MobileNest

Newsday has a full story on Verizon’s request for a cable franchise license in New York State. Verizon plans to expand its New York State offerings by launching a new cable TV service.

A public hearing will be held tonight at Massapequa Park on whether to grant such a license to Verizon Communications. If a license is granted, Verizon will become direct competition for Cablevision, for cable subscribers.

At this point, Verizon has won franchise licenses in 10 communities in California, Texas, Virginia and Florida and is negotiating with others.

Verizon expects to launch the new service, called FiOS TV, in Keller, Texas, before the end of this year. The trials of a new service are already started.