Maine PUC Clears Condor/Consolidated

Consolidated Communications received Maine’s OK on the telco’s deal with Condor Holdings. The Maine Public Utilities Commission approved a stipulated settlement among Consolidated, Condor, the Maine Office Public Advocate, the Maine Connectivity Authority and the Telecom Association of Maine in a Thursday order in docket 2023-00327. Under the stipulation, Consolidated agreed to extend until August 2026 an existing freeze on provider of last resort rates. Among other pledges, the company said it will offer next year a 50 Mbps symmetrical broadband service for $25 monthly with a customer-supplied router or $35 with a company-supplied router, with that rate applying for at least 12 months. While the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers didn’t participate in the agreement, the PUC found the included parties represented “a sufficiently broad spectrum of interests.” Also, the agreed resolution “provides net benefits to Consolidated’s ratepayers,” the PUC said. In Vermont, the state's PUC held an evidentiary hearing on the same deal Wednesday (docket 23-4353-PET). The New Hampshire PUC is scheduled to hear testimony July 23-24. Charter Communications withdrew from all three state reviews last month (see 2406210040).