STATE OF VERMONT PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD Docket No. 7270 Joint Petition of Verizon New England, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Vermont, Certain Affiliates Thereof, and FairPoint Communications, Inc. for approval of an asset transfer, acquisition of control by merger and associated transactions ) ) ) ) ) PREFILED SURREBUTTAL TESTIMONY OF CHRISTOPHER J. CAMPBELL ON BEHALF OF THE VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE August 10, 2007 Summary: Mr. Campbell provides the Department’s summary recommendation in this docket, and addresses issues of broadband, capital investment, alternative regulation and other Vermont regulatory obligations, and emergency services. Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 1 of 42 1 Prefiled Surrebuttal Testimony 2 of 3 Christopher J. Campbell 4 Table of Contents 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Introduction and Overall Assessment ................................................................................. 1 Public Good/Public Benefits ............................................................................................... 6 FairPoint’s Broadband Plan .............................................................................................. 10 A Consistent Coverage Broadband Plan ........................................................................... 23 Capital Investment / Efficiencies / Just and Reasonable Terms and Conditions .............. 30 Alternative Regulation and General Regulatory Issues .................................................... 34 Availability of Emergency Services ................................................................................. 39 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 41 15 Introduction and Overall Assessment 16 Q. Please state your name and occupation. 17 A. My name is Christopher J. Campbell. My business address is 112 State Street, 18 Drawer 20, Montpelier, VT 05620. I am the Director for Telecommunications 19 for the Vermont Department of Public Service. 20 Q. 21 Are you the same Christopher Campbell who has testified previously in this case? 22 A. Yes. 23 Q. What is the purpose of your testimony at this time? 24 A. My testimony will provide the overarching recommendation of the 25 Department in this case. I will provide an assessment of FairPoint’s Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 2 of 42 1 broadband plan and describe an alternative to this plan. I will provide rebuttal 2 of and responses to testimony provided by FairPoint witnesses on a number of 3 specific issues, including capital investment, the alternative regulation plan 4 and elements of Verizon’s and FairPoint’s other current regulatory obligations 5 in Vermont, and readiness of FairPoint to respond to a natural disaster or other 6 widespread emergency. 7 Q. Does the Department believe that the Joint Petitioners have sufficiently 8 demonstrated that the proposed transaction meets the standard used by the 9 Board to determine if such a transaction would promote the public good? 10 A. No. At a general level, in order to approve this transaction, the Board must 11 determine that, for the public, the benefits of this proposal are greater than its 12 drawbacks. This transaction has potentially a large downside for Vermont and 13 its consumers. I will summarize some of the most important the concerns 14 expressed by the Department’s witnesses. The transaction involves a massive 15 and, according to FairPoint, one-way, conversion of its support systems. A 16 failure to successfully convert could cause significant disruption for 17 consumers and the other telecommunications companies that rely on 18 Verizon’s network, and FairPoint has had issues with prior system 19 conversions in Northern New England, specifically related to its billing 20 system. While FairPoint states an intention to improve service quality and fix 21 problems in this area that Verizon has had, it has had a mixed track record 22 itself with regards to service quality and consumer complaints. It would be Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 3 of 42 1 taking over a wholesale operation, a line of business in which it is not 2 experienced, and a failure to perform could have serious adverse 3 consequences on the competitive landscape in Vermont. Finally, while the 4 Department’s concerns about FairPoint’s financial capabilities have been 5 reduced through the exercise of a sensitivity analysis (described in the 6 surrebuttal testimony of Mr. Jeanson), FairPoint simply cannot back its 7 operation in Vermont with the level of financial and other resources that 8 Verizon can. 9 Q. Are you saying that FairPoint cannot or will not succeed in Vermont? 10 A. No. I am saying that there are risks, and the risks are not trivial. 11 Q. Can these risks be mitigated? 12 A. Yes. Most of the conditions proposed by myself and the rest of the 13 Department’s witnesses in surrebuttal and prior testimony are safeguards, 14 intended to reduce the likelihood of problems occurring because of the 15 transaction, or reducing the magnitude of the problem for Vermont if they do. 16 We are proposing financial and managerial safeguards, service quality and 17 customer service safeguards, safeguards for the systems conversion, 18 competitive safeguards, and pricing and service availability safeguards. These 19 and other conditions proposed by various Department witnesses are compiled 20 in Exhibit DPS-CJC-5. 21 Q. Do these safeguards eliminate the risks of this transaction? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 4 of 42 1 A. No, I believe that they will reduce the risk to Vermont to acceptable levels, 2 but they will not eliminate it entirely. The remaining risk continues to create a 3 significant downside for Vermont, although one that is not as large as with the 4 safeguards. 5 Q. Is the Department recommending any other types of conditions? 6 A. Yes. The Department is recommending various other conditions which deal 7 with regulatory issues which arise because FairPoint is a different company 8 with a different origin than Verizon. We are also recommending conditions 9 that are intended to facilitate the resolution of ongoing issues involving 10 Verizon related to service quality and utility poles. These are also 11 summarized in Exhibit DPS-CJC-5. In addition, I would reserve a right to 12 recommend additional conditions or modified conditions based on additional 13 evidence, including but not limited to testimony provided at hearings. 14 Q. 15 16 If the Board imposed these conditions, does the Department believe that the transaction would be in the public good? A. These conditions alone would not be sufficient. The safeguards reduce 17 potential harm but do not by themselves produce a benefit. The other 18 conditions simply deal with new situations that the transaction creates or 19 require FairPoint to meet an expectation or deal with an issue with which we 20 would expect Verizon to deal anyway. What is missing is that which will 21 make Vermont better off because of the transaction. FairPoint has identified a Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 5 of 42 1 number of ways in which it believes the public good will be enhanced by the 2 transaction. I will analyze and discuss these further in my testimony, but in 3 general, I do not believe that the magnitude of the benefits that FairPoint has 4 proposed offset the remaining risks to the state, even with the safeguards that 5 the Department has proposed. 6 Q. Do you believe that there are benefits that FairPoint could provide which it 7 has not yet offered that would make this transaction a net positive for the 8 public good? 9 A. Yes. I will describe one, a “consistent coverage” plan for broadband in more 10 detail. Ms. Pariseau, in her surrebuttal testimony, recommends additional 11 service quality standards at a more granular level for network trouble report 12 rates and troubles not cleared in 24 hours.1 I would regard the adoption of 13 these specific and enforceable standards, designed to target “hotspots” of 14 troubles masked by the statewide average, as an enhancement to the public 15 good on service quality. I would also regard Mr. Wheaton’s recommendation 16 that FairPoint include a Vermont resident on its Board of Directors as an 17 enhancement to the public good of Vermont. 1 Ms. Pariseau recommends that FairPoint track on a monthly basis, Trouble Report Rates and Troubles Not Cleared in 24 Hours by exchange, and that it be required to ensure that no exchange has a rate on any of these measures that exceeds twice the statewide standard. Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 6 of 42 1 2 Public Good/Public Benefits Q. 3 4 In your opinion, what are some of the key pieces of testimony from FairPoint witnesses regarding whether or not this transaction will serve the public good? A. 5 6 7 8 9 10 At page 33 of his rebuttal testimony, Mr. Nixon testified, The synergies discussed by Mr. Leach, myself, and others will enable FairPoint to allocate more resources to provisioning broadband and meeting service commitments than would otherwise be the case. With implementation of FairPoint’s plan, residents of Vermont will receive the benefits of expanded broadband infrastructure and internet service, as well as enhanced telecommunications customer service. 11 At page 46 of his rebuttal testimony, Mr. Leach testified, 12 13 14 15 [A]s a result of this transaction and the projected synergies, Vermont consumers should expect to see no related increase in prices, improved customer service, and, most importantly, greater access to broadband and an array of high-quality advanced services. 16 As stated by Mr. Nixon and Mr. Leach, the primary public benefits to this 17 transaction are (1) more broadband, (2) better customer service, and (3) no 18 increase in prices. 19 Q. Do you agree that no increase in prices is a public benefit of this transaction? 20 A. No. Verizon’s ability to raise prices on services which do not qualify as “new 21 services” under the alternative regulation plan is already constrained. Verizon 22 may raise prices on “new services,” and Mr. Skriven, in his rebuttal testimony 23 at pages 10 and 11, objected to my proposal, contained in my prior testimony, 24 to limit price increases on “new services” which FairPoint inherits from Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 7 of 42 1 Verizon. In short, FairPoint’s proposal on prices is nothing more than the 2 status quo, not an enhancement. 3 Q. 4 5 Do you agree that better customer service is a public benefit of this transaction? A. No, because it is not possible to find evidence on which to base such a 6 finding. Fairpoint has not, for example, committed to higher specific and 7 enforceable service quality standards than Verizon. It is true that Fairpoint 8 has promised to remedy Verizon’s repeated failure to meet its residential 9 troubles not cleared within 24 hours standard. However, FairPoint has not 10 shown a plan for doing so. The Department believes that the Board could 11 require Verizon to remedy service quality failures (and should if it does not 12 approve this transaction), and that, if so required, Verizon has the ability to do 13 so. The fact that FairPoint has agreed that it will need to take steps to remedy 14 Verizon’s repeated failure to meet a key service quality metric is certainly a 15 good thing. The Department would certainly expect it. (It would be a serious 16 mistake if FairPoint were to simply claim, like Ms. Porell in her rebuttal 17 testimony, that the standard is simply too difficult to meet.) However, on this 18 issue it seems that FairPoint claims extra credit for saying it will meet the base 19 expectations. 20 21 Q. Can the Board rely on FairPoint’s statements that they are committed to better customer service? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 8 of 42 1 A. If FairPoint had a long track record of delivering excellent customer service, I 2 would say, yes, the Board could take that as evidence that FairPoint was likely 3 to deliver similar results in this larger undertaking. But as Ms. Pariseau 4 describes in her testimony earlier in this case (which FairPoint has not 5 rebutted), and as she shows in her description of consumer complaint trends in 6 her surrebuttal testimony, FairPoint’s track record on service quality is mixed. 7 So while I certainly applaud FairPoint for stating that they are committed to 8 better quality service, and I do not question their sincerity, this is not enough 9 for us to take it for granted that it will be so. 10 Q. 11 12 Do you agree with the rebuttal testimony of Mr. Leach regarding how the Board should examine the public benefits of this transaction? A. I agree that Mr. Leach has identified the biggest potential areas of public 13 benefit: lower rates, better quality service, and expansion of services. I also 14 agree that in some sense expansion of broadband service in particular is the 15 greatest single opportunity for FairPoint to create new value for Vermont. In 16 that sense the company has chosen a good yardstick by which to measure the 17 public benefits of the proposal. I am disagreeing about the amount of new 18 public benefit which we can measure in FairPoint’s proposal. 19 20 Q. Doesn’t FairPoint’s plan for increased employment in Vermont count as a public benefit? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 9 of 42 1 A. Yes, I would agree that the increased employment that FairPoint states it will 2 produce in and near Vermont can be counted a public benefit in the 3 company’s favor. Dr. Ileo describes the magnitude of this benefit in his 4 surrebuttal testimony. However, I would caution against approving this 5 transaction on the basis of increased employment as the sole or primary public 6 benefit, as opposed to one benefit among a number of important benefits. 7 Q. Why would you recommend that caution? 8 A. One reason is because FairPoint cannot be held to its promise, and it is 9 therefore not certain that these jobs will actually materialize in Vermont, or if 10 they do, how long they will be here. Nor would I advise the Board in this case 11 to remedy this fact with a condition on the transaction which would require 12 the jobs FairPoint has promised to be located in Vermont for some period. As 13 tempting as it might be to impose such a condition, I believe that the number 14 and location of jobs should be primarily driven by what best serves the 15 interests of the consumers, not driven by a regulatory condition that is not 16 related to that consideration. Moreover, if Vermont were to impose this type 17 of condition and other states were to impose similar conditions, a company 18 like FairPoint with multi-state operations might find itself prevented from 19 organizing its operations in a way that best provided the best, most cost- 20 effective service to consumers. Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 10 of 42 1 Beyond the question of whether FairPoint will increase its own employment is 2 whether job creation by FairPoint should be our primary concern even for 3 economic development. It is certainly one factor. However, a more important 4 economic development factor is the extent to which FairPoint provides good 5 quality service, reasonable prices, and investments in the development of the 6 network, which will support all sorts of employers and economic activity 7 across the board. FairPoint’s Broadband Plan 8 9 Q. Have you analyzed FairPoint’s broadband plan described in the rebuttal 10 testimony of Mr. Brown and the response to DPS:FP 2-61 (second 11 supplemental), and if so, can you comment on how this proposal compares to 12 the level of service which Verizon would be committed to under the 13 Alternative Regulation Plan? 14 A. I have reviewed FairPoint’s proposal. In general, I find little that would make 15 it superior to the commitment by Verizon, at least for Vermont consumers. 16 My overall impression from the testimony of Mr. Brown is that FairPoint 17 believes that it can deliver DSL less expensively and somewhat faster than 18 Verizon. However, much of the benefit appears to accrue only to FairPoint, 19 not consumers. I do not fault FairPoint for seeking efficiencies in the 20 deployment of broadband services. In fact, I applaud it. However, what will Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 11 of 42 1 matter to consumers is when and whether broadband service is available, with 2 what capabilities, and at what price. 3 Q. 4 5 Which FairPoint broadband plan have you primarily relied upon in your analysis? A. Since the plan provided in the second supplemental response to DPS:FP 2- 6 61(“the Second Supplemental Plan”) contains more detail and was provided at 7 a later date, I have relied upon that version of the plan. 8 Q. 9 10 Has FairPoint committed to a greater level of broadband availability than Verizon? A. FairPoint has certainly stated that they will exceed the level of broadband 11 service availability promised by Verizon, but a close analysis shows that the 12 size of the commitment is essentially the same as that to which Verizon would 13 be obligated to produce. 14 BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL 15 2 16 17 18 19 20 2 Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 12 of 42 1 END CONFIDENTIAL 2 I have reviewed the locations in which FairPoint says they plan to make 3 investments. I have adjusted FairPoint’s figures to account for investments 4 that Verizon has said that they will make prior to the closing which also 5 appear in FairPoint’s Second Supplemental Plan to determine what 6 incremental investments FairPoint itself would be making. I have also made 7 adjustments to exclude DSL expansions planned by FairPoint which would 8 not count toward the fulfillment of Verizon’s broadband commitment. I have 9 calculated the percentage of broadband availability that these adjusted access 10 line numbers would produce. My adjustments and the results of my 11 calculations are shown in Exhibit DPS-CJC-6, which is a series of 12 spreadsheets I used to arrive at my conclusion. 13 Q. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 What adjustments have you made to FairPoint’s number of planned additional broadband lines addressable? A. I have made two types of adjustment. BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 13 of 42 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 END CONFIDENTIAL Q. Using these adjusted figures, what sort of broadband availability would that produce? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 14 of 42 1 A. The final page of Exhibit DPS-CJC-6 shows the results of my calculations. 2 First of all, based on Verizon discovery responses, I calculated Verizon’s 3 current3 percentage of access lines qualified for broadband, which I calculated 4 to be 5 BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL 6 7 8 9 10 11 4 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 3 4 Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 15 of 42 1 END CONFIDENTIAL 2 Next I took the number of lines that Verizon reported it planned to have 3 qualified for DSL at the end of 2007 and added to it the adjusted number of 4 additional lines that FairPoint plans to qualify under its Second Supplemental 5 Plan. Then I calculated what level of broadband availability would be, 6 assuming no line losses through the end of 2009. That number was 80.4%. 7 Q. What would the effect of line losses be? 8 A. Line losses can have the effect of either increasing or decreasing the 9 percentage of broadband service availability produced from a given number of 10 lines qualified for broadband. If line losses occur proportionally across the 11 company’s territory, or if line losses occur disproportionally among lines 12 which are not qualified for broadband, the denominator of the equation 13 decreases and a given increase in the number of broadband-qualified lines will 14 produce a higher total percentage of lines qualified for broadband. If line loss 15 occurs largely among lines which are not qualified for broadband, this means 16 that some expansion of lines qualified for broadband is needed just to keep the 17 percentage constant. 18 BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL 19 . 20 . 21 Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 16 of 42 1 . 2 . 3 4 END CONFIDENTIAL Q. 5 6 Have you prepared an example of the potential effect of line losses on the results of the broadband availability? A. Yes. On the last page of Exhibit CJC-DPS-6, I have recalculated the 7 percentage of broadband availability, assuming some line losses. I kept 8 constant the number of lines newly qualified for broadband by FairPoint. I 9 assumed, for the sake of this example, that Verizon would lose 4% of its 10 access lines during the remainder of 2007. I further assumed that FairPoint 11 would lose 10% of its access lines over the two years 2008-2009, and the 12 same percentage of the lines which had previously been qualified for DSL by 13 Verizon. This produced a broadband availability rate of 85.2%. I note that 14 the range of broadband availability (80.4%-85.2%) produced under my 15 examples, is nearly identical to the range projected by Mr. Brown at page 27 16 of his rebuttal testimony (80-85%). 17 Q. Are you suggesting that the fact that line losses can increase the percentage of 18 lines qualified for broadband (or reduce the number of lines qualified needed 19 to reach a given target) is somehow inconsistent with the spirit of the 20 agreement reached in the Verizon Alternative Regulation Plan? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 17 of 42 1 A. Not at all. I am merely pointing out that there is some natural variability in 2 the number of lines, which is used to calculate the percentage of broadband 3 lines qualified. Presumably, either Verizon or FairPoint would seek to limit 4 line losses, and therefore aim to qualify a number of lines for broadband that 5 would allow them to meet the 80% target if they were successful. If either 6 company was somewhat less successful at limiting line losses, then it might 7 result in a slightly higher percentage of lines qualified for broadband. 8 Q. What conclusion do you draw from your analysis? 9 A. The effect of line losses is a variable that is not entirely predictable. 10 Therefore, either Verizon or FairPoint will need to aim at least slightly higher 11 than the 80% target in order to be assured of meeting the required level of 12 broadband availability. In the examples I have given, when no line losses are 13 assumed, the commitment contained in the Second Supplemental Plan is 14 essentially at the target required under the Alternative Regulation Plan. If 15 some line losses are assumed, a very modest increase in the percentage of 16 broadband results, but it is due to the effect of the line losses, not because of 17 any increased effort by FairPoint. In essence, the Second Supplemental Plan 18 is not a plan for doing fundamentally more than Verizon is required to do to 19 meet its broadband commitment. 20 21 Q. Has FairPoint in fact committed to meet Verizon’s broadband availability benchmarks significantly faster than Verizon would be obligated to do? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 18 of 42 1 2 A. No. BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 END CONFIDENTIAL Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 19 of 42 1 Q. 2 3 Has FairPoint committed to providing more capable broadband service than Verizon? A. No. Mr. Brown, at page 28 of his rebuttal testimony, says that while the 4 network that FairPoint intends to deploy will be capable of greater speeds, 5 FairPoint intends to mirror Verizon’s 3-Megabit service offering. 6 Q. Has FairPoint committed to lower broadband service prices than Verizon? 7 A. No. At page 32 of his rebuttal testimony, Mr. Brown states that FairPoint will 8 9 mirror the pricing offered by Verizon today. Q. In your testimony previously in this docket, you said that, for the purposes of 10 calculating broadband availability which would fulfill the requirements of the 11 alternative regulation plan FairPoint should only be allowed to count lines on 12 which it offers services which have upload and download speeds not less than 13 those offered by Verizon in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York, for 14 prices not greater than Verizon offers in those states. Could you address the 15 concerns of Mr. Brown, expressed at page 37 of his rebuttal testimony? 16 A. Yes. I simply meant that the broadband services FairPoint’s offers in 17 Vermont should be able to equal or better comparable Verizon services in 18 these states on price and speed. 19 Q. 20 21 Did you intend this condition to require that FairPoint offer fiber-to-the-home, if Verizon offers it in those states? A. No. Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 20 of 42 1 Q. Could you illustrate your proposed condition with an example? 2 A. Yes. Suppose FairPoint offers a DSL service that provides 3 Mbps download 3 speed and 1 Mbps upload speed, for $30/mo. If in those three states, Verizon 4 offered a broadband service that provided the same download and upload 5 speeds for the same price, the condition would be satisfied, regardless of what 6 other broadband services Verizon offered. Likewise, if Verizon offered a 7 3Mbps up/1 Mbps down, but charged $35/mo. for it, or its $30/mo. services 8 all offered lesser upload or download speeds, the condition would also be 9 satisfied. However, if Verizon offered a 3Mbps up/1 Mbps down, but charged 10 $25/mo. for it, or its $30/mo. services all offered greater upload or download 11 speeds than FairPoint’s service, the condition would not be satisfied. 12 Q. Do you believe that the condition is unnecessary, as Mr. Brown states? 13 A. No. I am happy to hear Mr. Brown state that FairPoint’s DSL platform will 14 be at least Verizon’s equal and that its pricing will mirror Verizon’s (at least 15 Verizon’s current pricing). However, without a condition, these statements 16 are unenforceable and could change at any time. 17 Q. In summary, then, is the Second Supplemental Plan a significant improvement 18 over the broadband which would be in place for Verizon if this transaction 19 was not approved? 20 21 A. No. FairPoint has not outlined how its broadband services will be superior to Verizon’s for consumers in Vermont. Mr. Brown in his rebuttal testimony Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 21 of 42 1 does talk about the advantages of FairPoint’s technology choices, especially 2 cost savings. While I applaud the prospect of those savings, the benefits 3 appear to accrue entirely to FairPoint. It does not seem that those savings 4 translate into either greater availability or better prices for Vermonters. Nor 5 are greater speeds and capabilities promised, at least for the foreseeable 6 future. 7 Q. 8 expansion similar to the one that Verizon is committed to already? 9 10 How much is FairPoint estimating it will spend to achieve a broadband BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL A. 11 12 13 END CONFIDENTIAL Q. 14 15 16 17 18 19 Do any of the elements of this estimate appear to be expenditures that Verizon is already obligated to make? A. Yes. According to Attachment A, DPS:FP 2-61.5(Second Supplemental), as part of Phase II of its broadband plan, Fairpoint intends to install BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 22 of 42 1 2 3 END CONFIDENTIAL 4 Verizon was allowed to spend approximately $6 million on infrastructure 5 projects, primarily to create additional interoffice redundancy, in lieu of 6 paying out Service Quality Compensation Payments in the form of refunds to 7 customers. This compensation was due for failure by Verizon to meet its 8 service quality standards in 2003. According to the reports submitted by 9 Verizon pursuant to that settlement, that project is currently in progress. 10 Q. How much has FairPoint estimated that this part of the project will cost? 11 A. That is not clear to me from the materials the Department has received from 12 FairPoint. However, in the Docket 6957 settlement, it was projected that this 13 project would cost 14 BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL 15 16 17 18 END CONFIDENTIAL Q. Because of the 2006 amendments to the Alternative Regulation Plan including the broadband commitment, how much would be the foregone rate reduction Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 23 of 42 1 which would otherwise be in place during the presumed period when 2 FairPoint would control the property in Vermont? 3 A. As of July 1, 2007, the rate reductions which the Board had ordered would go 4 into effect absent the amendments to the plan would have been $9.44 million 5 per year. As of July 1, 2008, the amount would have increased to $11.24 6 million per year. Put another way, the 7 BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL 8 9 END CONFIDENTIAL 10 that FairPoint has estimated it will spend (minus the amount for projects 11 related to Verizon’s Docket 6957 obligations, minus the amount for DSL 12 deployments contained in FairPoint’s plan which Verizon plans to complete 13 before closing) is the price of the commitment, originally made by Verizon, 14 that allows it to avoid $32.82 million in Board-ordered rate reductions over 15 the period 2008-2010. 16 17 A Consistent Coverage Broadband Plan Q. Among the ways that FairPoint or some other company could improve on the 18 current Verizon broadband commitment, what do you think would be the most 19 valuable at this time? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 24 of 42 1 A. I believe that, for the public, the most valuable way that FairPoint could 2 improve on Verizon’s commitment would be to provide consistent broadband 3 coverage. 4 Q. What do you mean by “consistent coverage?” 5 A. I mean making broadband service available to everyone in a local area or 6 region, not only to some. 7 Q. In much of Vermont today, is broadband service consistently available? 8 A. No, unfortunately, it is not. Please see Exhibit DPS-CJC-9. This is the latest 9 map that the Department produced for public release of broadband service in 10 Vermont. Although it does not show some recent expansions of broadband 11 service, it will serve to illustrate the pattern of broadband availability in 12 Vermont. There are very few regions of the state that are completely without 13 broadband service. However, in most regions of the state, there are many 14 pockets where broadband service is not available. These pockets are likely 15 present to a greater degree than even is evident from this map, because they 16 are masked by the scale of the map and because the extent of WISP service 17 and Verizon DSL service availability is often estimated. 18 Q. 19 20 21 Isn’t the most important thing to simply get broadband to as many additional people as possible? A. At one time and not very long ago, yes, this was the most important thing. However, many people in the state now do have access to broadband. Those Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 25 of 42 1 who are left behind are a pressing concern. The state of Vermont is now 2 committed to a goal of 100% broadband availability. When one is committed 3 to covering everyone, and not just a higher fraction of everyone, it is 4 important not only to consider how many more people will be reached, but 5 how difficult it will be to reach those who are still not being covered. 6 Q. 7 8 What challenges does inconsistent broadband coverage present in the effort to get broadband to everyone? A. When the people who do not have broadband service are located in scattered and discontinuous areas, or when they are in the proverbial “donut” 9 10 surrounding the “donut hole” that has coverage, it can be more difficult and 11 expensive to expand service to all of them than if they were located together 12 in a contiguous area. An existing provider may find it easier to fill in gaps in 13 its coverage, but a new provider may need to overbuild already covered areas 14 to reach uncovered ones when the existing pattern of coverage is not 15 consistent. 16 Q. Are there areas of the state that have a pattern of continuous coverage today? 17 A. Yes. The most notable examples of consistent coverage are provided by some 18 of the independent telephone companies in the state, companies like 19 Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom, Topsham Telephone, and 20 Vermont Telephone. These companies provide 100% broadband availability Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 26 of 42 1 across their service territories. FairPoint itself provides 100% DSL 2 availability in some of its exchanges, such as Alburgh and Isle La Motte. 3 Q. How does the availability of DSL vary across the Verizon footprint today? 4 A. Please see Exhibit DPS-CJC-10. This is a map illustrating information 5 obtained from FairPoint in discovery about the percentage of broadband 6 availability in Verizon exchanges currently. 7 Q. 8 9 How would DSL availability vary across that footprint under the kind of broadband deployment plan FairPoint has proposed? A. Please see Exhibit DPS-CJC-11. This map, based on data obtained from 10 FairPoint in discovery, illustrates FairPoint’s calculation of the level of DSL 11 availability in its exchanges after its DSL expansion. As you can see, more 12 exchanges have some DSL and many exchanges have more DSL availability, 13 but a pattern of inconsistent coverage persists. 14 Q. 15 16 What kind of broadband plan do you think would have significant public benefit and would help to provide consistent coverage? A. A commitment from FairPoint to achieve 100% broadband availability in 50% 17 of its exchanges by the end of 2010, in addition to meeting the broadband 18 commitment under the Alternative Regulation Plan, would have such value. 19 Q. Could you clarify what you mean by “exchanges?” 20 A. Yes. I mean the areas that make up the 99 different Verizon rate centers in the 21 state, including localities which are served by central offices in other states. Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 27 of 42 1 These exchanges are shown on the maps I have included as exhibits to show 2 DSL availability. 3 Q. Could you provide an example of what this might look like? 4 A. Yes. Please see Exhibit DPS-CJC-12. This map shows what 50 exchanges 5 with continuous coverage might look like. This example is intended to be 6 illustrative, not to show the only acceptable combination of 50 exchanges. I 7 selected these exchanges to be largely contiguous with each other and other 8 areas of continuous coverage, and to include both smaller and larger area 9 exchanges. I considered the availability of broadband service from other 10 alternative providers. I also used information in Attachment A, DPS:FP 2- 11 61.6 (Second Supplemental), and the information provided by Verizon in 12 discovery on central offices in which there were planned DSL expansions in 13 2007 to estimate the difference in the number of access lines which would 14 likely be DSL qualified at closing and the number of additional lines which 15 would be qualified if 100% DSL availability were achieved in these 16 exchanges. I attempted to construct a set which included approximately the 17 same number of additional lines that FairPoint has proposed in its plan to 18 qualify for DSL. To state this another way, the total number of additional 19 DSL lines in this example is similar to FairPoint’s plan, only the distribution 20 is different. Because I did not have information on the number of lines in 21 localities or in certain central offices without switches, I did not include these 22 exchanges in the example. Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 28 of 42 1 Q. 2 3 How much more would it cost FairPoint to distribute broadband deployment in this way? A. I do not have any FairPoint-specific information on which to produce a cost 4 estimate. However, Mr. Wierson has suggested in his testimony provided 5 previously in this docket that DSL deployment in a rural area might cost as 6 much as $700 per line qualified. Mr. Brown has suggested in his rebuttal that 7 this is too high. Nevertheless, if providing 100% broadband availability 8 across at least 50% of the exchanges in the Verizon footprint were to cost as 9 much as $700 per line, then 10 BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL 11 12 13 14 15 16 END CONFIDENTIAL Q. 17 18 What other features do you think should be a part of such a consistent coverage plan? A. There are three other features. First, FairPoint should determine which 19 exchanges it will serve with 100% broadband availability, and publicly 20 announce these areas as soon as possible after closing. Second, FairPoint 21 should offer a broadband service plan with a data transmission rate of not less Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 29 of 42 1 than 1.5 Mbps per second in at least one direction throughout these exchanges. 2 Third, to further promote a pattern of consistent coverage the exchanges 3 which are targeted for 100% broadband availability should be contiguous with 4 at least one other exchange (served by FairPoint or another company) with 5 actual or planned 100% broadband availability. 6 Q. 7 8 Why would it be important that FairPoint publicly announce the exchanges in which it would provide broadband service throughout? A. 9 Between now and 2010, a substantial amount of public effort and possibly dollars will be expended in Vermont to reach the goal of 100% broadband 10 availability. By announcing in advance what areas it would provide 11 ubiquitous service, FairPoint would allow time, attention, and resources to be 12 focused on those areas which would remain uncovered. This would also 13 benefit FairPoint by directing publicly-assisted broadband deployment efforts 14 away from areas in which they might compete with FairPoint’s own efforts. 15 Q. 16 17 Why have you proposed that such a plan should include a minimum data transmission rate? A. It is clear that what is considered acceptable speed for a broadband service is 18 increasing over time. It is possible to take a technology like DSL and push it 19 over long loops, but the performance will decrease compared to shorter loops. 20 There should be some minimum acceptable level of service. The 1.5 Mbps Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 30 of 42 1 standard is found in 30 V.S.A., § 8077, which has to do with the establishment 2 of minimum technical service objectives for broadband service in Vermont. 3 Q. Do you believe that the type of broadband expansion plan that you have just 4 described could be considered a significant public benefit, and could be used 5 to help support a finding that a transaction such as this one was in the public 6 good? 7 A. 8 significant public benefit. 9 10 Yes, a commitment to provide this type of broadband expansion would be a Capital Investment / Efficiencies / Just and Reasonable Terms and Conditions Q. In this case, how are the following three the criteria related, all of which have 11 been used by the Board to evaluate transactions like the one that is being 12 proposed: (1) the rate of capital investment, (2) just and reasonable terms and 13 conditions, and (3) the transaction produces efficiencies? 14 A. In their direct testimony and rebuttal testimony, FairPoint’s witnesses support 15 the position that FairPoint’s planned capital investments are adequate and 16 greater than Verizon’s on a per-line basis. Furthermore, FairPoint’s witnesses 17 appear to say that FairPoint will be able to invest more efficiently than 18 Verizon did in the past, which helps to justify decreases in gross amounts of 19 capital expenditures. Assuming that what FairPoint says is true about its 20 ability to achieve efficiencies, then the question is how will Vermont benefit? 21 Will it benefit by greater impact for the same or reduced capital expenditure Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 31 of 42 1 dollar through an expanded program to reach areas not served by broadband, 2 or by increasing network diversity or increasing maintenance to improve 3 service quality? The testimony of FairPoint’s rebuttal witnesses do not 4 propose significant investments which would produce new outcomes over and 5 above what Verizon would produce. In the alternative, will efficiencies 6 producing reduced expenditures lead to lower rates? The testimony of 7 FairPoint’s witnesses suggest that they will not, except perhaps by Board 8 order. 9 Q. At page 38 of his rebuttal testimony, Mr. Leach provides several reasons why 10 he believes an ongoing decline in D&A expense is reasonable. Do you have 11 an opinion on the answer provided by Mr. Leach? 12 A. Yes. Mr. Leach points out that the decreasing depreciation and amortization 13 is the result of a decline in gross capital expenditures. He defends this as 14 reasonable due to (1) a continuing drop in equipment costs and (2) an 15 expected decline in access lines. I will not dispute either of these two 16 assumptions. However, I will point out that they do not paint a complete 17 picture by themselves. Mr. Leach’s testimony states what is taken by many to 18 be almost a truism—telecom is a declining cost industry (at least many 19 elements are, like the equipment costs that Mr. Leach mentions). If more of 20 the legacy equipment used to provide legacy telephone service becomes fully 21 depreciated and new equipment to support new and/or legacy services does 22 not cost as much as the old equipment did, then there is an opportunity for the Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 32 of 42 1 company to reduce its cost structure. Mr. Leach seems to be saying in effect 2 that there is less investment necessary, but this ignores major unfinished 3 investments which could be made, such as upgrading the network across the 4 state to support increasing levels of broadband service, or undertaking projects 5 to improve the reliability of the network in the state, such as increasing 6 redundancy of interoffice facilities. 7 Q. Can you address Mr. Leach’s claim on page 49 of his rebuttal testimony that 8 counting DSL Access Line Equivalents when considering per-line investment 9 is double counting? 10 A. Mr. Leach’s advice would have us count once when it is in FairPoint’s favor 11 on this issue and not at all when it is not. FairPoint excludes DSL and UNE-L 12 from its line counts, but does not exclude the capital investment on these items 13 from its capital expenditure totals. It uses decreasing switched access line 14 numbers, which increases the per line capital investment figures through a 15 reflection in the decline of legacy business, but which does not account for the 16 at least partially counterbalancing increase in business opportunity from DSL. 17 18 19 20 21 BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 33 of 42 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 END CONFIDENTIAL Q. 9 At page 50 of his rebuttal testimony, Mr. Leach states that FairPoint’s projected total capital expenditures for Vermont are higher than the 10 projections you generated in your prior testimony, and similar to Verizon’s 11 2006 level of capital expenditure. Does this alleviate your concerns about 12 capital expenditure levels? 13 A. Yes and no. On one level, Mr. Leach’s testimony that FairPoint’s projected 14 capital expenditures in Vermont does provide some reassurance. However, in 15 combination with other FairPoint testimony, it also raises questions. Capital 16 expenditure is a means to an end: maintenance of a reliable network, 17 expansion of services, introduction of broadband, etc. The level of capital 18 expenditure is an important indicator of the likelihood of an outcome, but not 19 the outcome itself. The question raised here is, if FairPoint says it will spend 20 the same amount of capital dollars as Verizon, and its expenditures will be 21 Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 34 of 42 1 more efficient than Verizon’s have been in the past, what greater outcomes 2 will it achieve? 3 4 Alternative Regulation and General Regulatory Issues Q. Regarding the condition you proposed in your previous testimony in this 5 docket that, “[n]o regulated intrastate telecommunications product or service 6 offered by Verizon under tariff when the transaction closes should be 7 considered a ‘new service’ under the alternative regulation plan, “do you 8 agree with the rebuttal testimony of Mr. Skriven at page 10 and 11 that this 9 condition is inappropriate? 10 A. No. I believe that Mr. Skriven perhaps has not understood the point of this 11 condition. FairPoint has claimed that they will offer the same or better 12 services than Verizon. Yet, in the case of “new services” under the alternative 13 regulation plan, the Board has reduced ability to police increases in price or 14 even elimination of the services. FairPoint, if it is serious about offering the 15 same or better services, should not be looking to withdraw services or increase 16 prices that consumers can today get from Verizon. Nor do I agree entirely 17 with Mr. Skriven that the policy justification for pricing and other flexibility 18 on new services hinges on an assumption that the provider does not enjoy 19 market power with respect to the new services because the provider initially 20 has no market share. This is an over simplification and defines markets too 21 narrowly. There are “new services” where the degree of market power Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 35 of 42 1 enjoyed by the incumbent is similar to that it enjoys on similar “old services.” 2 For example, one type of “new service” is a bundle of local and long distance 3 calling which was not offered prior to the alternative regulation plan. 4 Obviously, Verizon has more than a zero market share in both local and long 5 distance services. 6 Q. 7 8 Is there an alternative way to frame a condition on this issue without reference to the alternative regulation plan? A. Yes, and I think it will clarify the intent of my proposal. Another way to frame such a condition would be, “Through December 31, 2010, FairPoint 9 10 shall not withdraw or increase the price on any regulated intrastate 11 telecommunications service offered by Verizon under tariff as of the closing 12 date of this transaction without the approval of the Board.” 13 Q. Do you agree with the rebuttal testimony of Mr. Skriven at pages 13 and 14 14 where he argues continuing to regulate classic FairPoint under 30 V.S.A. § 15 227d will simplify the transition? 16 A. No. First of all, whether or not classic FairPoint would qualify for regulation 17 under § 227d is a legal question, and I will not here make a legal argument. 18 However, it is my belief that it likely would not qualify. I believe it is at least 19 unclear that FairPoint would so qualify. I believe that if the Board were not to 20 bring clarity to this issue it could lead to uncertainty about the regulatory 21 status of classic FairPoint as soon as transaction closed. This in turn could Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 36 of 42 1 lead to litigation during the transition period, which would be an unwelcome 2 distraction. I do not believe that the Board should decide the question of 3 whether classic FairPoint qualifies for § 227d based on whether it would be 4 convenient for the company if it were so, but on the legal merits of the 5 question. The Board should establish what the parameters under which classic 6 FairPoint will operate on such issues as rates and rate changes, notice and 7 filing of tariffs, investment levels, and service quality. I believe that the 8 conditions I proposed in my previous testimony in this case regarding classic 9 FairPoint would serve that purpose if the Board finds that classic FairPoint 10 11 does not qualify for regulation under § 227d. Q. Do you have a response to Mr. Skriven’s rebuttal testimony at pages 15 and 12 16 opposing your recommended condition that FairPoint should be required to 13 demonstrate that it has obtained legally binding commitments from Verizon to 14 continue to provide the state-specific information for the states which would 15 not become part of FairPoint’s operations, contained in the annual 16 Performance Benchmark Report? 17 A. I do. Mr. Skriven states that “FairPoint has an interest in ensuring that the 18 Board has the best data available in order to make [assessments of FairPoint’s 19 performance under the Alternative Regulation Plan],” but he does not provide 20 any indication of how that will be accomplished. This merely sets FairPoint 21 up to fail in meeting the expectation. I also believe that Mr. Skriven’s 22 statement, “this is not information or activity over which FairPoint has any Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 37 of 42 1 control,” misses the point. Both FairPoint and Verizon are petitioners. 2 FairPoint is seeking permission to acquire the system. Verizon is seeking 3 permission to exit (although it will still have more limited operations in the 4 state). Obviously, FairPoint would have a great deal of difficulty requiring 5 that Verizon provide it information unless it had a contract or other legally 6 binding commitment from Verizon, which is why it is important that FairPoint 7 demonstrate that it has this commitment (and its co-petitioner Verizon 8 demonstrate that it has made this commitment to FairPoint) before the 9 transaction is allowed to close. 10 Q. At page 16 of his rebuttal testimony, Mr. Skriven states that it is unclear 11 whether your proposed condition, “… [T]he Board and the Department should 12 have the ability to seek rate reductions commensurate with any increase in 13 Federal Universal Service Funding which the Vermont operation may be 14 eligible to receive as a direct or indirect result of the transaction,” refers to 15 FairPoint’s existing operations or the exchanges it seeks to acquire. Can you 16 clarify your intention on this point? 17 A. 18 19 Yes. I intended to refer to the USF support that FairPoint would receive for the former Verizon service territory. Q. Can you clarify if you meant your recommendation to include the type of 20 year-to-year changes in the Federal Universal Service Fund to which Mr. 21 Skriven refers at the top of page 17 of his rebuttal testimony? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 38 of 42 1 A. I did not intend my recommendation to encompass year-to-year fluctuations in 2 Federal Universal Service Funding, which I understand Verizon already 3 experiences. My intention was that this should apply if Federal Universal 4 Service Funding increased because of a change merely in who owned the 5 system, not because of future changes in law, or changes in behavior of the 6 operator, or in other changes that might only have an incidental relationship to 7 mere identity of the owner, such as changes in access lines. 8 Q. 9 FUSF funding increases because of the change in identity of the owner, and 10 11 Why do you think it would be appropriate to impose such a condition only if not if it decreases? A. The intention of the universal service system is to provide a benefit for 12 consumers. Verizon and the Board have recognized this by using Universal 13 Service Funding that Verizon receives to make service more affordable, by 14 flowing through funding in the form of a bill credit. I am not aware of a 15 specific requirement on Verizon to benefit consumers in this way. However, I 16 believe that it is important to preserve the principle that consumers should 17 benefit from increased Universal Service Funding. If Universal Service 18 Funding decreases due to the change in ownership that this transaction will 19 produce, then FairPoint, not consumers, should bear the burden, because it is a 20 result of FairPoint’s own decision and should have been a factor in negotiating 21 the purchase price with Verizon. Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 39 of 42 1 Q. Has your review of information provided by FairPoint since your prior 2 testimony in this docket led you to believe that any additional conditions 3 would be necessary in order to completely transfer Verizon’s regulatory 4 obligations to FairPoint? 5 A. Yes. If the Board approves this transaction, it should make clear that 6 FairPoint must perform on all of Verizon’s obligations under the settlement in 7 Docket 6957, in which Verizon was allowed to make specific investments to 8 improve network reliability in lieu of refunds to customers which were due for 9 failure to meet service quality standards. Verizon has not completed all of the 10 projects it is obligated to perform under the order in that Docket, and it is 11 unlikely that they will all be completed at the time of closing, if the 12 transaction is approved. These investments are intended to be incremental 13 investments, over and above ordinary investments. As I described earlier in 14 my testimony, it appears that FairPoint has included as part of the expense in 15 its broadband expansion plan at least one of the projects which flows from the 16 obligation in Docket 6957. 17 18 Availability of Emergency Services Q. Has FairPoint’s rebuttal testimony or responses to discovery questions 19 alleviated your earlier concerns about its ability to respond to a widespread 20 natural disaster or other widespread emergency? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 40 of 42 1 A. Partially. However, one concern that I have was not fully addressed. Mr. 2 Nixon addressed this very briefly at page 26 of his rebuttal testimony. 3 However, he did not address with any specificity how FairPoint would 4 compensate for the fact that it would have, company-wide, a much smaller 5 labor force on which to draw in case of an emergency than Verizon would 6 have. In response to the information request DPS:FP 3-37, Mr. Nixon 7 indicated that, in the event of a widespread emergency or natural disaster, 8 resources would be available from other FairPoint companies and additional 9 resources would be available through the TANE Emergency Resource Book. 10 While it is somewhat reassuring that FairPoint will be able to draw on its other 11 companies and seek agreements with other companies within Northern New 12 England to provide aid in an emergency, this does not provide the same level 13 of resource that is currently available to Verizon. Verizon can draw within its 14 own company on personnel across the entire eastern seaboard and many other 15 parts of the company. The potential size of the pool on which Verizon could 16 call in case of a disaster is much larger than the operation in Northern New 17 England. If this transaction is approved, northern New England will be by far 18 Fairpoint’s largest operation, and Fairpoint will have far more employees than 19 it could potentially call upon from other companies in the region (not to 20 mention that those smaller companies might also be impacted by a widespread 21 emergency). 22 Q. Do you have a safeguard to propose? Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 41 of 42 1 A. Yes. The Board should require FairPoint to demonstrate in a compliance 2 filing six months after closing that it has used best efforts to enter into mutual 3 aid agreements with comparably-sized or larger carriers in case of a natural 4 disaster or other widespread emergency. 5 Conclusion 6 Q. In summary, do you believe that there are circumstances under which the 7 Department could support the transfer of control of Verizon’s operations in 8 Vermont to FairPoint? 9 A. Yes, but they are not, in total, the plans and circumstances which FairPoint 10 has proposed. I have stated previously that the Department is prepared to 11 support a transaction which will transfer ownership of Verizon’s operations in 12 Vermont to a new owner who wants to be here and focus on opportunities in 13 Vermont. However, we believe that such a transaction must make 14 Vermonters better off, not merely trade one set of issues for a different one. 15 In performing its analysis of this proposal, the Department has approached it 16 with an open mind, and has worked to identify both opportunities for Vermont 17 and the risks that Vermont could be harmed. We have been, and continue to 18 be, open to an exchange of ideas and information with FairPoint about how to 19 make a transaction work for Vermonters. We are not able to be more positive 20 about the transaction that has been proposed, but we also believe that our Department of Public Service Christopher J. Campbell, Witness Docket 7270 August 10, 2007 Page 42 of 42 1 conclusion is the right one to make, based on what we have seen in this docket 2 so far. 3 Q. Does this conclude your testimony? 4 A. Yes, it does.