25, 2008

Deerfield loses 911 because line is cut

DEERFIELD (AP) - The town of Deerfield lost all phone service Monday morning, including 911, because of a break in a phone line, but it was later restored. Phone and 911 service was restored Monday afternoon.

June 23, 2008

Consultant's fears led to delay of takeover

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - 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...

June 19, 2008

FairPoint cuts dividend, as required by state regulators

CHARLOTTE, N.C., (PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX) - The Board of Directors of FairPoint Communications, Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2575 per share on FairPoint's common stock.

June 18, 2008

FairPoint delays Verizon cutover

By The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – FairPoint Communications Inc. said Tuesday that it will delay a cutover related to its recent acquisition of Verizon Communications' landline operations in three New England states.

June 17, 2008

911 problems in Bangor

The Bangor Daily News reported that a malfunction with the phone system at Penobscot Regional Communications Center in Bangor was continuing to cause emergency 911 calls to be routed through the Department of Public Safety in Orono on Monday, June 16.

June 04, 2008

Verizon: No more FairPoint-like sales

In Telecommunications Industry News, Verizon's chief financial officer, Doreen Toben, is quoted as saying that the company plans no more FairPoint-like sales of land lines, even as it expands its FiOS fiber optic system and its rural wireless footprint.

May 21, 2008

FairPoint Watch

Officials: N.H. not having 911 woes like Maine

By ASHLEY SMITH Staff Writer

New Hampshire has not seen any gaps in 911 service similar to those in Maine that have left FairPoint Communications “embarrassed,” apparently because the emergency service operates differently between the two states.

May 17, 2008

FairPoint profit drops in Q1

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Telecom carrier FairPoint Communications Inc. said Friday its first-quarter profit fell 34 percent, weighed down by some one-time customer credits and increased competition.

April 20, 2008

Readers' group notes first phone glitch

By DAVID BROOKS Telegraph Staff

As hundreds of thousands of telephone users around the state continue the transition from Verizon to FairPoint Communications, some are facing a bit of a surprise: Their automatic bill paying doesn't work anymore.

April 15, 2008

Readers lend eyes to FairPoint Watch

One of the positive changes that has occurred in journalism in recent years has been the willingness of newspapers to reach out to readers for assistance in reporting the news.

April 13, 2008

Network switch closely watched

By DAVID BROOKS Telegraph Staff

Northern New England's telephone network has begun its historic move from Verizon to FairPoint Communications, a transformation that's unique in the history of New Hampshire industry.

FairPoint CEO confident company will get job done

By KATE DAVIDSON Concord Monitor

FairPoint Chief Executive Officer Gene Johnson and his team of top executives crowded the balcony overlooking the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 31. FairPoint had just closed on a deal to purchase Verizon's Northern New England telephone network for about $2.4 billion. At 4 p.m.

March 31, 2008

FairPoint to take over Verizon's network today

By KATE DAVIDSON Concord Monitor

FairPoint Communications will take over Verizon's Northern New England telephone network today as scheduled, despite two tense regulatory hearings Sunday that threatened to upend the $2.4 billion deal in the eleventh hour.

March 19, 2008

Cost of Verizon bid doesn't sink FairPoint

By ASHLEY SMITH Telegraph Staff

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Despite spending nearly $24 million in the fourth quarter alone on its attempt to acquire Verizon's Northern New England telephone operations, FairPoint Communications saw overall profits of $6 million in 2007.

February 06, 2008

E-mail users' transition should be a bit easier

By DAVID BROOKS Telegraph Staff

The possibility that FairPoint will take over Verizon's Internet service in the state raises a question that always comes up online providers change hands: What happens to e-mail addresses? After all, mail sent to John Smith in Nashua at "johnsmith@verizon.

July 01, 2007

Fairpoint working hard to avoid phone problems that occurred with sale in Hawaii

By DAVID BROOKS Telegraph Staff

Do you want to know what life will be like if Verizon sells all its phone lines in New England? With any luck – and here’s a statement you don’t hear too often – it won’t be like life in Hawaii.

June 03, 2007

Who is FairPoint?

By TONY MECIA The Charlotte Observer

When executives at FairPoint Communications receive good news, they have a custom of cranking the gear on an 80-year-old wooden wall phone outside the CEO’s office.