Aug. 12--AUGUSTA, Maine -- Executives at FairPoint Communications met with Gov. John Baldacci and state regulators Tuesday as part of a round of meetings this week focusing on lingering problems throughout the company's network in northern New England.

FairPoint Chairman and CEO David Hauser briefed the governor and the Public Utilities Commission on plans to hire a consultant to identify computer and network issues believed to be causing many of the delays and other headaches reported by customers.

Company officials also discussed plans to file weekly reports with the state listing key benchmarks that will show whether FairPoint is improving or continuing to struggle.

"It was a positive, very straightforward and very frank meeting," said David Farmer, spokesman for Baldacci.

FairPoint officials likely will face some tough questions today when they appear before the Legislature's Utilities and Energy Committee during a special meeting to discuss the concerns regarding the company's services.

That meeting, which is also expected to include testimony from Maine Public Advocate Richard Davies, will be held at 1 p.m. in Room 211 of the Cross State Office Building in Augusta.

Charlotte, N.C.-based FairPoint bought Verizon's land line and Internet operations in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire last year for $2.3 billion. The company took over operations Feb. 1, but its customers have been plagued with problems since, from billing errors and service order delays to long waits on call-in complaint lines.

In a meeting with the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday, Hauser and President Peter Nixon acknowledged that their broadband telecommunications changeover in the three states was more complicated than company officials had imagined. Hauser and Nixon agreed that FairPoint has stumbled since entering the New England market, but said they hope to turn the page.

"We've got to make some decisions about how to get our reputation back," Hauser said during the meeting. "A year from now, we hope to be a well-oiled machine."

In late July, the PUC's three commissioners declined to waive the more than $845,000 in penalties assessed against the company for its failure to deliver timely services to smaller telecommunications companies.

During the same meeting, the commissioners also endorsed a proposal by Maine's Public Advocate's Office that FairPoint be required to hire an independent third party to examine the company's "back office" computer systems and networks.

FairPoint's decision to hire a consultant appears largely consistent with that proposal.