SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- In a possible harbinger for DSL consolidation, the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on Thursday delisted DSL provider NorthPoint Communications Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

Trading for the San Francisco Bay area company was halted Jan. 16, the day it filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

NorthPoint (NPNT: news, chart, profile) is one of four independent national DSL providers. In November, Verizon canceled a deal that had been signed last August to take a big stake in NorthPoint.

In a letter to its partners, NorthPoint said it had no intention of going out of business, but planned to "restructure and to strengthen" its financial condition.

"We have asked the court to approve a motion for a structure sale where we'd have basically an auction of the company," NorthPoint spokesperson Terry McGovern told CBS.MarketWatch.com.

The company's financial woes began after Verizon canceled in November an $800 million deal that would have made it a majority owner of NorthPoint. Verizon (VZ: news, chart, profile) said at the time that the deteriorating financial condition of NorthPoint gave it the legal right to end the agreement.

In a letter to partners shortly after the bankruptcy filing, company officials stated, "filing will allow us to create a framework that will allow us to find a strategic partner in order to continue our business.

According to analysts, finding a strategic partner in the competitive field is not a likely scenario.

"Obviously they didn't find one before they filed Chapter 11," said Brent Bracelin, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities. "The most likely scenario is that someone steps up and tries to buy their assets."

This indeed may be the year of consolidation in order to offset the high costs of network maintenance and customer care.

"You still have three national DSL operators," said David Blank with RBC Dominion Securities. "At the end of the day none of these companies are fully funded. The market wants consolidation to occur."

NorthPoint Communications was advised Thursday after the Nasdaq announcement that the company's common stock has begun trading on the Electronic Pink Sheets under the symbol NPNTQ.

"We wanted to create a trading forum for the shareholders, and we are currently trading on the pink sheets," said Terry McGovern.

He added that NorthPoint would attempt to sell the company as a whole. "We don't want to sell off assets," he added.

The company currently operates DSL-based local networks in 109 U.S. metropolitan areas.

Trading in the company had been halted on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at $1.41.

Ned Randolph is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco. Nicole Maestri contributed to this report.