FairPoint thinks about its next move in Vermont

After Vermont's Public Service Board rejected FairPoint Communications' (FRCMQ.PK) reorganization plan, the troubled service provider is considering to either appeal its decision by either working with the regulator to hammer out an agreement or going around them altogether.

FairPoint attorneys said in a letter sent to the Vermont PSB this week that they would like the regulator to keep its proceedings open. What's telling about the letter is that they intimated that they could sidestep the regulator and get its reorganization consent from the federal bankruptcy court.  

In the letter to the Vermont PSB, FairPoint's attorneys wrote that the ILEC "was both surprised and disappointed" by the regulator's decision and is "considering its options."

Interestingly, FairPoint's letter to the Vermont PSB comes not long after both Maine and New Hampshire regulators approved FairPoint's reorganization plan. Despite getting the thumbs up from those neighboring states, the Vermont PSB said in its 96-page order that it did not think FairPoint had the financial wherewithal to meet its obligations in the state.

Vermont has taken a particularly hard line on FairPoint. Last July, the Vermont PSB launched an investigation into whether they should revoke FairPoint's license to operate in the state.

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