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Facebook Federal regulators appear set to crack down on cable companies that sign exclusive deals with apartment and condominium buildings, denying residents the fruits of emerging pay-TV competition. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is recommending prohibiting such future agreements and preventing enforcement of exclusivity clauses in existing contracts, three FCC officials say. They requested anonymity because the agency's five commissioners have not yet voted on the proposal. While the details could change before the vote, most commissioners have backed opening the multifamily housing market to more video competition. Martin believes apartment dwellers deserve the same benefits of new cable choices as those in houses, officials say. Phone companies have started to compete with cable providers across large swaths of the USA by selling packages of pay-TV, broadband and phone services. To block competition, phone companies contend, cable companies increasingly sew up exclusive deals with apartment building owners and condo boards that bar rivals from offering video service to residents. Some agreements last 10 years or more. Noting that up to a third of U.S. residents live in multifamily dwellings, the United States Telecom Association said in an FCC filing that the agreements deny competition to "a significant percentage of consumers." "If you're going to serve a city like New York and you can't get into apartment buildings, you're pretty much going to be out of luck," says Verizon (VZ) spokesman Eric Rabe. SureWest Communications (SURW) told the FCC that half the 40,000 units it could serve in Northern California are locked into such deals. Verizon says at least 42% of the multifamily units it surveyed in Tampa are bound by the contracts. AT&T and Verizon say cable companies often insist on the deals just as phone companies are poised to enter a market with pay-TV offerings. But No. 1 cable provider Comcast (CMCSA) told the FCC the set-ups bring consumers benefits, such as discount prices. They are largely designed to ensure a cable company can recoup its costs to run wires through a building, it says. A building owner often gets a share of revenue in exchange for the restricted access. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association says the FCC lacks authority to repeal exclusivity clauses in existing contracts. It says a ban on future exclusive deals should extend to phone-company entrants, but Martin's proposal would apply only to the dominant cable companies. It relies on a 1992 federal law that bars cable providers from competing unfairly. The FCC has been promoting pay-TV competition. A 2006 FCC report found cable rates are 17% lower where cable and wire-line companies compete. Last year, the FCC passed rules allowing phone companies to more easily obtain local video franchises. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.