Verizon has obtained the local okay to offer its FiOS TV service to about 235,000 residents of Manatee County, Fla.

The franchise, which will pit it against incumbent operators Comcast Cable and Bright House Networks, does not apply to some cities in the county, including Bradenton, Palmetto, Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Longboat Key, but it does mark the largest so far for Verizon.

Manatee County is the second muni in the state to grant a franchise to the telco. Temple Terrace was the first.

With the franchise in hand, Verizon said it expects to launch video services in the area by 2006. To date, the telco has planted 1.8 million feet of fiber in the county.