From: The Patriot Ledger

Verizon to urge faster franchise process: Hearing tomorrow; spokesman says 'system is broken'

By JON CHESTO
The Patriot Ledger

During a question-and-answer session at an industry conference, Verizon's chief financial officer said the telecom giant is generally satisfied with the pace of its expansion of its new TV service.

Chief Financial Officer Doreen Toben responded to a question about Verizon's cable TV franchising efforts by playing up the successes the company has had so far in states that require town-by-town negotiations for cable franchises such as Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

''So we don't think franchising is holding us up at all at this point,'' Toben said on Thursday at the telecom industry conference, which took place in New York and was sponsored by Lehman Brothers.

Representatives for New York-based Verizon may try to paint a different picture of the company's progress after they arrive at the State House tomorrow for a public hearing to make the case for a bill aimed at speeding up the time it takes for Verizon to get a local TV franchise.

Reaching a cable TV franchise agreement with a municipality can take more than a year. The Verizon-backed bill would shift the responsibility for approving a TV license from local officials to state regulators and reduce the window of time to two weeks.

Verizon maintains that the town-by-town approach is inefficient and delays the company's efforts to offer a competitive alternative to the incumbent cable TV provider.

So far, Verizon has lined up licenses in 49 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Most are in well-to-do suburbs north and west of Boston. There are some exceptions, however, such as the cable franchise agreement that Verizon inked last week with the city of Lawrence.

In comments last week that are available on Verizon's Web site, Toben said the company has been ''extremely successful in Pennsylvania in going town by town'' so ''we will be able to do what we need to in Pennsylvania.''

Toben then said that ''the same is true for Massachusetts from that point.''

Phil Santoro, a spokesman for Verizon in Boston, said on Friday that the company's position on town-by-town franchising hasn't changed, despite Toben's comments.

''She knows that the system is broken (in Massachusetts) and needs to be fixed, as we all do,'' Santoro said.

Santoro said consumers don't worry about which agency approves a TV franchise as long as there is competition in the market.

''They don't care who issues the paper if their rates are going to go down and choices are going to go up,'' Santoro said.

But Verizon has a fierce fight ahead: The bill is opposed by incumbent cable providers such as Comcast as well as many municipal leaders who fear a loss of local control.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association sent information kits to its members last month to seek help in defeating the bill, and many town officials are expected to speak against the bill at tomorrow's hearing. Meanwhile, the New England Cable & Telecommunications Association, a cable industry trade group, has launched radio and TV ads aimed at persuading consumers to oppose the bill.

Jon Chesto may be reached at jchesto@ledger.com .