Verizon: National video franchises unnecessary

Though Verizon Communications has helped wage a legislative battle this year to enable nationwide franchising for video service, the carrier claims not to need a federal franchise to meet its video market penetration goals. Obtaining local franchises instead has not limited the pace of Verizon’s video rollout, the company said today during an update presentation on its fiber-to-the-premises efforts.

“Franchising is not holding us back,” said Virginia Ruesterholz, president of Verizon Telecom. “I really don’t see that as a necessity, to have nationwide relief on that.”

Verizon now has 161 video franchises covering 3.3 million homes. The company expects to have 175,000 video customers by year’s end.

Legislative activity pertaining to federal video franchises and other telecom-related issues has quieted in recent months, overshadowed by mid-term Congressional elections. But earlier this summer, the Telecommunications Industry Association warned that broadband deployment would slow unless Congress passes a bill that would create federal video franchising.

Though Verizon says it doesn’t need federal franchises, most observers agree they would accelerate and perhaps reduce the cost of Verizon’s video rollout. When Verizon reported having achieved 10% penetration of its video markets after six months in the second quarter, research analysis firm Ovum-RHK suggested those numbers could go much higher if federal franchising becomes a reality.