Just when it seemed like FairPoint's a proposed acquisition of Verizon Communications lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont was on the ropes, the deal has gained necessary approval from the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The vote of support came after 12 hours of consideration by the three-member PUC, and seems to have been ensured by several conditions FairPoint agreed to meet after the deal closes.
Those conditions include lower overall phone service prices, a DSL price freeze and aggressive commitments to broadband expansion over the next five years. The deal still needs approval by regulators in New Hampshire and Vermont. It already has been rejected once by the latter.
For more:
- read this story in Maine's Kennebec Journal