By MARY ANN D'URSO
BRIDGEWATER -- Already a giant in the telephone, wireless and DSL markets, Verizon wants to deliver cable television service to customers, too -- which puts it at odds with New Jersey's cable TV giants, including Cablevision and Comcast.
Consumers in a growing number of New Jersey towns can already sign up for Verizon's FiOS service, which uses a new fiber optic network instead of a regular telephone line. It features high-speed Internet access that is faster than its own DSL connection.
But before the company can "switch on" cable and other interactive video services, it wants to change New Jersey's cable franchise rules, which require cable operators to negotiate agreements with individual towns. Such a process could take years, said Dennis Bone, Verizon New Jersey president, delaying competition in what is now a cable industry monopoly.
Verizon is lobbying for a new law that would make a single cable agreement good for the entire state.
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