Since Verizon sold their networks in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont to Fairpoint Communications for $2.3 billion, many have wondered if Fairpoint has the business chops (and the cash) to both keep the network running well -- and to keep expanding it further than Verizon did, as promised. Fairpoint CEO Gene Johnson, despite losing both 80,000 customers and stock value during the bumpy integration, remains bubbly and optimistic, blaming customer defections and a dropping stock price on competitors and regulators:Johnson insists there's "no rational basis" for their stock to have dropped from $8 a share to less than $3, saying he's "quite bullish" on the stock, and recently purchased 100,000 shares for himself. Of course Wall Street was quite rationally reacting to Fairpoint's initial trouble running New England 911 systems, and their three time delayed handover date. Fairpoint's paying Verizon $15 million a month to co-run the network until the official handover date at the end of this month -- the transition originally scheduled for last September.