Verizon names new top Washington executive

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) has named Kathleen Grillo to head its federal regulatory team, with responsibility for its dealings on policy issues with the Federal Communications Commission, the company said on Thursday.

Verizon has a range of issues before the commission, including efforts to influence the Obama administrations revamp of policies to speed demand of high-speed Internet to more customers.

The company has also asked the FCC to compel Cablevision and its Madison Square Garden network to give Verizon high definition sports programming. Verizon would particularly like coverage of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres games.

In late May, Verizon and Frontier Communications Corp (FTR.N) asked the FCC to approve the transfers of phone line licenses as part of Verizon's $5.25 billion deal to sell 4.8 million rural phone lines to Frontier, which would become the largest rural-only service provider in the United States.

The deal comes during a wave of consolidation in the rural phone market, as providers seek to cut costs and more consumers cancel landlines.

There are other issues facing the telecom industry.

During his nomination process, the now-chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, said he planned to review exclusive arrangements between wireless carriers and cell phone makers.

Exclusive agreements, such as those between AT&T Inc (T.N) and Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone, and Sprint Nextel (S.N) and Palm Inc's (PALM.O) Pre, are at the center of some lawmakers' concerns about whether such practices hinder competition and innovation.

Reuters has learned from a telecom industry expert familiar with the issue that the Justice Department is looking into areas such as handset exclusivity and application blocking but has not yet decided if it will go ahead with a formal antitrust investigation.

Grillo began work for Verizon in 2002 as legal counsel in the legal department's federal regulatory group, and became vice president of federal regulatory affairs in 2003. Part of that job required representing Verizon before the FCC. (Reporting by Sinead Carew and Diane Bartz; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)