FairPoint Communications' acquisition of Verizon Communications properties in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont (How many times have I written that phrase in the last six months?) continues to inch along toward gaining necessary regulatory approvals. The latest news from FairPoint is that it has reached an agreement with the staff of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, under which FairPoint will agree to a series of conditions which were not detailed in the company's press release announcing the agreement.
Meanwhile, Vermont regulators are due to hold a hearing on the deal next Tuesday, but 22 towns in Vermont also are reportedly banding together to pursue their own municipal fiber broadband project. Those towns say their broadband needs haven't been adequately addressed, and are taking some grass-roots action. Would FairPoint be able to address those needs if the wheels of progress toward approval of its buyout moved at anything faster than the pace of a leisurely stroll?
For more:
- check out this coverage in New Hampshire's The Union Leader
- see this report in the municipal proposal in Vermont's Burlington Free Press
Related articles:
- The acquisition was approved by the FCC earlier this month