9,000 More Southern California Households Move Closer to Real Choice for Cable TV

9,000 More Southern California Households Move Closer to Real Choice for Cable TV

Banning City Council Votes for Video Competition, Consumer Choice and Value

BANNING, Calif., July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Banning residents are a major step closer to having more choice for their cable television services, thanks to a City Council vote last night (July 25) in favor of allowing Verizon to offer its fiber-optic-powered FiOS TV in the community.

"This vote is great news for the residents of Banning," Verizon West Region President Tim McCallion said. "We commend the mayor, council members, city staff and city attorney for their dedication and hard work throughout this process. Competition drives innovation, value and service quality, and we will compete aggressively for business in Banning with our FiOS services, which are fueled by our lightning-fast fiber-optic network."

Banning, with approximately 9,000 households, is the 11th community in California to vote on a video-franchise application from Verizon.

"Verizon has worked hard to negotiate franchise agreements over the past two years, but so far only 11 communities have voted to approve an agreement," McCallion said. "All the votes have been favorable, but tens of thousands of consumers in other communities served by Verizon have been denied a new alternative to their cable company because the current video-franchising system is slow and inefficient. Californians deserve a state-based franchising process that will accelerate competition, bringing lower prices and improved technology."

The California Assembly voted 77-0 to pass legislation that would move franchising to the state level. The bill is currently in the state Senate, where it received a unanimous vote from the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee.

Verizon already offers FiOS TV in Beaumont and Murrieta and plans to launch the service later this year in Hermosa Beach, Apple Valley, Lake Elsinore, Temecula and Manhattan Beach. Verizon also has franchise agreements with Camarillo, Perris and (pending final council approval) Malibu. No launch date has been set yet for Banning.

FiOS TV is designed to be a formidable competitor to cable and satellite, offering a broad collection of all-digital programming, two dozen high- definition channels, more than 2,500 video-on-demand titles and more. It is delivered over Verizon's fiber-to-the-premises network, which has industry- leading quality and reliability. Fiber delivers amazingly sharp pictures and sound, and has the capacity to transmit a wide array of high-definition programming that is so clear and intense it seems to leap from the TV screen. Verizon's network design includes backup facilities not common to traditional cable systems, such as duplicate "head ends" where the TV service receives national programming.

The fiber network, known as fiber to the premises or FTTP, will link homes and businesses to Verizon's network. The new network will unleash a range of advanced communications services. In addition to video services, the network also allows the company to offer consumers and businesses high-speed FiOS Internet Service at download speeds of up to 30 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds up to 5 Mbps.*

* NOTE: Actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a Dow 30 company, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 53 million customers nationwide. Verizon Business operates one of the most expansive wholly-owned global IP networks. Verizon Telecom is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers. Based in New York, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 250,000 and generates annual consolidated operating revenues of approximately $90 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

Source: Verizon

CONTACT: Kevin Laverty, +1-425-261-5855, or kevin.laverty@verizon.com

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/618232.html

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