Summary
1. There is no doubt that some FairPoint Communications subscribers have been suffering from lack of service and inadequate customer care. 2. If the original incumbent, Verizon, had made northern New England more of a priority, the situation would probably be better now. 3. However, with the avalanche of criticism on a telco that is really looking forward to providing advanced services to residents and businesses in the region, there needs to be a sense of perspective.
Analysis
This is not about playing favorites. As with all issues, it is about being brutally objective. From the PUCs and the newspapers, it has been not much more than a one-sided barrage of attacks.
There is no doubt that the PUCs are “faced with serious and persistent complaints about FairPoint.” But unfortunately, life is not always fair. There is every indication that FairPoint is for the most part doing the best it can in a very difficult situation. It would be different if the company was not making any progress. Once more, Verizon will make sure that there is a satisfactory conclusion given that it wants to unload a lot more lines in the future.
More importantly, given the recent data, it seems reasonable to assume that well over 90% of the customers in the three states together are not having any problems. (It is interesting that the PUCs never use percentages – could it be as high as 99 percent?) And how does devoting resources to “fill[ing] out detailed spreadsheets,” filing organizational charts, and producing in-depth written descriptions of all manner of things going to make the process happen any faster? In addition, requesting “New Hampshire-specific financial information,” appears to be nothing more than a fishing expedition. FairPoint should resist complying with any demand of that type.
Maybe it would be more efficient if the three states would get together and have a single set of requirements – rather than engage in a competition to see which PUC can come up with the most onerous ones. After all, if they really had the interests of the consumers in mind, they would want to avoid duplication that will only take time away from fixing the problems.
