TV Choice and Competition Near for Residents of Town of Orchard Park, N.Y.

TV Choice and Competition Near for Residents of Town of Orchard Park, N.Y.

Town Board Approves Video Franchise for Verizon

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y., April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents of the Town of Orchard Park in Erie County are a major step closer to having a real choice for their cable television service, thanks to a newly approved agreement authorizing Verizon to offer its FiOS TV service, delivered over the most advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes.

The Orchard Park Town Board granted a video franchise to Verizon Wednesday night (April 16), paving the way for video choice in the community. This vote brings to 108 the total number of New York communities that have approved video franchises for Verizon.

The Town of Orchard Park franchise approval follows similar approvals Monday night (April 14) by the Village of Orchard Park, and April 7 by the Village of Hamburg.

"This is great news for residents of the Town of Orchard Park, who now will have a new choice for their video entertainment," said Monica Azare, Verizon senior vice president for New York and Connecticut. "Consumers here will be able to choose their cable provider as easily as they choose their phone company. Competition like this drives innovation and value, and puts the consumer in control."

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

FiOS TV is expected to be rolled out in the community during the summer, after review by the PSC and after the company completes the construction and wiring of a video hub office to serve the region.

Verizon's FiOS TV is a formidable competitor to cable and satellite, offering a broad collection of all-digital programming, 30 high-definition (HD) channels in the New York market and access to more than 10,000 on-demand titles, 70 percent of which are free.

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 delivers Internet download speeds of up to 50 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps, as well as high-quality voice service.*

The Town of Orchard Park joins a growing list of New York communities that are paving the way for competition and choice in the television market. In addition to the Town of Orchard Park, Verizon has been granted video franchises in the following communities:

Erie County
Village of Hamburg
Village of Orchard Park

Dutchess County
Town of Wappinger
Wappingers Falls

Orange County
Town of Newburgh

Rockland County
Nyack, South Nyack, Upper Nyack, Grandview-on-Hudson, Clarkstown,
Orangetown, Piermont, Airmont, the town of Haverstraw, West Haverstraw,
Chestnut Ridge, Spring Valley, Stony Point, the village of Haverstraw,
Suffern and Hillburn.

Westchester County
Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown, Irvington, the Town of Greenburgh,
Eastchester, Mount Kisco, Elmsford, Port Chester, Tuckahoe, White Plains,
Rye Brook, North Castle, Mount Vernon, Mount Pleasant, Yonkers, Scarsdale,
Bronxville, New Rochelle, Cortlandt, Peekskill, Buchanan, Rye, Larchmont,
the village of Mamaroneck, the town of Mamaroneck, Pelham Manor, Sleepy
Hollow, Briarcliff Manor, the town of Ossining and the village of
Ossining.

Long Island
Massapequa Park, Cedarhurst, Laurel Hollow, Lynbrook, Mineola, East Hills,
East Rockaway, Farmingdale, Valley Stream, Freeport, Williston Park, New
Hyde Park, Sands Point, Bayville, Old Field, Floral Park, South Floral
Park, Garden City, Nissequogue, Poquott, East Williston, Head of the
Harbor, Mill Neck, Stewart Manor, Centre Island, Malverne, Huntington Bay,
The Branch, Oyster Bay Cove, Flower Hill, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates,
Great Neck Plaza, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Munsey Park,
North Hills, Plandome, Plandome Heights, Plandome Manor, Roslyn Estates,
Roslyn Harbor, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Thomaston, Bellerose and
Lloyd Harbor; and in the towns of North Hempstead, Huntington, Smithtown,
Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Islip.

* 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 nearly 66 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 employs a diverse workforce of nearly 235,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 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: Maureen Rasp-Glose, +1-716-842-7090,
maureen.rasp-glose@verizon.com, or John Bonomo, +1-212-321-8033,
john.j.bonomo@verizon.com

Web site:

http://www.verizon.com/

Company News On-Call:

http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html

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