Verizon's FiOS TV Approved in 12th New York Community

Verizon's FiOS TV Approved in 12th New York Community

Clarkstown Consumers One Step Closer to Real Choice for Cable TV

NEW YORK, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rockland County town of Clarkstown is bringing its residents a major step closer to choice for cable television services, thanks to a unanimous vote last night (Aug. 22) by the Town Board to award a video franchise to Verizon for its FiOS TV service.

Clarkstown is the 12th community in New York State -- and the fifth in Rockland County -- to grant a video franchise to Verizon. This franchise covers Clarkstown's unincorporated hamlets of New City, Congers, Valley Cottage, Bardonia, Nanuet, West Nyack, Central Nyack and Rockland Lake.

"Reaching a dozen communities in New York with FiOS TV within the last year is a significant milestone for us," said Monica Azare, Verizon senior vice president for New York and Connecticut. "This is great news for the residents of Clarkstown, who now will have a new choice for their video entertainment. We applaud Supervisor Alexander Gromack and the Town Board for helping to bring choice and control to their residents.

"We look forward to similarly successful negotiations with other towns and villages throughout New York State," said Azare.

Clarkstown joins a growing list of New York communities that are paving the way for competition and choice in the television market. Verizon already offers FiOS TV in the Rockland County villages of Nyack, South Nyack and Upper Nyack, as well as the Long Island communities of Massapequa Park, the Town of Hempstead and the Town of Oyster Bay. The company will launch service later this year in Clarkstown, as well as in the Long Island villages of Cedarhurst, Laurel Hollow, Lynbrook and Mineola, and the Rockland County community of Grandview-on-Hudson, all of which have approved cable franchises for Verizon.

As with all local franchise approvals in New York, the agreement between Clarkstown and Verizon is subject to review by the New York State Public Service Commission.

Verizon, which launched FiOS TV last September in Keller, Texas, currently offers the service in parts of California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Virginia. The company now has video franchises covering approximately 3 million households in nine states and more than 100 franchise areas. As the fiber network is fully deployed in franchise areas, Verizon will provide consumers with the opportunity to choose FiOS TV.

Verizon's FiOS TV service is designed to be a formidable competitor to cable and satellite, offering a broad collection of all-digital programming, more than 20 high-definition channels, video on demand and more. It is delivered over Verizon's fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network, which has industry-leading quality and reliability. Verizon is the first company to offer such a communications network, connecting homes and businesses directly to fiber optics on a widespread scale.

Verizon's fiber network 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. In addition to FiOS TV, Verizon's fiber network also allows the company to offer consumers and businesses high-speed FiOS Internet service at download speeds of up to 50 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds of up to 10 Mbps.* FiOS Internet Service is currently available in many New York communities.

* 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 nearly 55 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 252,000 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: Heather Wilner, +1-212-321-8333, heather.b.wilner@verizon.com

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

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

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