Maine PUC approves FairPoint plan for Chapter 11

On a 2-1 vote, Maine's Public Utilities Commission approved FairPoint's petition seeking approval of its bankruptcy plan and changes to the commission's 2008 order approving FairPoint's $2.3 billion purchase of Verizon properties in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Among other things, FairPoint was seeking a six-month delay for completion of the first phase of its broadband expansion plans, a reduction in the number of broadband lines that must be in service upon completion of its five-year expansion plan, and the ability to offer different pricing plans in different areas of the state. North Carolina-based FairPoint is seeking similar approvals in New Hampshire and Vermont, but regulators in those states have yet to make decisions.