Philadelphia government officials are investigating whether Verizon has met an obligation to bring FiOS service to all residents of the city. Verizon obtained a cable franchise agreement from the city in February 2009, and the deadline to wire up all of Philadelphia passed on February 26 of this year.

Philadelphia seems skeptical about whether Verizon actually met its obligation, but it is still looking for proof. The city set up a webpage asking residents to fill out a form to "tell us whether you have tried to order Verizon service but have been told by the company that service is not yet available in your neighborhood." Verizon was required to make its "cable service available throughout the entire city, subject to certain exceptions set forth in the franchise agreement," the page says.

A Verizon spokesperson told Ars that the city confirmed that Verizon met a requirement to build out 85 percent of the city last summer and is now verifying whether Verizon completed the final 15 percent. Verizon says it has met its obligation. "We believe we’ve completed our FiOS buildout in Philadelphia and have complied with the terms of our franchise agreement with the city," Verizon said. "We’re currently working with the city’s Office of Innovation and Technology and the Law Department—the two entities that have oversight over the project—to verify we’ve met those obligations."

When its investigation is finished, Philadelphia officials will issue a report detailing its findings. New York City issued such a report last year, accusing Verizon of failing to finish required fiber construction. Verizon disputed the city's findings, blaming landlords for delays and quibbling over the definition of the word "pass" in relation to its obligation to pass all households with fiber.

Philadelphia should learn from New York's experience, Philadelphia City Council member Bobby Henon said during a hearing two weeks ago. “We do not want this to happen in Philadelphia,” Henon said, according to an article published by Technical.ly Philly.

Henon wanted good data, but Verizon said it couldn't provide it yet because of the ongoing Verizon workers' strike. Verizon also said, “Any claims made at the hearing that we haven’t completed our obligations of our franchise agreement are untrue," according to the article.