FORT KENT, Maine – By the end of the evening last Tuesday, 26 people spoke in favor of the proposed merger between Verizon and FairPoint. The merger would allow FairPoint to purchase 1.7 million access lines from Verizon in the New England region. At the meeting, which took place in the campus auditorium of the University of Maine at Fort Kent, the majority praised FairPoint, but six people did not embrace the proposed merger. One person urged caution, and five spoke against the merger. Kurt Adams, Director of the PUC, said the first hearing was in Fort Kent because FairPoint has provided services to a large part of the area in Northern Aroostook.
Public Utility Commissions in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont must approve the merger, reportedly worth 2.7 billion dollars,
According to reports, FairPoint provided a bus to bring in several local employees, who attended wearing company t-shirts,
After Hearing Examiner Trina Bragdeen swore in approximately 30 people who wanted to testify, State Senator John Martin spoke first in favor of the merger. He said, “I believe that FairPoint is capable of handling the system in Maine.” He said that 92 percent of FairPoint customers have broadband Internet access.
Directly after Martin, Gregory Alley of Nobleboro spoke against the merger. He said that FairPoint is spending millions of dollars in advertising. He said, “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.”
Rep. Henry Joy and Rep. Troy Jackson supported the merger. Jackson said he approves it even though he is a “little apprehensive” because of the lack of support from Maine labor unions. He said, “If FairPoint is in places like Allagash, that shows their commitment to these people.”
Ted Smith, chair of the Van Buren town council, said the merger could help encourage young people to remain in Maine.
Several local businesspeople spoke in favor of the merger. Executive Director of the Fort Kent Chamber of Commerce Jody Marston said she represented 178 local businesses and that “FairPoint has always made good on any commitments and often goes above and beyond.”
She said she recently learned that Maine lags behind some Third World countries when it comes to broadband access.
Several other people spoke of the promise of high-speed access to the Internet.
Sharon Johnson, dean of information technology at UMFK, said, “UMFK would be crippled without the broadband access provided by FairPoint.”
Chris Culligan said the promise of broadband access is misleading. He said broadband has a wide range of speeds and that the lower end of that range wasn’t very fast, though it was still technically broadband.
He said the FairPoint ads do not mention the actual speeds in their marketing. He said, “I don’t believe the FairPoint Ads.”
Charles Currier of Mapleton also expressed skepticism regarding the actual speed FairPoint may eventually deliver. He said that fiber optic service (FIOS) was the future of the network and that FairPoint was not planning to install FIOS in Maine. He said, “If we get locked into DSL, there will be many Third World Countries passing us.”
Peter Levasseur said he is skeptical of FairPoint.
On Thursday, FairPoint Director of Marketing Pam Joy said in a phone interview that the company intends to provide speeds up to 3 megabytes per second (Mbit/s). She said FairPoint would work to deliver the speeds that Verizon currently offers to its existing customers and to bring broadband DSL to new areas of Maine.
She said FairPoint currently provides 1.5 Mbits/s up and 512 Kbits/s down in Fort Kent.
Typical FIOS lines are 5 to 30 times that speed. However, Maine is not the only area that lacks access to FIOS. According to a February 2007 Consumer Reports article, only 1/3 of the nation has access to FIOS.
Joy said the company is deploying new advanced technology that she says will allow the company to provide the speeds Maine customers need. She said, “We believe that we are going to deliver the products and services and speed that our customers will need for their personal enjoyment or for their business requirements.”
She said, “We’re confident that we are going to be able to keep up with the requirements of our customers when it comes to speed.”
Later in the week, FairPoint announced that if the PUC approves the merger, then the company would install a fiber backbone across New England.
At the PUC hearing, Jim Grandmaison of SAD #27 and Walt Warner of the Maine Academy of Science and Math spoke in favor of the merger. Warner said, “Every child in the state of Maine deserves to contribute to the global community.”
Leslie Kelly, associate director of the library and distance education at UMFK, urged the PUC to choose a company that will actually provide the high-speed services the state needs. She said some of the high-speed education services, available in many parts of the world, were useless to UMFK because of the low data rates in Maine.
William Winslow of MMG Insurance said Verizon chose FairPoint because of its small size. He said that by choosing FairPoint, Verizon could sell the property tax-free. He said people don’t like the service from Verizon because the company is so large, but he said that FairPoint would become a large company if the merger occurs. He also said FairPoint might not be able to handle the responsibility.
“If anything goes amiss, they’re in trouble,” said Winslow.
Several employees of FairPoint praised the company. Kurt Fisher, a network engineer with FairPoint, defended the company against ads that showed the company using outdated technology. He said, “When the customer wants something, we can give them the speeds they need.”
Nancy Thibodeau, event director for the 2009 Biathlon World Cup competition, said FairPoint’s contribution to previous biathlon events was “enormous.” She said FairPoint’s ability to respond to the changing needs of the event and the access requirements for a large number of reporters contributed to the success of the 2004 World Cup and the IPC World Championships.
After the PUC hearing, FairPoint Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs Audrey Prior said they were satisfied with the hearing.
PUC Chairman Kurt Adams said the hearings are occurring in three states. He said the PUC considers 3 factors to determine if a utility merger is in the interest of the public. The PUC will consider quality of service, impact on rates, and the impact on investment.
PUC Commissioner Vendean Vafiades said the PUC could force FairPoint to comply with its promises in a number of ways, including providing their approval based on the company meeting certain conditions.
The PUC held two other hearings, on Thursday in Bangor and another on Tuesday in Portland. At those meetings, the supporters and critics of the merger were more evenly divided.
Adams said the PUC should reach a decision near the beginning of next year. The company could transfer operations from Verizon by May of 2008. The merger would make FairPoint the 8th largest telecommunications company in the United States.
Public Utility Commissions in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont must approve the merger, reportedly worth 2.7 billion dollars,
According to reports, FairPoint provided a bus to bring in several local employees, who attended wearing company t-shirts,
After Hearing Examiner Trina Bragdeen swore in approximately 30 people who wanted to testify, State Senator John Martin spoke first in favor of the merger. He said, “I believe that FairPoint is capable of handling the system in Maine.” He said that 92 percent of FairPoint customers have broadband Internet access.
Directly after Martin, Gregory Alley of Nobleboro spoke against the merger. He said that FairPoint is spending millions of dollars in advertising. He said, “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.”
Rep. Henry Joy and Rep. Troy Jackson supported the merger. Jackson said he approves it even though he is a “little apprehensive” because of the lack of support from Maine labor unions. He said, “If FairPoint is in places like Allagash, that shows their commitment to these people.”
Ted Smith, chair of the Van Buren town council, said the merger could help encourage young people to remain in Maine.
Several local businesspeople spoke in favor of the merger. Executive Director of the Fort Kent Chamber of Commerce Jody Marston said she represented 178 local businesses and that “FairPoint has always made good on any commitments and often goes above and beyond.”
She said she recently learned that Maine lags behind some Third World countries when it comes to broadband access.
Several other people spoke of the promise of high-speed access to the Internet.
Sharon Johnson, dean of information technology at UMFK, said, “UMFK would be crippled without the broadband access provided by FairPoint.”
Chris Culligan said the promise of broadband access is misleading. He said broadband has a wide range of speeds and that the lower end of that range wasn’t very fast, though it was still technically broadband.
He said the FairPoint ads do not mention the actual speeds in their marketing. He said, “I don’t believe the FairPoint Ads.”
Charles Currier of Mapleton also expressed skepticism regarding the actual speed FairPoint may eventually deliver. He said that fiber optic service (FIOS) was the future of the network and that FairPoint was not planning to install FIOS in Maine. He said, “If we get locked into DSL, there will be many Third World Countries passing us.”
Peter Levasseur said he is skeptical of FairPoint.
On Thursday, FairPoint Director of Marketing Pam Joy said in a phone interview that the company intends to provide speeds up to 3 megabytes per second (Mbit/s). She said FairPoint would work to deliver the speeds that Verizon currently offers to its existing customers and to bring broadband DSL to new areas of Maine.
She said FairPoint currently provides 1.5 Mbits/s up and 512 Kbits/s down in Fort Kent.
Typical FIOS lines are 5 to 30 times that speed. However, Maine is not the only area that lacks access to FIOS. According to a February 2007 Consumer Reports article, only 1/3 of the nation has access to FIOS.
Joy said the company is deploying new advanced technology that she says will allow the company to provide the speeds Maine customers need. She said, “We believe that we are going to deliver the products and services and speed that our customers will need for their personal enjoyment or for their business requirements.”
She said, “We’re confident that we are going to be able to keep up with the requirements of our customers when it comes to speed.”
Later in the week, FairPoint announced that if the PUC approves the merger, then the company would install a fiber backbone across New England.
At the PUC hearing, Jim Grandmaison of SAD #27 and Walt Warner of the Maine Academy of Science and Math spoke in favor of the merger. Warner said, “Every child in the state of Maine deserves to contribute to the global community.”
Leslie Kelly, associate director of the library and distance education at UMFK, urged the PUC to choose a company that will actually provide the high-speed services the state needs. She said some of the high-speed education services, available in many parts of the world, were useless to UMFK because of the low data rates in Maine.
William Winslow of MMG Insurance said Verizon chose FairPoint because of its small size. He said that by choosing FairPoint, Verizon could sell the property tax-free. He said people don’t like the service from Verizon because the company is so large, but he said that FairPoint would become a large company if the merger occurs. He also said FairPoint might not be able to handle the responsibility.
“If anything goes amiss, they’re in trouble,” said Winslow.
Several employees of FairPoint praised the company. Kurt Fisher, a network engineer with FairPoint, defended the company against ads that showed the company using outdated technology. He said, “When the customer wants something, we can give them the speeds they need.”
Nancy Thibodeau, event director for the 2009 Biathlon World Cup competition, said FairPoint’s contribution to previous biathlon events was “enormous.” She said FairPoint’s ability to respond to the changing needs of the event and the access requirements for a large number of reporters contributed to the success of the 2004 World Cup and the IPC World Championships.
After the PUC hearing, FairPoint Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs Audrey Prior said they were satisfied with the hearing.
PUC Chairman Kurt Adams said the hearings are occurring in three states. He said the PUC considers 3 factors to determine if a utility merger is in the interest of the public. The PUC will consider quality of service, impact on rates, and the impact on investment.
PUC Commissioner Vendean Vafiades said the PUC could force FairPoint to comply with its promises in a number of ways, including providing their approval based on the company meeting certain conditions.
The PUC held two other hearings, on Thursday in Bangor and another on Tuesday in Portland. At those meetings, the supporters and critics of the merger were more evenly divided.
Adams said the PUC should reach a decision near the beginning of next year. The company could transfer operations from Verizon by May of 2008. The merger would make FairPoint the 8th largest telecommunications company in the United States.
