FairPoint's losses widen in Q3 09

As if having to file for bankruptcy protection was not enough, FairPoint reported that it lost $77.3 million in the third quarter, a $52.2 million increase from Q3 2008. With more end-users dropping their landline phones in favor of wireless phones and others switching to other service providers due to the frustration of dealing with the company's ongoing operational problems, FairPoint's sales dropped 18 percent from $328.3 million to $268.3 million.

A big contributor to the ILEC's losses has been the ongoing gaffes the service provider has had with the New England phone lines it bought from Verizon in 2008. Since taking over Verizon's New England lines in January, business complaints from residential and even wholesale carrier customers over billing and customer service issues have continued to spike.  

Despite the dire outlook, FairPoint appears to want to make amends with its customer base and polish its tarnished image. In addition to appointing Vicky Weatherwax as VP of business solutions to investigate and resolve issues [1], FairPoint hired two marketing/communications firms to retain and attract new customers.

For more:
- New Hampshire Union Leader has this article [2]

Related articles
FairPoint files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection [3]
FairPoint plots financial restructuring plan [4]
Frontier's Verizon acquisition facing CWA union wrath [5]
FairPoint fails to comply with NYSE listing standards [6]
FairPoint's ongoing troubles reflected in second-quarter loss [7]
FairPoint asks for yet another extension to resolve problems [8]