Verizon to spin off local-phone assets; FairPoint shares rally - MarketWatch
Well, Verizon finally found a buyer for its Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine operations. I knew it was bound to happen. Since FairPoint has promised more investment and additional hiring, that should make approval easier for the state regulators who must approve the sale.
My guess is Verizon is pleased to be free of these high cost areas for several reasons, not the least of which is reducing the number of regulatory agencies to deal with.
FairPoint may not be able to tap into the federal Universal Service Fund so as to benefit from the subsidies available to high cost areas. I'm sure the regulators will push for that, if possible, with the hope of reducing basic rates. It's possible that the rules may well change for FairPoint, a publicly traded company.
A detailed description of the sale of the territories is here on Fairpoint's website.
Here's another report of the sale from CNET (news.com)
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