Verizon strikes TV deal with Maryland county

VERIZON STRIKES TV DEAL WITH MARYLAND COUNTY
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Verizon, the No. 2 U.S. telephone company in the US, said on Wednesday that officials in Montgomery County (MD) have agreed to let it sell Web-based video service to local residents and that it may drop its lawsuit against the county for blocking it. Verizon sued the county, which is near Washington (DC) in June, saying the subscription television licensing process was delaying plans to expand the company's new FiOS TV video service and violating U.S. antitrust and communications laws. The company said it reached an agreement with county officials under the mediation of U.S. Magistrate Judge James Bredar, although a dismissal of the lawsuit and a franchise agreement depend on final approval by the county council. Montgomery County said Verizon agreed to pay it $1 million over five years for cable-related investments, in addition to five percent of gross revenues as a franchise fee and three percent of gross revenues for public access programming and other costs. Verizon also agreed to support public education and government channels and offer cable services to 100 public-use buildings, such as schools and libraries, under the 15-year franchise agreement, the county said.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2006-09-13T170310Z_01_N13187929_RTRUKOC_0_US-TELECOMS-VERIZON.xml

* Verizon, Montgomery Reach Tentative Deal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091301956.html