FairPoint Communications was a landline phone, internet and TV company founded in 1991. It bought Verizon’s landlines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in 2008, then went through bankruptcy. Consolidated Communications bought FairPoint in a deal that closed July 3, 2017.
FairPoint Communications was acquired
FairPoint began in 1991 as MJD Communications. On March 31, 2008, it took over Verizon’s landline operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont for $2.4 billion. It filed for Chapter 11 on October 26, 2009, and emerged in January 2011. Consolidated Communications announced a deal to buy FairPoint in December 2016. The acquisition closed July 3, 2017.
If you had FairPoint service
FairPoint customers became Consolidated Communications customers when the deal closed on July 3, 2017. FairPoint was a wireline company, not a cell carrier, so there was no mobile line to move. For a FairPoint home phone or internet account, Consolidated Communications is the company to contact.
How FairPoint Communications ended
- 1991: FairPoint is founded as MJD Communications Inc.
- March 31, 2008: FairPoint takes over Verizon’s landline operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont for $2.4 billion.
- October 26, 2009: FairPoint files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
- January 2011: FairPoint emerges from bankruptcy.
- December 2016: Consolidated Communications announces a deal to acquire FairPoint.
- July 3, 2017: The acquisition closes; FairPoint becomes part of Consolidated Communications.
Why FairPoint was acquired
FairPoint took on Verizon’s northern New England landlines in 2008 and filed for bankruptcy the next year. It emerged in January 2011 as a smaller regional phone and internet provider. Consolidated Communications agreed in December 2016 to buy it in an all-stock deal. Consolidated’s CEO said the combination created a stronger company with more scale. The merged company served customers in 24 states.
How to find who holds an old number now
- Check an old bill or payment record. It names the company that billed you last.
- Run the number through a carrier lookup tool. It shows the carrier that holds the number today.
- Call that carrier and ask for the account number and transfer PIN.
- Start the port from the new carrier. Never cancel the old line first.
Your right to keep a number
Number portability is federal law, not a carrier policy. The rule is the FCC’s: Portability: Keeping Your Phone Number When Changing Service Providers.
How we verified FairPoint Communications
BestCellular.com tracks active carriers and defunct ones. We keep both, because people still search for brands that no longer exist. Every fact on this page comes from the sources listed below, and we leave a detail out when no source states it. Where sources disagree, this page says so. If you can document a correction, tell us and we will check it against the sources.
Tracked and active are different counts on this site. FairPoint Communications counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about FairPoint Communications
Is FairPoint Communications still available?
No. FairPoint stopped operating as a separate company when Consolidated Communications completed its acquisition on July 3, 2017. Former FairPoint service areas are served by Consolidated Communications.
Which network did FairPoint use?
FairPoint ran its own wireline network for home phone, internet and TV. It was not a cell carrier. Much of that network came from Verizon’s landlines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, bought in 2008.
What happened to FairPoint customers?
They became Consolidated Communications customers when the acquisition closed on July 3, 2017. The closing release did not announce specific changes to service, pricing or products for FairPoint customers.
Why did FairPoint go bankrupt?
The sources date the filing but do not explain the cause in detail. FairPoint filed for Chapter 11 on October 26, 2009, about 19 months after taking over Verizon’s northern New England landlines, and emerged in January 2011.
Sources
Checked October 13, 2026.
- FairPoint Communications (Wikipedia): Founded 1991; Verizon lines effective March 31, 2008; Chapter 11 October 26, 2009; Consolidated deal announced December 2016, closed July 2017.
- Consolidated Communications closing release, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1 (SEC): July 3, 2017: acquisition closed; about $1.3 billion including debt; 24 states.
Best Cellular. “FairPoint Communications: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/fairpoint-communications/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.
Live carriers to look at instead
No carrier took over FairPoint Communications’s customers. These carriers publish their network and run today.