Martin Leads Agency to Breakthrough for Consumer Choice, O’Connell Says

The Federal Communications Commission released its final written order to increase consumer choice by speeding the entry of new competitors into the cable television market. The Commission acted to streamline the local franchising process through which companies gain local approvals to offer subscription video services. The order was adopted on December 20, 2006. The following statement should be attributed to Marilyn O’Connell, chief marketing officer of Verizon Telecom.

“This decision removes obstacles to the continued aggressive rollout of our all-fiber-optic network and our FiOS TV service. It means that we will be able to reach our goal of rapidly expanding the number of consumers who have a choice of video service providers. Verizon spends more on capital investment than any other American company. It would be difficult to invest so much into broadband and video deployment without common-sense decisions like this one. Chairman Martin has led the commission to a breakthrough for consumers.”