Verizon Communications Inc. has received federal approval to provide long-distance services in Delaware and New Hampshire, marking a total of ten states where the No. 1 local phone company has gained permission to offer long-distance services in the Northeast.
New York-based Verizon said it now can provide long-distance service in 46 states, representing approximately 83 percent of the phone lines it serves across the country. Verizon is the fourth largest long-distance company, with nine million customers.
Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Verizon had to show state and federal regulators its local network is open to competition before it could receive approval to provide long-distance services within its local territory.
A long-distance application to provide service in Virginia is pending before the Federal Communications Commission. Verizon also said it plans later this year to file applications to provide long-distance in Maryland, West Virginia and Washington D.C.
