Yesterday the FCC made it easier for Telecom companies such as Verizon to enter the local markets for video delivery; hopefully this will mean I can get FIOS sooner then later.

In its ruling, the Commission indicated the current franchise process constituted an

“unreasonable barrier to entry that impedes the achievement of the interrelated federal goals of enhanced cable competition and accelerated broadband deployment.”

Among the findings were that local municipalities engaged in:
- Drawn-out local negotiations with no time limits and unreasonable build-out requirements.

An open question is the commission indicated it did not “sufficient information” with decisions made at the state level, with the ruling affecting only those made by county or municipal franchise authorities.

Also, The Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on November 3, 2005 to seek public comment on these issues

In his dissenting statement, Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein indicated the FCC "rushed through the ruling with little consultation with the Congress and that the FCC is a regulatory agency and not a legislative body. “ In my years working on Capital Hill, I learned enough to know that today's Order is legislation disguised as regulation” He also indicated he thought the courts would likely reverse such an action.