Fairpoint Looking at Possible $500,000 Fine

Maine regulators are considering a $500,000 fine for FairPoint for failing to meet service standards for landline customers during a period that included a four-month strike.

North Carolina-based FairPoint, which provides telephone service in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, contends bad weather and a cyber attack, along with the strike, contributed to unforeseen events for which it shouldn't be penalized.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission staff says FairPoint should've been better prepared for customer service problems. The full PUC now takes up the matter.

The proposed fine applies to a period from the middle of 2014 through all of 2015. A new law has lifted a requirement for FairPoint to provide landline access to 22 large communities with competition in Maine, but the requirement still covers about 150 other communities.