PORTLAND, Maine — The company that bought FairPoint Communications is discarding the old name and making plans to upgrade the service of tens of thousands of customers in northern New England.
Consolidated Communications, which has operations in 24 states, is going to begin rebranding with its own logo for trucks and buildings early in the new year, providing the most visible change for its customers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont since it bought FairPoint last summer.
“It is a new beginning,” said Rob Koester, vice president for consumer products. “It’s a new chapter for us. It’s a rededication to our customers.”
The Mattoon, Illinois-based company has been making changes behind the scenes since closing on the $1.5 billion deal: It has eliminated state presidents in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in favor of the new company’s regionalized structure and has been quietly preparing to roll out higher-speed internet offerings.
The new team will be negotiating its first contract with workers in the coming year.
“This is going to be a challenging year for them,” said Barry Hobbins, the public advocate in Maine. Nonetheless, he added, “I’m cautiously optimistic.”
Consumers have been pining for faster internet offerings in a rural region where internet access and data speeds have lagged behind more populated places.
The goal is to upgrade service for existing subscriber locations to enable faster speeds; there are no price increases planned for existing customers, said spokeswoman Angelynne Amores.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “New FairPoint ownership leads to rebranding, promises of faster internet in Maine,” an article by Associated Press writer David Sharp, please follow this link to the BDN online.
