The Maine Public Utilities Commission has settled with FairPoint Communications on its attempt to purchase Verizon's Northern New England telephone lines. Despite this deal's attempts to resolve FairPoint's financial troubles, the end result would likely be counter-productive for Maine consumers. Read More »
Maine regulators declined to approve a settlement between Verizon and FairPoint Communications despite Verizon's concession of nearly half a billion additional dollars to quell fears of FairPoint's financial instability. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) contend that high speed Internet would not be improved or expanded with Maine's Verizon Communications operations in FairPoint's hands, as FairPoint is financially unstable and does not have sufficient funds for the advancements. Read More »
In a move designed to improve health care in rural Maine, the FCC is giving the state a $3.6 million grant for high speed fiber optic Internet connections in central and western Maine. Read More »
CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have released a report that shows the $600 million in tax savings Verizon would receive from its deal with FairPoint is enough to expand high speed Internet access to everyone in Verizon's current Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont service areas. Read More »
A new study by the Sacramento Regional Research Institute on behalf of AT&T, shows a "strong correlation between broadband growth in California and the number of new jobs available, forecasting that even small increases in broadband use could substantially affect the state over the next 10 years." Read More »
Last week, a House of Representatives subcommittee approved important legislation to improve high speed Internet data collection. A few days prior, a Senate committee was hard at work on another piece of legislation that would help close the digital divide. Read More »
The Verizon-FairPoint deal would make it extremely unlikely that fiber optic networks, which are the future of telecommunications service, will be built in rural New England. Read More »
Verizon workers rallied in Boston yesterday. The impact of the propoosed sale of Verizon's landlines in New England on high speed Internet buildout in the region was among their concerns. Unions representing the workers are expanding their "Stop the Sale" effort by launching a nationwide campaign to get the Federal Communications Commission to rule against the sale. Read More »
At a town hall meeting in Hooksett, NH, on Sunday, presidential hopeful John Edwards expressed concern that the Verizon-FairPoint deal would be a step backward for the people of northern New England. Read More »
At a recent rally in New York City, thousands of Verizon workers, labor leaders, and elected officials gathered to protest Verizon's deal with FairPoint Communications. Read More »
