Verizon Philly FiOS deal by end of year derailed

Verizon's push to have a FiOS franchise in Philadelphia by the end of 2008 has been bogged down in city committee meetings and a play by a minority-owned cable company to get into the action.

Wilco Inc., which owns a small part of Philadelphia's cable franchise, is lobbying for an equity partnership with Verizon. Wilco services around 88,000 customers, mostly in Philadelphia Housing Authority units. A city councilman reviewing the Verizon proposal is concerned Wilco might lose customers as PHA builds more single family homes, and he has questions about outside minority contractors involved in the Verizon installation.

Due to the delays, the full City Council can not act until January on the proposal, but Verizon can "live with January."

There's also a push for Verizon to cough up more money up front for public access channels.

For more:
- Philadelphia Inquirer catches the latest news on Verizon's Philly push. Article.

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