FairPoint Communications
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NASDAQ: FRP |
| Industry | Communications Services |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Charlotte, North Carolina, USA |
| Key people |
Paul H. Sunu- CEO, appointed August 2010 Peter G. Nixon-President |
| Products | Broadband Internet services, Local wireline, Cable Television |
| Revenue | $1,274.62 Million [1] |
| Net income | $ -68.53 million |
| Employees | 4,071[2] |
| Website | www.fairpoint.com |
FairPoint Communications, Inc. is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and operates communication services in 32 markets in 18 states, mostly in rural areas.
FairPoint services include local and long distance phone service, data, Internet, broadband, television and business communications solutions.[3]
History
FairPoint was founded as MJD Communications Inc. in 1991, and was established as an Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) which gave it certain rights and obligations regarding providing service to rural areas.
The company acquired the Cass County Telephone Company in 2006, integrating its operations into FairPoint Communications Missouri. It also acquired the Germantown Independent Telephone Company in Germantown, Ohio.
Northern New England expansion
In 2007, FairPoint had about 330,000 access points or customers. In that year, Verizon Communications announced plans to sell its landline operations in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont (Northern New England Spinco) to FairPoint for $2.7 billion. Of that amount, $1.7 billion would go to Verizon Communications in cash and debt and approximately $1.015 billion would go to Verizon shareholders in FairPoint common stock. Verizon would hold no stock.
After extensive federal and state regulatory review and approval, the purchase became effective March 31, 2008, for a price of $2.4 billion. State regulators sought a lower figure out of concerns that excess debt would hamper service and expansion.
Approximately 1.6 million phone customers and 230,000 high speed internet users in the three states were added to FairPoint’s customer base, with the result that the Northern New England customers represented 85% of FairPoint’s customers.[4]
This increase made FairPoint Communications the 8th largest phone company in the United States. Of its nearly 4,000 employees, approximately 80% serve the Northern New England customers.[citation needed]
As part of the purchase, FairPoint had to make broadband available to 83 percent of customers. On January 27, 2011, the company announced it had met this goal. 68.9 percent of its customers had broadband at the time of the purchase; 44,000 new customers have the service now.[5] FairPoint offers high speed internet through the use of DSL technology.
Most of FairPoint's central Vermont customers are still only served by dial-up internet access.
Service and Tech Issues
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This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. (March 2012) |
FairPoint has received much scrutiny since the expansion into Northern New England. Emergency 911 problems made the company scramble to look into how to fix these violations. Landline service has been troubled and sluggish especially in the state of Vermont and Maine causing numerous complaints from both phone and internet service. The Maine PUC fined FairPoint $25,000 for the delays in 911 services.[6]
Many other problems have plagued the New England subscribers of FairPoint's services, including thousands of serious and recurring billing errors, very poor customer service, lack of (and delay of) an electronic bill-pay option, slow or intermittent services, and sluggish and inadequate response to customer complaints and service issues. As of August 2009, the State of Vermont has been in the process of considering revoking FairPoint's right to provide services in that state. FairPoint has consistently failed to meet deadlines to provide a response to Vermont and other states about how they intend to resolve the numerous problems.
On September 16, 2009, Public Service representatives and lawmakers of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont convened a joint hearing with FairPoint executives to demand answers for the multitude of problems that has characterized FairPoint's operation in those states.
FairPoint was also under investigation for duping the states of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. State regulators reviewed an anonymous e-mail from someone claiming that during tests leading up to the February 1 cutover, FairPoint created a computer program "to deceive the audience into believing they were watching a real demonstration" of its readiness.[7]
Bankruptcy
On May 5, 2009 FairPoint indicated in its First Quarter 2009 Report that it was "considering engaging a financial advisor to evaluate its current capital structure and to explore options with respect to a potential restructuring." It also acknowledged that it was "at risk of failing to comply with the interest coverage covenant contained in its credit facility as early as the covenant measurement period ending June 30, 2009."[8]
If debt arrangements were not made by October 1, 2009, FairPoint was going to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to CEO David Hauser.[9]
On October 26, 2009, FairPoint Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[10]
As a result of the bankruptcy, Verizon shareholders lost the entire $1.015 billion in shares they had received in the previous year's deal. New England Verizon networks had been profitable before the transfer to FairPoint. After the bankruptcy, the creditors became the initial shareholders of the reorganized FairPoint.[citation needed]
The company emerged from bankruptcy in January 2011.[5]
Lawsuit against Verizon
In October 2011, FairPoint's creditors' trust filed a lawsuit against Verizon Communications for $2 billion, alleging the company misled FairPoint about the assets it was acquiring in northern New England.[11]
Post Bankruptcy
Payphone sale
On May 22, 2012, FairPoint announced that it would sell its pay telephone operations to Pacific Telemanagement Services. The deal includes its 4,000 payphones operated through Northern New England Telephone Operations and Telephone Operating Company of Vermont. The phones only generate about $1 million in revenue and have become unprofitable.[12]
Service areas
FairPoint owns the following operating companies:
- Big Sandy Telecom - Simla, Colorado[13]
- Columbine Telecom Company - Crestone and Mosca, Colorado[14]
- FairPoint Communications Missouri
- FairPoint Vermont
- Fremont Telcom Co. - Fremont County, Idaho (formerly part of U S WEST Communications[15])
- GTC, Inc.
- Northern New England Telephone Operations - Maine, New Hampshire (formerly part of Verizon New England)
- Sunflower Telephone Company - Kansas, Colorado
- Telephone Operating Company of Vermont (formerly part of Verizon New England)
The 18 states served in whole or part are:[3]
Nearly in whole:
In Part:
Notes
- ^ Google.com
- ^ Reuters.com
- ^ a b FairPoint.com
- ^ FairPoint.Com
- ^ a b "FairPoint meets broadband commitment in Maine". News & Observer. 2011-01-27. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
- ^ Mainetoday.coom
- ^ 2009-09-09 Anonymously Filed Emails
- ^ Corporate-ir.net
- ^ Sentinelsource.com
- ^ "FairPoint phone company files for bankruptcy". Retrieved 2009-10-26.[dead link]
- ^ FairPoint trust sues Verizon for $2 billion, The Boston Globe, November 1, 2011
- ^ (2012-05-22). FairPoint Communications Announces Sale of Payphone Operations PRNewsWire. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ^ Local Calling Guide: Area code/prefix search. Accessed February 14, 2012
- ^ Local Calling Guide: Area code/prefix search. Accessed February 14, 2012
- ^ Syringa Networks Retrieved 2012-05-03.
Links
- Fairpoint Webmail [1]
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