FairPoint Communications continues to lose customers just when the landline network operator needs them most.

According to the company's latest financial filings, it lost 9.3 percent of all access lines between June 2008 and June 2009. In northern New England, it lost 13.4 percent of its residential lines, 7.5 percent of business lines and 1.9 percent of broadband internet subscribers in the year's time. In each category, the company lost more in the second quarter of this year than in the first.

FairPoint bought the landline network in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont from Verizon last year and took over operations at the end of January. It has faced financial and operational problems since, prompting an unprecedented number of complaints from customers.

Regulators in each state are considering petitions to open further investigations into FairPoint's management. They announced yesterday that they plan to hold a joint status conference in New Hampshire on Sept. 9 to discuss both financial and operational matters with CEO David Hauser and other FairPoint executives.

Meanwhile, FairPoint's financial future is looking increasingly grim, according to filings last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission:

Net losses in the first half of this year were $26.6 million, compared with a net gain of $32.66 million in the first half of last year.

Stockholder equity has dropped from $23.79 million in December to $1.23 million as of June.

The New York Stock Exchange has threatened to delist the company's stock, or remove it from trading, because its market value over 30 days dipped below a $75 million minimum.

Three major credit institutions further downgraded the company to junk status, and one described the company as in "limited default."

The company made explicit references in its SEC filing to the possibility of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

On July 29, FairPoint settled an offer to change the interest requirements on $439.6 million of its debt. The company is pursuing more "out-of-court restructuring," according to the filing.

If that's not possible, it could file for bankruptcy. The filing said that would be a long process and listed various ways the company would be hurt by bankruptcy, including damage to its reputation and the inability to counter competition, raise capital, satisfy contracts with suppliers or enter into long-term contracts with customers.

"We executed the debt exchange. We see that as a first step," FairPoint spokeswoman Jill Wurm said. "On a more comprehensive debt restructuring, we're aggressively pursuing the next steps."

Wurm said no one from the company was available yesterday to talk in more detail about the financial plan.

At a time when the company would like to be focused on expanding its reach of broadband internet in the region - as it is required by the state - it saw a significant loss in internet customers. In the first quarter of this year, high-speed data subscribers increased by 1.6 percent. In the second quarter, they dropped 3.3 percent.

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