N.H. regulators approve Verizon-FairPoint deal

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New Hampshire regulators have approved the sale of Verizon’s landline phone and Internet service in northern New England to North Carolina-based FairPoint Communications. The regulators say they believe FairPoint has shown that the proposed deal is for the public good.

Maine, Vermont and the Federal Communications Commission have already approved the $2.35 billion deal.

The approval is the last major regulatory hurdle for the sale to go through. A FairPoint spokeswoman says the companies hope to close the deal by the end of March.

FairPoint and Verizon announced more than a year ago plans for FairPoint to take over Verizon’s 1.7 million phone and Internet lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. FairPoint now has a total of just over 300,000 lines through the 30 phone companies it owns in 18 states.

The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission approved the deal 2-1.

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