FCC Approves Verizon Asset Sale to FairPoint

Verizon Communications Inc. now has FCC approval to sell its phone lines in three New England States to FairPoint Communications Inc.

The deal is valued at $2.7 billion and commissioners yesterday said Verizon’s sale of phone lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont likely wouldn’t result in anticompetitive behavior.

The two Democratic commissioners disagreed with that assessment and voted against the proposed sale.

Verizon and FairPoint still must secure formal approval from each of the three states.

The two phone companies announced the deal a year ago. FairPoint would get Verizon’s landline operations, which touch more than 1 million homes, as well as Internet service. Meanwhile, Verizon would keep hold of its wireless networks in the three states.

The FCC’s three Republican commissioners said the transaction will create jobs and hasten the deployment of high-speed Internet services.

The deal now goes to the Vermont Public Service Board. New Hampshire regulators haven’t blessed it yet, either. Maine regulators have approved the sale but a formal order has yet to be published.

FairPoint Communications Inc. www.fairpoint.com
FCC www.fcc.gov
Verizon Communications Inc. www.verizon.com