FCC Vote A Victory For Phone Companies

"People in the District would be concerned if control is taken away from local municipalities. Cities could be damaged in many different ways," said J. Carl Wilson, general counsel of the D.C. Office of Cable Television and Telecommunications. He said District residents could suffer if officials no longer asked providers for public channels.

Montgomery County Council President Marilyn Praisner (D-Eastern County) said consumers would suffer from the FCC ruling. "This is an early Christmas present of a stocking full of coal," she said, predicting that the county and other jurisdictions would challenge the decision in court.

Montgomery County and Verizon clashed this year over the company's ultimately successful bid to win a franchise there.

The United States Telecom Association, a telephone industry trade group, said the measure would give consumers more choice.

"The steps outlined today will help fix the franchising process and end the unnecessary delays caused by outdated regulations," said Walter B. McCormick Jr., president of the association.

Kyle McSlarrow, president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said the FCC gave phone companies an unfair advantage over longtime cable providers. FCC officials promised to study how cable providers should be treated when their franchises come up for renewal.

Staff writer Frank Ahrens contributed to this report.