Last year, after conversations with Verizon officials, the Northborough Board of Selectmen asked the state to speed cable television licensing and sought an application from Verizon. The company never applied, and told town administrator Barry Brenner that it was putting Northborough and several other municipalities on hold

"This course of events is very disappointing and frustrating since Verizon asked the town to initiate the licensing process, and the town responded very positively and promptly to Verizon," town administrator Barry Brenner wrote in a February memo to the Board of Selectmen.

Saugus and Fairhaven also asked the state to expedite the licensing process and invited Verizon in, but were told that they are not included in the company's current buildout plans, according to William Solomon , a municipal attorney who has advised the towns.

"The big picture is, it is not the towns holding it up; it's Verizon that has real decisions to make about where it wants to send its funds," Solomon said. "That's fine, that's understandable -- but don't pretend -- don't tell lobbyists and regulators and others that it's the cities and towns that are holding this up, because nothing could be further from the truth."

In California, where Verizon received its first state-issued video franchise in March, the company published a list of 45 communities where it plans to bring service.