In this week's Portland Phoenix, I wrote a piece about FairPoint and how bad its service is, as well as the fact that the company is projecting it may soon have to file for bankruptcy protection.
In that article, I also noted that FairPoint's public-relations department isn't much better at responding than its customer-service department appears to be.
My three voicemail messages for company spokesman Jeff Nevins begat an e-mail message asking for the questions. I don't usually like to ask questions over e-mail, given that it offers PR flacks a big opportunity to spin and not answer the questions. But Nevins said "the only way" I could get answers before my deadline was to e-mail them. That was Tuesday at noon. Still nothing.
So, as promised in the pages of the Portland Phoenix, here are the questions I sent. If and when FairPoint responds - and I have since called and e-mailed Rose Cummings, FairPoint's vice-president for corporate communications as well - I will post the answers. In the meantime, enjoy FairPoint's silence.
1) The 8-K filing says you want to capitalize the interest
on the $531 million in loans when you reissue the new notes. You remain,
however, obligated by rulings from state regulators to pay down a certain amount
of debt before the end of this year. Will you be able to meet that commitment?
And how does failing to pay interest on existing loans, and, in fact, borrowing
more money affect that commitment?
2) Please confirm how much of the $531 million you are
seeking to refinance is now accruing interest at an annual rate of 13 percent or
greater.
3) Businesses in downtown Portland and around Maine are
moving around; as some businesses close or reduce size, others are taking
advantage of lower rents and vacancies in better locations to build their
businesses. But they are being hamstrung, and losing business, as a result of
delays in getting phone service - people can neither find their businesses nor
call them to learn the new location. Several business owners I have spoken with
have even been unable to get a FairPoint person on the phone to help them
satisfactorily. When will FairPoint have these businesses fully connected?
4) Should they call your office for assistance, if they are
unable to get what they need from customer service? If not your office, then
whose? (Please include contact information.)
5) Many of these businesses are so frustrated with
FairPoint that they are on the verge of contacting TimeWarner to get phone and
Internet service. Given that FairPoint is already experiencing an attrition rate
higher than Verizon's attrition when that company was here, and given that your
business model is based on having a lower attrition rate than Verizon's, what
are you doing to stanch the losses?
6) FairPoint has promised - and been ordered by the Maine
PUC - to keep basic telephone rates frozen for five years. A common way for
phone companies to handle financial challenges is to seek a rate increase. Will
FairPoint commit to honoring its word, by promising not to seek to amend the
MPUC order freezing phone rates?
7) The people of northern New England want assurances that
you can meet your obligations to us. I'm not talking about making promises here,
but actual evidence. How much cash do you have now available for paying down
debt, for building out DSL, for investing in other infrastructure projects, and
your other obligations under the order allowing your takeover of Verizon's
business? How much cash do you yet need to raise to meet this year's
obligations? How, precisely, do you plan to do raise that amount of money? And
what about next year, and the years to come?
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