Fairpoint Communications Got What It Deserved…………

………..For trying to Tarrant Vermont! That’s right, I said it! What were they thinking? TV ads minutes apart for months and Vermont still said no. Did they actually think they could just dump a bunch of money into advertising and get their way? I’ve never been so proud of Vermont’s Public Service Board, way to stand up to the big guys.

Regardless of Maine’s acceptance of Fairpoint’s terms, our state did the right thing. Monopolies of any utility especially statewide is asinine, just too much power for one company to possess. The simple fact is Vermonters asked for things, issues that were side-stepped or minimized by Fairpoint.

There was no negotiation or middle ground. Fairpoint pretty much said here this is what we’re going to do, approve it. For someone to already act like a monopoly in the state when they’re not even yet, makes me wonder what the future holds? It’d be nice if they were at least fair and to the point with Vermont.


Those ads on TV look like anywhere small town Vermont, but what are they really telling us? How financially they will be able to do this…….How financially this will help them. What about us? Where is the promise to Vermonters not to start jacking prices once they take over? Where’s the promise that when there’s a storm of significant proportions that they’re going to get out and get the lines back up in a timely manner? With a monopoly there aren’t any competitors for service, so why bother? What if it made better financial sense for the company to wait a week? They tell it to you straight in the ads, its all about the company finances.


Is all hope lost? Not really. If Fairpoint will come to the table, and Vermont’s Public Service Board holds steadfast, than an understanding can be had. In this case Vermont needs to think less like government and more like a corporation. What do we want to get from this, and how will it benefit us? The Public Service board should negotiate for better rates and increase caps from the start. Time will tell if the company is fair and to the point, and this was a good thing for Vermont.