Union leaders, small business representatives and some politicians are urging Gov. Jim Douglas to oppose a plan to sell the Verizon landline telephone system in Vermont to FairPoint Communications.
Representatives of those groups yesterday used a wheelbarrow to deliver 2,600 postcards expressing that opinion to a Douglas representative.
FairPoint is hoping to buy Verizon’s landline system in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The deal must be approved by utility regulators in the three states. The Vermont Public Service Board is expected to issue its ruling by the end of the year.
Vermont opponents of the sale don’t believe FairPoint has the financial capacity to expand broadband internet to all corners of the state.