Mainers who pay FairPoint Communications for broadband internet service might want to read the fine print of the bills a bit more closely.
FairPoint’s “Broadband Cost Recovery Fee” is an added monthly charge of $2.97 instituted, company officials say, to keep up with customers’ increasing use of bandwidth as they access content on computers, smartphones and other devices. It went into effect in September.
“We have been very transparent with our fees. We have informed customers about the fees in a mailing a month ago and it’s on our website,” FairPoint spokeswoman Angelynne Beaudry said Friday.
Timothy Schneider, Maine’s public advocate, said that his office has received about 10 complaints or questions about the new fee over the last month or so. Public officials were concerned that the description of the fee sounded like it might have involved a state or federal regulation, but it didn’t.
“This is an unregulated service. There’s not really anything we can do about it. It’s not within our jurisdiction,” Schneider said. “Our primary concern is that customers may have signed up for service being promised at one rate, and now with this additional charge, it’s another.”
The Public Advocate Office, which represents Maine utility consumers in any matter covered by the Public Utilities Commission, welcomed the questions, Schneider said, because they show that customers are paying attention to the fine print on their bills.
Consumers of any form of utility should be wary of promotions that promise cut-rate prices for enrollments, Schneider said. The $2.97, for example, is not listed in a recent FairPoint advertisement offering high-speed internet service for $16.99 per month.
FairPoint announced in June that it had invested in broadband upgrades in more than 32,450 areas at central office locations statewide, including Brownville, Bucksport, Columbia, Danforth, Frenchville, Guilford, Lubec, Skowhegan, Waldoboro and Wells. A central office is a building typically located in the center of a town that houses telecommunications equipment.
The Maine investment is among more than $200 million in upgrades to FairPoint services also offered in New Hampshire and Vermont.
