Adelphia Communications Corp., the nation’s fifth-largest cable television operator, plans to sell its assets in seven geographic clusters as it emerges from bankruptcy.

The company provides cable television and Internet service in Lewiston-Auburn and surrounding towns.

In confirming the sale of its assets, Adelphia’s chief operating officer said the move would be done by geographic groupings.

“By dividing the company into seven distinct strategic clusters, we believe we can maximize value for Adelphia’s wide range of creditors and other stakeholders,” Bill Schleyer, chairman and CEO, said Tuesday in a statement issued in Denver.

The clusters were organized by their ability to operate as stand-alone entities, Adelphia said in its release.

The clusters put local service in with the rest of northern New England and eastern New York. Others are Cleveland and the greater Ohio Valley; Florida and the Southeast; California and the West; Virginia, Maryland, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Kentucky; Pennsylvania; and western New York and Connecticut.

Analysts and creditors have estimated the company’s value at between $17 billion and $23 billion.

Adelphia filed a reorganization plan in February but agreed to investigate a possible sale at the urging of shareholders. It is accepting bids this month and plans to complete the bidding process by the end of the year.

In the Lewiston-Auburn area, Adelphia has been frequently criticized by area customers who have attended hearings regarding fee rate increases.

More than 50 people assailed Adelphia during a hearing in the spring of 2002 called to air complaints about its service and rates.

Later that year, the company laid off a dozen area workers. At the time, Adelphia employed an estimated 500 people in Maine.

Adelphia is also losing its local monopoly. Oxford Networks announced earlier this year that it will compete with Adelphia by offering cable and related services in the Twin Cities via fiber optics.

Adelphia filed for bankruptcy protection two years ago in New York after founder John W. Rigas and others were accused of looting the company and cheating investors out of billions of dollars.

John Rigas and his son Timothy later were convicted of conspiracy, bank fraud and securities fraud. Another Rigas son, Michael, was acquitted of conspiracy charges but the case ended in a mistrial with jurors deadlocked on 17 counts against him. A fourth executive was found not guilty of conspiracy and securities fraud.

It was formerly based in Coudersport, Pa., but now has its headquarters in the Denver suburb of Greenwood Village.

(Staff writer Doug Fletcher contributed to this report.)