FiOS TV Service Expands to More Than 17,000 Households in North Pinellas County, Florida

FiOS TV Service Expands to More Than 17,000 Households in North Pinellas County, Florida

Major Addition Marks Significant Development for Pinellas Consumers and for Verizon

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- For Palm Harbor resident Doug Martell, the wait for FiOS TV, Internet and voice services was like waiting for Christmas when he was a child. He knew his patience would be worth it.

"I'd heard about FiOS service and was anxious to get it," Martell said. "I knew it would be better than cable. But now that I have it, it's even better than I expected. The clarity of the TV picture and the quality is outstanding, the voice service is better, and the Internet speed is ten times faster than my previous cable connection. FiOS is just an outstanding service."

Martell had the service installed in his Parker's Meadow house earlier this month, becoming one of the first FiOS triple-play customers in north Pinellas County as Verizon recently expanded fiber availability in the St. George, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs areas. The triple-play bundles are delivered over Verizon's all-fiber network, directly to people's homes and businesses.

More than 17,000 households in north Pinellas County can now order the full suite of FiOS services. These households represent the majority of the 22,000 households that became eligible for FiOS TV when Verizon received approval in July for its first state-issued video franchise under the Consumer Choice Act of 2007, which was signed into law in May by Gov. Charlie Crist.

The total expansion through the franchise will add 55,000 more households in these communities as well as others in Sarasota County. Verizon will continue its push into Pinellas County in 2008 and beyond as major engineering and construction in the county gains momentum. While FiOS TV has been available in other areas in Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota and Pasco counties, today's announcement marks the first expansion into Pinellas.

"This is an important and exciting development for consumers in Pinellas County, giving them the opportunity to choose the leading fiber technology available in the country today," said John Ferrell, Verizon's senior vice president and general manager for the Southeast region. "For Verizon, it marks one more giant step forward in the process of creating a new fiber network in our Florida territories, a revolutionary medium that is changing telecommunications and home entertainment in the Tampa Bay area -- and will do so for years to come."

To date, Verizon has deployed nearly 1.4 million feet of fiber in Pinellas County and more than 51 million feet of fiber in its Florida service territory. More than 520,000 households in Hillsborough, Pasco, Sarasota, Manatee and Pinellas counties can now order one or more of the FiOS services.

FiOS was recently named to the top five of PC World Magazine's 100 Best Products of 2007, a roster of what the magazine called "the finest products and services of the past 12 months" -- selected "based on exemplary design, features, performance and innovation." Readers of PC World and Computerworld magazines have recently ranked FiOS Internet No. 1, with top scores across the board in overall satisfaction, connection reliability, download and upload speeds, customer service and technical support. Additionally, only Verizon's network has earned the certification of the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes.

Consumers can check online at http://www.verizon.com/fiostv to see if FiOS TV is already available in their area, or to request that Verizon contact them when FiOS TV is available. To order FiOS TV, consumers can call their local Verizon sales office or 1-877-4-FIOS-TV (1-877-434-6788).

Service Highlights

Verizon's FiOS TV Premier package delivers more than 200 all-digital channels for $42.99 per month. All Tampa Bay-area customers have access to 29 high-definition (HD) channels and more than 8,600 on-demand titles, 60 percent of which are free. Verizon offers three set-top boxes: standard definition for $4.99 per month; high definition, which includes HD channels, for $9.99 per month; and a dual-tuner, HD-capable digital video recorder for $12.99 per month.

Verizon also offers innovative features not available from other providers, such as Home Media DVR (digital video recorder) and FiOS TV Widgets. Home Media DVR, at $19.99 per month, has a multi-room DVR feature enabling up to three simultaneous viewings of recorded programs without requiring customers to set up a complex home network or buy extra equipment. Customers also can access photos and music on their PCs and play them on their TV.

FiOS TV Widgets is a free interactive feature that provides viewers with local weather and traffic information while they're watching their favorite shows.

Currently, Verizon is also offering triple- and double-play bundles built around its FiOS service. The lineup for Verizon FiOS bundles in Florida is:

Triple play
-- 10/2 Mbps (megabits per second) FiOS Internet service, FiOS TV
Premier, Freedom Essentials voice and one set-top box - $99.99 per
month.

Double plays
-- 10/5 Mbps FiOS Internet service and Freedom Essentials voice - $64.99
per month.
-- FiOS TV Premier plus one set-top box and Freedom Essentials voice -
$69.99 per month.
(All prices are for two-year contracts.)

"Our all-fiber-optic network delivers a superior customer experience today and has an abundance of bandwidth for the exciting services we'll offer in the future," said Ferrell. "We also believe our bundled services offer both a great price and great value right now."

Verizon, providing FiOS services on the nation's most advanced digital all-fiber optic network, will bring FiOS TV in 2007 and beyond to additional communities in the six-county west central Florida area. To speed service availability, Verizon will amend its state-issued video franchise as the network is expanded into cities and counties where the company currently does not have a video franchise.

In addition to Florida, Verizon currently offers FiOS TV in parts of California, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.

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. It also delivers Internet download speeds of up to 50 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps as well as high-quality voice service.*

The value of FiOS TV extends to the installation and customer support. Specially trained Verizon technicians will install the service and acquaint subscribers with FiOS TV features and services. Verizon is waiving the installation fee for up to three existing TV outlets, and there is no charge to install a needed optical network terminal at the subscriber's home.

Charges for other installation services, such as additional outlets, may apply. Verizon provides 24 x 7 technical assistance by phone from its specialized Fiber Solutions Centers.

*NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, 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 more than 62 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 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: Bob Elek of Verizon, +1-813-483-2541, or bob.elek@verizon.com

Web site:

http://www.verizon.com/
http://www.verizon.com/news
http://www.verizon.com/fiostv

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