The FCC denied a petition from Verizon Communications seeking relief from government pricing regulations regarding how much it can charge rival telecoms for access to its network in six cities.

Verizon had suggested that price regulations in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, R.I., and Virginia Beach, Va. need not apply because there is enough competition in those areas to keep prices reasonable. The FCC, however, said that "the current evidence of competition does not satisfy" the commission's definitions of competition.

Verizon called the FCC's decision a missed opportunity. "If the FCC had approved these petitions, it would have permitted Verizon to provide network facilities at commercial rates," said Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president for public affairs, policy and communications, in a statement. "Instead, the commission missed an opportunity to promote and encourage facilities-based competition by continuing to require one of the network providers in these markets to sell unbundled facilities at government-mandated, subsidized prices."

Meanwhile, critics of Verizon's petition called the FCC's decision a win for consumers. Verizon rival Sprint Nextel and XO Communications publicly applauded the FCC's decision.