That's not the point. There was no "bid." Maybe you don't understand what an opportunity cost is? No other fiber provider in the future is going to go into city sanctioned "Verizon fiber territory" and try to offer FTTH service now or in the future.

Also this is a classic telecom tactic, carriers put in skeletal infrastructure and let it sit fallow. If NYC comes along next year and decides to do Metro Area Broadband, Verizon's army of lawyers will come along and cry "Foul" saying the city has an unfair advantage and get an injunction against the city's plans. They will tie this up in court for as long as possible. Again an opportunity cost.

And yes there was also a financial cost to the federal taxpayer as well as New York residents with this FIOS debacle.

First the local cost to New York residents:

>"Verizon raised traditional wired telephone rates in New York some 84 percent between 2006 and 2009, blessed by regulators in return for its "massive investment in fiber optics."[1][2]

[1] http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/14/5716802/game-of-phones-how...

[2] https://www3.dps.ny.gov/pscweb/WebFileRoom.nsf/Web/B849A0203...

And the cost to the Federal tax payer is that these carriers receive FCC broadband subsidies for upgrades and investments to their network regardless of how incomplete the project is. [3]

[3] http://www.pcworld.com/article/2147360/fcc-adds-9-billion-to...