>In the state of Maryland, Verizon currently offers FiOS service in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Charles, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Thus, the only major jurisdiction in the state that is not yet wired for FiOS is Baltimore City. Verizon recently told members of the City Council that they have no plans to apply for a franchise agreement with the Baltimore City Office of Cable and Communications.
I'm not sure on all the ins and outs of it. Feel free to dig more yourself but basically Verizon needs some sort of permit to lay cable and the city council or this office has a certain price for it that makes Verizon see it as unprofitable to provide the service then, unlike most other areas.
But given that Verizon is not rolling out any more FIOS nation-wide[1], I really have trouble believing it's a regulatory issue in this case. And they slowed down way before 2010[2]. VZW gave up on FIOS, plain and simple. Everywhere.
[1] http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Again-Confirms-Fi... [2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/the-great-veriz...
Seems Ars is similarly citing unspecified regulations. It's often the case that regulations that vary by city aren't the most straightforward topic to describe.