Verizon Communications Inc. has cleared the final regulatory hurdle for providing TV in New York City, a major step in its transformation from a phone company to a fiber-optics-based carrier.

The New York State Public Service Commission voted Wednesday to approve Verizon's application for a video franchise.

"That does it from a regulatory point of view," said Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe.

New York is the largest city in Verizon's build-out area for its fiber-optic FiOS service, and the city's 3 million households represent a large chunk of Verizon's market.

Under the agreement, Verizon has six years to build out the fiber network to the whole city. However, that doesn't mean every apartment will be able to get FiOS TV: Verizon has to forge agreements with landlords as well.

Verizon already has a few buildings wired with fiber optics in the city, but has offered only broadband and phone service through those lines. It plans to add TV to the offerings by the end of the year.

The phone company will be competing with incumbent cable operators Cablevision Systems Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc., which have divided the city between themselves rather than compete.