With New Hampshire's nod, the FairPoint sale is approved

The Public Utilities Commission of New Hampshire has approved the sale of Verizon Communications operations to FairPoint Communications, ensuring the deal will move forward, thanks to $362 million in new commitments from Verizon. Whether or not the deal -- which will affect Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont -- would be in the best interest of the public, has been hotly debated. Because of this debate and scrutiny, spurred by both CWA and IBEW, the sale has moved forward only with major revisions, designed to improve service to New England customers.

"Those who united to raise their voices in opposition to the sale acted in the finest New England tradition of citizen participation," said Glenn Brackett, business manager of IBEW Local 2320 based in Manchester, NH. "We can take comfort in knowing that because of our involvement, FairPoint will be stronger financially than it would have been under the original deal. Verizon now has to put $362 million more into the deal and FairPoint has to cut its dividends by at least $200 million in order to reduce its debt."

This is a prime example of the difference labor can make in large-scale decisions such as these. Unrelenting activism on behalf of a large number of stakeholders ensured that this deal was approved on the best terms that could be reached with these parties.

"Efforts by union members, concerned elected officials, community and consumer groups, and thousands of residents and activists in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine resulted in changes to the original deal that will help bring about quality service and support for northern New England customers," said CWA President Larry Cohen.

Speed Matters has been following the story for more than a year, and we’re proud to see all that has been accomplished in that time. We know that FairPoint Communications' union workforce will be working hard to provide New England with the universal high speed Internet it needs and deserves.

To see a chart of how the Verizon's new contribution of $362 million and FairPoint’s new commitments of $610 million, required by regulators, in the three states are split up, click here.

NH provides last regulatory approval (CWA via Stopthesale.org)

Verizon's bad deal remains stalled in NH, VT and ME (Speed Matters)

The point? It's not fair. (Speed Matters)

$942 million in Increased Commitments by FairPoint and Verizon Required by State Regulators in ME, NH and VT (CWA)