Fairpoint Should Exit Bankruptcy This Month On track to bring DSL to 87% Of New England POTs markets Despite both Fairpoint Communications and New England regulators being unsure at the end of 2010 if they'd meet Verizon deal broadband deployment conditions, Fairpoint accelerated their effort and managed to meet their goal of delivering DSL to 83% of their customers. As a condition with their deal with Verizon (one Verizon's tried to wiggle out of several times now), Fairpoint promised to deliver DSL to 83% by the end of 2010, 85% by July of 2012, and 87 percent of its New England customers in five years. In a bit of additional good news for Fairpoint, the company received court approval for their reorganization plan and hopes to be out of bankruptcy by the end of the month. Interestingly, Verizon was the only court opponent: Verizon, based in New York, filed the only objection to the confirmation. It opposed a provision that prevents it, through an injunction, from pursuing certain legal claims it might have. "It bars Verizon from bringing claims in the first place," Darryl Laddin, a lawyer for Verizon, told the judge. "Theyre seeking to enjoin all claims." FairPoints lawyers said the lenders wouldnt have supported the reorganization plan if it didnt include the injunction. Representatives of Bank of America and creditors with unsecured claims backed up that contention. Vermont regulators, who blocked Fairpoint's reorganization plan last year because it contained what they believed were unrealistic financial projections, have also now approved the deal. According to the Associated Press however, the new deal with Vermont eliminates up to $12 million in refunds to customers that had been ordered because of service problems that included 911 issues.
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