FairPoint Communications sells payphone operations 

FairPoint Communications sells payphone operations

May 23, 2012 (Menafn - M2 EQUITYBITES via COMTEX) --Communications provider FairPoint Communications Inc FRP announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to sell its payphone business in northern New England to Pacific Telemanagement Services (PTS), a large payphone provider in the country, operating nationwide.

Financial details of the sale were not available.

According to the company, payphones have seen dramatic decreases in usage over the last decade and the trend is likely to continue. As a result the company believes it can best deploy its resources to focus on its core lines of business, including bringing more broadband service to northern New England.

FairPoint operates approximately 4,000 payphones across northern New England. The company's payphone business accounts for only about USD1.0m in annual revenue and due to the decrease in usage is becoming increasingly unprofitable.

PTS will purchase monthly access from FairPoint for any payphones it continues to operate after the deal is closed, which is expected to occur later this year.

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