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FairPoint exec stresses patience [Morning Sentinel, Waterville, Maine]
(Morning Sentinel (Waterville, ME) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 30--SKOWHEGAN -- The banks believed in FairPoint Communications. Now its customers need to, a spokesman said.
As the Northern New England phone carrier emerges from bankruptcy -- and a rocky transition from its acquisition of Verizon Communications -- one FairPoint executive acknowledged the company's challenges, but urged people to keep the faith.
"What's more important than what's happened in the past is: what's the future look like?" said Jeff McCarthy, assistant vice president of business services at FairPoint, at Friday's Somerset Economic Development Corporation meeting.
Joy Hikel, economic development director in Madison, countered by saying that FairPoint can have an excellent product, but if people don't believe the company can service that product, they will turn to competitors.
"I wouldn't feel comfortable holding hands with FairPoint," she told McCarthy and the room of about 15 people.
McCarthy acknowledged that the company "still has a long way to go" since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2009, but that it has made a significant investment in jobs and economic development in Maine.
He also acknowledged that the transition was not as smooth as expected when FairPoint bought Verizon Communications' land-line telephone and Internet operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in 2008.
There were errors transitioning data from Verizon and in converting the billing systems, he said.
On top of that, the economy took a "nose dive" and the company went into debt.
The company reached a debt restructuring deal with the banks to forgive FairPoint $1.7 billion. The company has been working on a "robust emergence plan," he said, emphasizing that the financial problems did and will not have an impact on customers.
There are telecommunications upgrades planned for Somerset County, he said, and the company hopes to have new products available at the end of the year.
FairPoint serves 667,414 access lines in Maine. It has 1,558 employees, a fleet of 700 vehicles, and it operates from 202 buildings and locations throughout Maine.
In addition to local and long distance telephone services, it also offers dial-up and high-speed Internet services.
To see more of the Morning Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.onlinesentinel.com.
Copyright (c) 2010, Morning Sentinel, Waterville, Maine
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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