FCC to uphold cable complaint against Verizon

The sign for the Verizon Wireless store is seen in Lakewood, Colorado September 11, 2007.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote Friday to bar Verizon Communications Inc from lobbying customers to dissuade them from switching their phone service to cable, a source at the agency said on Thursday.

The FCC will vote narrowly to side with cable operators who filed a complaint accusing Verizon of misusing customer information to prevent them from following through after they decided to switch, the FCC source said.

The expected 3-2 vote would be over the objections of FCC chairman Kevin Martin and would uphold a complaint filed in February by Comcast Corp, Time Warner Cable Inc and others.

In May, the FCC's enforcement bureau recommended the agency dismiss the complaint and look further into whether customer retention efforts on all sides are pro- or anti-competitive.

But a majority of the FCC's five commissioners disagree. Voting to support the complaint are the FCC's two Democratic commissioners, as well as Republican commissioner Robert McDowell, the source said.

Both Verizon and telephone industry leader AT&T Inc offer high-speed Internet and video services that compete with cable, while cable providers sell phone services.

(Editing by Andre Grenon)