dslreports logo
 story category
Fairpoint Brand Killed, New Owner Focuses on Better Broadband

Fairpoint Communications owner Consolidated Communications says the company is killing off the Fairpoint brand and launching new efforts to shore up the ISP's lagging broadband offerings. Fairpoint has had a long, winding road--having acquired Verizon's unwanted New England broadband footprint (2007)--then filing for bankruptcy (2009) after it struggled to overcome the deal's debt load. During that period the ISP's users were shoveled from an owner that didn't care about them, to one without the funds or competency to do much better.

Click for full size
Consolidated clearly hopes to suggest things have changed with a new announcement stating the company will focus on improving lagging broadband speed upgrades.

The company says existing Fairpoint users shouldn't have to change their existing Fairpoint e-mail addresses. It also insists that the company is "well on its way to significantly boosting broadband speeds across its Northern New England service area," and will also soon offer improved VOIP and home security services.

"Today, we launch the Consolidated Communications brand to reflect a new day and our commitment to deliver best-in-class services to our customers," Consolidated CEO Bob Udell said in a statement.

"We are committed to making this transition a seamless experience for customers," the CEO added. "Since closing on the acquisition last July, we’ve made great progress on many initiatives to upgrade broadband platforms and make it easier for customers to do business with us by delivering new and enhanced products and self-service tools. This is also an exciting time for our employees as we join together as one team with greater scale and resources to ultimately deliver a better experience to our customers."

That said, these are users who have been waiting for "better broadband" for the better part of the last decade, only to be tossed from owner to owner under an often comical Keystone-cops-esque dance of dysfunction. Users can head over to our Fairpoint forum and let us know if Consolidated lives up to its promises, or if this is just the same story, now under a different brand.

Most recommended from 14 comments


wiredrunner
join:2017-06-19
Bristol, RI

3 recommendations

wiredrunner

Member

Like Trying to Turn the Titanic to Avoid the Iceberg

Telco's waited too long to update their outside plant. They should have moved to hybrid coax/fiber networks in the 90's.

Now that customers losses are visibly eating into their bottom line they are panicked, but it's too late to turn the ship around.

Once Verizon Wireless has rolled out fixed 5G they'll jettison the mother ship in the northeast - keeping enterprise and business divisions.

Economist
The economy, stupid
Premium Member
join:2015-07-10
united state

3 recommendations

Economist

Premium Member

Verizon is a bunch of geniuses

How much dough they got for that run down infrastructure PLUS that they found suckers in FairPoint and Frontier to actually pay it. I am very impressed.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

3 recommendations

tmc8080

Member

changing name

still a bankrupt company name change and all.. no mention of FTTP or upgrades that actually reach the home.. seems like a hunt for sunken Verizon treasure.

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· 5apiGaq0