Gaithersburg, Md., Awards Cable Franchise to Verizon

Gaithersburg, Md., Awards Cable Franchise to Verizon

Vote Paves the Way for Innovative, Competitive Choice for TV Service, Delivered Over the Nation's Most Advanced All-Fiber-Optic Network Straight to Consumers' Homes

GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents in Gaithersburg are a major step closer to having an innovative, reliable and competitive alternative for their television services, thanks to a unanimous vote by the Gaithersburg City Council on Monday (May 4) authorizing Verizon to offer its fiber-optic-powered FiOS TV.

FiOS TV is delivered over Verizon's all-fiber-optic network, which brings the power and capacity of fiber optics directly into people's homes and 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. It 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 services.

In Maryland, Verizon's FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services are available to dozens of communities in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, including Aberdeen, Annapolis, Bel Air, LaPlata and Rockville. The company will begin offering FiOS in parts of Gaithersburg at the end of this year.

Verizon delivers FiOS TV over the nation's largest digital, all-fiber network, which has earned certification from the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes and businesses.

FiOS TV scored highest in J.D. Power's "2008 Residential Television Service Satisfaction Study for the East Region." And a leading consumer magazine gave FiOS TV the top rating in its most recent survey of television service, with top marks in all six categories it measured: channel choice, image quality, sound quality, reliability, value and support.

"Approval of Verizon's video franchise is great news for Gaithersburg residents, who soon will have more choice for their video entertainment," said William R. Roberts, Verizon's regional president in Maryland and Washington, D.C. "We commend the mayor, the Gaithersburg City Council and its staff for their dedication and hard work throughout this process.

"Clearly, they recognize and support the technological advantage and competitive benefits - as well as the distinctive edge in economic development and quality of life - that fiber will bring to their community," Roberts added.

Currently, FiOS TV is available to 9.7 million homes in 14 states: California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

FiOS TV service highlights include:

-- More than 500 all-digital channels grouped by genres such as
entertainment, sports, news, marketplace, movies and family, making it
easy for audiences to find their favorite programming.
-- Approximately 110 high-definition (HD) channels in Maryland, with
extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.
-- An innovative interactive media guide (IMG) that helps customers
quickly and easily find and enjoy content from TV listings,
video-on-demand (VOD) catalogs and the digital video recorder (DVR),
as well as personal music and photos from a home network.

-- An industry-leading library of 14,000 video-on-demand titles each
month, 70 percent of which are free. Verizon's VOD library also
includes more than 1,300 HD VOD titles, more than 1,000 of which are
free.

Consumers in Gaithersburg can check online at www.verizon.com/fios for more information or to request that Verizon contact them when FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services become available. Customers also can call their local Verizon sales office or 888-GET FiOS (888-438-3467). Information on construction schedules is available at www.verizon.com/md.

* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 86 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 237,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 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: Sandra Arnette, +1-410-393-7109, sandra.u.arnette@verizon.com

Web Site: http://www.verizon.com/md

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

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