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Should Fairpoint Really Be Giving Broadband Advice?
Company continues to fight public/private efforts to wire Maine

After acquiring Verizon's Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont DSL and landline networks for $2.3 billion, Fairpoint Communications subsequently imploded under the debt load, created a multi-state crisis by bungling 911 service for months, missed all agreed to broadband expansion promises, could barely provide dial tone or broadband service to thousands of customers, couldn't answer the phone when they called, and then stumbled into bankruptcy. The company's CEO then tried to pretend that the real problem was bloggers and perception. As a nice follow up, consumers and Fairpoint business customers saw neither refunds or money owed.

Despite bankruptcy and their own incompetence at providing service, Fairpoint still found the time and funds to lobby Maine lawmakers to try and derail a public-private partnership between the University of Maine and Biddleford Internet Corporation (also known as GWI) aimed at trying to shore up broadband coverage gaps across Maine. Despite Maine's abysmal broadband penetration, Fairpoint continues to convince lawmakers they should pass bills that ban this partnership from expanding broadband across the State, according to Bangor Daily News:

quote:
FairPoint Communications took its cyber turf war with the University of Maine System to the State House on Wednesday, arguing for new restrictions on the institution’s ability to sell high-speed Internet services. Relations between Maine’s largest telecommunications company and the university system have been strained since last year when FairPoint officials accused the public system of unfairly competing with the private sector in offering broadband Internet.
Of course while busy riling up the locals about the evil dangers of a University expanding broadband into places Fairpoint won't (which as we all know is just a hop and a skip from Communism and bread lines), Fairpoint lobbyists continue to forget to mention that the effort their fighting is a public-private partnership -- the kind free marketeers and ISPs usually praise as a viable alternative to pure government involvement. Fairpoint also strangely forgets to mention they themselves have failed miserably at broadband expansion.

So again: why exactly does Fairpoint have any say in how Maine wires itself for broadband service?
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sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

1 edit

sonicmerlin

Member

Ironic Twist

If Maine ends up with public-private fiber across its state and the fastest national average internet speed, I'll pray the same implosion of telecommunications occurs in my state.

On a side note, I torrented a movie over here in Japan and my ISP sent me a letter warning me that I illegally downloaded a movie. I was shocked...I had no idea they could just rustle through my downloads and determine what was or wasn't legal. When did the entertainment industry sink its claws into ISPs over here?

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: Ironic Twist

Those letters are already happening over here:

»CNET Sticks By Verizon P2P Story [17] comments

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to sonicmerlin

Premium Member

to sonicmerlin
said by sonicmerlin:

On a side note, I torrented a movie over here in Japan and my ISP sent me a letter warning me that I illegally downloaded a movie. I was shocked...I had no idea they could just rustle through my downloads and determine what was or wasn't legal. When did the entertainment industry sink its claws into ISPs over here?
News story on Japan enforcement:

»blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=1063
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch to sonicmerlin

Member

to sonicmerlin
said by sonicmerlin:

On a side note, I torrented a movie over here in Japan and my ISP sent me a letter warning me that I illegally downloaded a movie. I was shocked...I had no idea they could just rustle through my downloads and determine what was or wasn't legal. When did the entertainment industry sink its claws into ISPs over here?
They didn't rustle through your downloads. Someone was just monitoring that torrent for IP addresses of folks downloading or uploading. Yours showed up, so you got a letter.

You do realize that anytime you're downloading, and/or seeding, your IP is publicly available, right? BT was never designed to be a private, anonymous technology.

NOCTech75
Premium Member
join:2009-06-29
Marietta, GA

NOCTech75

Premium Member

Amazing

This is from a company that on move orders cannot seem to add features properly. In the past month we have had 2 move orders complete, one with distinctive ring feature and another with call waiting on the order. The DRS1X feature actually worked, they just ignore the number we put in and assigned a new one (the number was available, was customers old ANI). Then it took the sacrifice of 100 chickens to get it working again. Same thing for the call waiting, it was part of a move order.. didn't get done. Opened several trouble tickets, those buffoons couldn't figure it out... finally found someone who figured it out and got it working.
brainlessdog
join:2005-11-30
Portsmouth, NH

brainlessdog

Member

Re: Amazing

Your troubles are the because of Gene Johnson's arrogance. Fairpoint replaced the back office systems with garbage software that still doesn't work right. Instead of buying the software from Verizon to run it, Fairpoint figured they could do it cheaper. The software doesn't work and never will. If you really want a laugh, try calling Tech Support in Texas. They don't have access to the network, usually have no record of your account, and tell you that a guy will be out within 72 hours.

darcilicious
Cyber Librarian
Premium Member
join:2001-01-02
Forest Grove, OR

darcilicious

Premium Member

Re: Amazing

Sad and scary all at the same time that someone came up with software worse than Verizon's

NOCTech75
Premium Member
join:2009-06-29
Marietta, GA

NOCTech75

Premium Member

Being reseller we enter tickets through their craptastic interface and we have another number to call... so that helps a bit. They also don't call to follow up after they have "resolved" a ticket, and I use the term resolved loosely because in many cases the issue is not resolved. The BEST part is when you call the wholesale helpdesk they enter tickets through a different system and have never seen the system we use to enter tickets, so if there is an issue with ticket entry they have to get support for our ticket system on the line to determine why a ticket wasn't accepted. Yeah, let's not use all the same system. Forget such advanced features as opening a ticket on multiple ANI's at one location... nope, can't do that. 20 lines down, 20 trouble tickets.
ElJay
join:2004-03-17
Portland, ME
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite
Ubiquiti Unifi UAP-AC-LITE

ElJay

Member

I don't see Fairpoint making an effort to build out service

They complain that this public-private partnership is going to take away business, but at the same time they have no feasible plans to make their own build. Plus Fairpoint admits the price will be lower than what they can do it for, so why on earth would we want THEM, of all companies, to do it?

Public-private partnerships seem to work all over the place. I think it's absurd to draft legislation to ban this specific one.

FairPunt
@comcast.net

FairPunt

Anon

Bullshit!


Fairpoints vast network is just fine!

They just need to send Luke Wilson and some broadband coverage maps up to the state capitol to explain it to the boys.

mouseferatu
Too many cats, Too many mice
MVM
join:2004-03-16
Im not sure

mouseferatu

MVM

FP first needs to locate the network they have

Before FairPoint worries about expansion, they need to find the assets that they supposedly control.

Their extensive system-wide outage in Southern NH last week warranted a recording on their HSI repair line which they forgot to update. It informed customers that anyone using DSL with a static IP was toast. Also said I should visit them on the Net.

Waited on hold for a technician for almost an hour. Got hung up on- not unusual, equipment malfunction, I think. Tried again, and got through after a repeat of the same canned message.

Told the technician I had fiber with a dynamic IP, the guy was adamant- not where I live. Could not find my account. Also knew nothing about who to send the problem on to since I didn't agree that I had DSL. And so forth, and so on...

IMO, Maine is foolish if they spend any more time on false promises from FP... they aren't worth the time to call a meeting for. Let someone else have a shot at it if they are willing to try- how much worse is it going to be?

Sierra
@rr.com

Sierra

Anon

What a crock

Fairpoint sucks. They will NEVER get their system working correctly. My grandmother has had phone problems for literally weeks. They've tried to work on it and can't fix it. They know its with their equipment, not in her house, they've figured out and admitted that at least, but still, its been 3.5 weeks already and its been 2 different issues with their stuff and it's not fixed. There are people in the house with medical issues and cell phones don't come in out there at all, so its kind of important to have properly working phone.

bewhole
I Am Here
Premium Member
join:2000-08-08
Alfred, ME

bewhole

Premium Member

three times

For those that need to know...
»www.wcsh6.com/news/local ··· d=114012
And I am glad that I don't have to use them. It is bad enough that I have to spend my tax $s on them.