**Exhibit 31.1**

**CERTIFICATION**

I, Eugene B.Johnson, certify that:

1.                 I have reviewedthis Annual Report on Form 10-K of FairPoint Communications, Inc.(the “Company”);

2.                 Based on myknowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material factor omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, inlight of the circumstances under which such statements were made, notmisleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.                 Based on myknowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information includedin this report, fairly present in all material respects the financialcondition, results of operations and cash flows of the Company as of, and for,the periods presented in this report;

4.                 The Company’sother certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintainingdisclosure controls and procedures (as defined in the Securities Exchange Actof 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) Rules 13a-15(e) and15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined inExchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for theCompany and have:

(i)            Designed suchdisclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls andprocedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that materialinformation relating to the Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries,is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during theperiod in which this report is being prepared;

(ii)        Designed such internal control over financialreporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to bedesigned under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding thereliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statementsfor external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accountingprinciples;

(iii)    Evaluated the effectiveness ofthe Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this reportour conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures,as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation;and

(iv)      disclosed in this report anychange in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurredduring the Company’s most recent fiscal quarter (the Company’s fourth fiscalquarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or isreasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control overfinancial reporting;

5.                 The Company’sother certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recentevaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the Company’sauditors and the audit committee of Company’s board of directors (or personsperforming the equivalent functions):

(i)            All significantdeficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internalcontrols over financial reporting which are reasonable likely to adverselyaffect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financialinformation; and

(ii)        Any fraud, whether or notmaterial, that involves management or other employees who have a significantrole in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.

Date: March 13,2007

| /s/ Eugene B. Johnson                      |     |
|--------------------------------------------|----------|
| Eugene B. Johnson*Chief Executive Officer* | * * |

 

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