Southern Crafted Homes Future-Proofs Its Housing Developments With Verizon's Fiber-Optic Network

Southern Crafted Homes Future-Proofs Its Housing Developments With Verizon's Fiber-Optic Network

Contract With Verizon Ensures Residents Will Enjoy the Most Advanced, Fiber-Powered Technology Year After Year

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Enhanced Communities has reached an agreement with Southern Crafted Homes, a Tampa Bay-area homebuilder, to provide all residents in three Pasco County communities with FiOS broadband and television service on Verizon's all-fiber network. The communities are Stonegate, Quail Woods and Devonwood.

"The commitment to offer our residents FiOS TV, Internet and voice products from Verizon helps set our developments apart from the rest of the market in terms of providing the latest technology," said Tom Liebrecht, vice president of land development, Southern Crafted Homes. "We want to provide our residents not only with luxury homes, but also a luxurious home-entertainment experience. Verizon's fiber network offers the bandwidth to give our residents the richest experience today as well as the power and promise for future technologies in the years ahead."

In addition, studies show that homeowners recognize that an all-fiber connection can increase the market value of their homes. For example, an independent survey of owners of homes with fiber connections, recently conducted by RVA Render, Vanderslice & Associates, shows that the owners estimate their homes are worth an average of $4,318 more.

Stonegate, a gated community that offers 21 home designs ranging from 1,839 to 4,508 square feet in five distinctive villages, is the first of three Southern Crafted Homes developments to offer its residents Verizon's FiOS. Nearly 600 Southern Crafted Homes will get FiOS broadband at speeds up to 5 Mbps (megabits per second) downstream and 2 Mbps upstream and more than 180 channels of all-digital TV. FiOS will serve the two other Southern Crafted Homes communities, Quail Woods and Devonwood, in the near future.

"We are thrilled that Southern Crafted will be able to differentiate their communities by offering FiOS data and TV service for all their residents," said Eric Cevis, vice president of Verizon Enhanced Communities. "Southern Crafted Homes had the vision to sign a deal with us before we were able to bring FiOS to the area. With the ability of our fiber-optic network to deliver the fastest broadband speed, clearer television and most reliable voice service of any existing network, we hope that Southern Crafted will be able to sell their homes faster as a result."

Verizon's FiOS Internet service offers download speeds of up to 5, 15 or 30 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps. Highlights of the FiOS TV service include:

* A lead offer with more than 180 digital video and music channels.

* Twenty-six high-definition (HD) channels in the Florida market, with
extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.

* More than 2,500 On Demand titles available to customers now, increasing
to over 3,500 titles in the next several months.

* Channels grouped by genres such as entertainment, sports, news,
shopping, movies and family, making it easy for audiences to find their
favorite programming.

* An easy-to-use interactive programming guide that integrates HD
programming, On Demand content and the digital video recorder along with
broadcast television into a seamless user experience.

* A dual-tuner, HD-capable DVR that gives customers the freedom to pause
and rewind live TV, record one show while watching another, and fast
forward to their favorite part of the program -- all without a VCR,
tapes or DVDs.

* The option of Home Media DVR, featuring a multi-room DVR that enables up
to three simultaneous viewings of programs recorded by the device
without requiring customers to set up a complex home network or buy
extra equipment. The recorder is bundled with Media Manager, a new
feature that lets customers easily access photos and music from their
personal computer and play them on their entertainment center where they
look and sound the best.

* FiOS TV Widgets, a free interactive feature that provides local weather
and traffic information.

Information on packages and prices on Verizon's FiOS is available at http://www.verizonfios.com/tv. For more information about the products and services available through Verizon Enhanced Communities visit http://www.verizon.com/connected. Verizon Enhanced Communities is Verizon's business unit that markets and sells communications services to single- and multiple-home properties. The business unit just received the Cornerstone Award from Broadband Properties Magazine for outfitting a 300-unit, eight-building residential community with Verizon's FiOS all-fiber-optic network services in just 14 days.

About Southern Crafted Homes

It is the mission of Southern Crafted Homes to build and sell high quality developments with honesty, integrity and a quest for excellence while earning the highest level of respect within the industry and community. For more information on Stonegate and Southern Crafted Homes, please call 813.909.9644, ext. 326 or visit http://www.southerncraftedhomes.com/.

About Verizon

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 http://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 http://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: Media contacts: Bob Elek, Verizon, +1-813-483-2541,
bob.elek@verizon.com; or Marcianne Foster, Southern Crafted Homes,
+1-813-909-9644, ext. 326, mfoster@southercraftedhomes.com

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/
http://www.verizonfios.com/tv
http://www.verizon.com/connected
http://www.southerncraftedhomes.com/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html

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