Consolidated Communications of Northern New England Company, LLC is a
Bell Operating Company founded in 2006. It is a subsidiary of
Consolidated Communications
Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc., doing business as Consolidated Communications, is an American broadband and business communications provider headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois. The company provides data, internet, voice, managed an ...
and operates telephone lines in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, and
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...
originally served by
New England Telephone.
History
Northern New England Telephone Operations was created as a subsidiary of Verizon New England named Northern New England Telephone Operations, Inc. to operate exchanges that Verizon was preparing to sell to
FairPoint Communications in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, and
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
.
Sale to FairPoint
In 2008, the company was spun off from Verizon and merged into FairPoint, with all Northern New England Spinco subsidiaries becoming direct holdings of FairPoint. One of the conditions of the sale, despite protest by FairPoint, was that NNETO would be regulated as a
Bell Operating Company. The biggest element of this condition required FairPoint to follow rules applying to the
Baby Bells
The Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOC) are the result of '' United States v. AT&T'', the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust suit against the former American Telephone & Telegraph Company (later known as AT&T Corp.). On January 8, 19 ...
under the
Second Computer Inquiry decision in their newly acquired territories in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, and
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
.
FCC Grants Approval for Sale of Verizon Subsidiaries to Fairpoint
''Rural Spectrum Scanner''. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
Following the sale, Northern New England Telephone Operations was converted to a limited liability company. The company's operations in Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
were separated into Telephone Operating Company of Vermont, which is wholly owned by NNETO.
NNETO is separate from Northern Telephone Company of Maine, a FairPoint subsidiary which consists of some former Contel
ConTel Corporation (Continental Telephone) was the third largest independent phone company in the United States prior to the 1996 telecom deregulation. It was acquired by GTE in 1991.
History
In 1980, Contel purchased Network Analysis Corp, th ...
lines sold off by GTE in 1994.
Effective January 28, 2019, the company was renamed ''Consolidated Communications of Northern New England Company, LLC'' following the purchase of FairPoint by Consolidated Communications.
See also
*Verizon New England
Verizon New England, Inc. is a Bell Operating Company that serves most of Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island. It was formerly New England Telephone and Telegraph Company, more commonly known as New England Telephone, which for seven decades ...
* Consolidated Communications of Vermont
References
{{AT&T Spinoffs
Verizon Communications
FairPoint Communications
Bell System
American companies established in 2007
Communications in Maine
Communications in New Hampshire