Verizon looking to sell off more lines

Verizon is looking to sell off phone lines in New England and the Midwest in an apparent attempt to generate capital to help fund other initiatives, like fiber deployment and acquiring all of Verizon Wireless.

A Verizon spokesman confirmed a report in The Wall Street Journal that it is looking to shed 5 million lines in those regions. The Journal reported that the carrier could realize a total of $8 billion from two separate transactions -- $2 billion to $3 billion from selling 1.6 million lines in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine; and another $4 billion to $5 billion from the sale of 3.4 million access lines in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan.

The Journal did not identify the potential buyers, but speculated it could include smaller telecom carriers CenturyTel and Citizens Communications.

Verizon confirmed it is evaluating the sale of lines in those areas. "However, no decisions have been made," a company spokesman said. He would not confirm the $8 billion price tag reported in the Journal.

"Verizon continually evaluates the assets and properties in our portfolio for strategic fit and financial performance," the carrier stated in an e-mail response to the Journal story. "Our company is frequently approached regarding transactions like this."

Verizon is spending billions on laying fiber to homes and businesses in order to offer faster, more sophisticated Internet and video services. The company also reportedly has offered Vodafone $38 billion to acquire that carrier's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless.

Two years ago, Verizon sold 707,000 access lines in Hawaii for $1.65 billion. Verizon was also looking to sell access lines in upstate New York at that time, but a deal was never reached.

Verizon also sold access lines in Missouri, Alabama and Kentucky in 2002.