According to a published report, Comcast is lobbying Philadelphia’s city council against granting Verizon a citywide video franchise for its FiOS video and broadband services.

Broadband DSLReports said in an online posting today that Comcast has pointed out that Verizon hasn’t said it will deploy its services across the entire city, and that Verizon’s contention that competition will lead to price competition is hollow.

“We are watching the Verizon franchise process in Philadelphia closely to ensure competition takes place on a level playing field, with all participants being held to the same standards and commitments,” Comcast spokesman Jeff Alexander wrote in an e-mail to CED. “We ask for fair and equal treatment for all providers who wish to serve the city of Philadelphia and believe that Verizon should be held, for example, to the same requirements as Comcast as it relates to serving all neighborhoods in a timely fashion."

In some instances, telco service providers have targeted more affluent neighborhoods during the initial rollout of their video services.

Last month, Verizon announced it was working on a franchise agreement with Philadelphia’s city council and mayor (story here).

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