On his first day as CEO of FairPoint Communications, David Hauser yesterday said he will take every step possible to avoid bankruptcy, but that ultimately the decision will depend on its debtors.

The North Carolina-based FairPoint Communications last week disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it may not be able to make a bond interest payment due in October on debts of $531 million. If the company can't convince its debtors to postpone the payment, the company said it will have to seek alternative debt-restructuring plan, which may include bankruptcy. Hauser told the Associated Press that the company will have to make some major adjustments, including restructuring its debt and making operational changes. "I have every intention of taking the steps we need to take without going through bankruptcy," Hauser told the AP. "But that depends on other people also, like the debt holders."

Hauser, a former Duke Energy Corp. executive, takes over as CEO for FairPoint's co-founder, Eugene Johnson. The communications company purchased Verizon's landline operation in Maine last year.