State regulators have given Verizon Communications final approval to begin offering cable-TV service in 12 Rhode Island communities, including Providence, as of Jan. 6...

...The only controversial issue that arose in the proceeding was a request by Verizon that would have allowed it to begin service in mid-December, before a 60-day “notification period” had elapsed. State rules require companies who receive cable certificates to give a 60-day notice to state regulators before service can begin. Verizon filed that notice Nov. 7.

Cox, Full Channel TV, and the advocacy section of the PUC, which is supposed to represent the interests of customers, “vehemently opposed” Verizon’s request, Spirito wrote.

“None of the arguments offered any real substantive basis for preserving the 60-day notification requirement,” Spirito wrote. “Instead, the arguments focused on blindly adhering to an arguably obsolete rule and/or advance form over substance.”...

...Ahern, the PUC administrator, said he concurred with Spirito’s criticism of the 60-day waiting period, and added that the requirement may unnecessarily delay competitive entry into the state’s cable-television market. He instructed the PUC to begin the process of modifying the cable rules. He also said the division may consider condensing what is now a three-step application process into a single step.