PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — FairPoint Communications Inc. wants more time to file its bankruptcy reorganization plan.
The troubled telecommunications company said Wednesday, a day before its filing deadline, that it will submit the plan by Jan. 15 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.
The company is pushing back the deadline to finalize settlements with lenders, unions and other parties involved in the reorganization process, FairPoint officials said.
Meanwhile, FairPoint asked the court to put on hold an order from the Maine Public Utilities Commission that it pay rebates totaling $8 million over the next 12 months to its Maine customers because of poor service.
North Carolina-based FairPoint filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Oct. 26, barely 18 months after buying Verizon Communications’ land line and Internet operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The company has been suffering under a heavy debt load and technology problems.
