Easton Becomes 100th Community in Massachusetts to Award FiOS TV Franchise to Verizon

Easton Becomes 100th Community in Massachusetts to Award FiOS TV Franchise to Verizon

Vote Paves the Way for FiOS TV - the Ultimate Home Upgrade for TV Service Delivered Over the Nation's Most Advanced All-Fiber-Optic Network

EASTON, Mass., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of FiOS TV franchises in Massachusetts has hit the century mark.

The Easton Board of Selectmen on Monday (Aug. 31) granted a cable franchise to Verizon, authorizing video choice for thousands of households here. The board's authorization brings to 100 the total number of Massachusetts communities where Verizon's FiOS TV is or will soon be available.

To mark the occasion, Verizon will donate $1,000 to the town's library for the purchase of 100 new books.

Residents of Easton soon will have a real choice for their cable television services when Verizon offers its J.D. Power Award-winning FiOS TV service via the most advanced all-digital, fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes.

"Verizon's 100th TV franchise is a cause for celebration for the company, but more so for consumers in these communities," said Donna Cupelo, Verizon region president for New England. "Since the launch of FiOS TV in Massachusetts three years ago, we have been able to offer hundreds of thousands of Bay State residents and businesses a very attractive alternative to traditional cable TV service. And in doing so, we are continuing our efforts to meet the consumer demand for cable TV choice."

FiOS TV is the company's advanced fiber-optic television service, with superior picture-and-sound quality, innovative and interactive features, more high-definition and on-demand programs, and more reliable service at competitive prices.

During the past few months, the company has further leapfrogged old-style cable companies by offering a Widgets Bazaar that provides access to social networking applications such as Facebook, Twitter; ESPN's Fantasy Football; and the ability to view Internet videos from Veoh, blip.tv, and Dailymotion. And further enhancements are on the way.

"As a result of this new franchise, consumers in Easton will be able to choose their cable provider as easily as they choose their phone company," said Cupelo. "Competition drives innovation, value and service quality, and it puts the consumer in control."

Verizon research indicates 87 percent of Massachusetts residents favor more competition and choice for video services. Independent studies have shown that competition in the video market brings enormous benefits to consumers in the form of reduced prices, better packages and improved service.

Verizon's license agreement with the city of Easton is for 10 years. The agreement contains provisions for the network's future growth; financial support and capacity for educational and government access channels; cable service to government buildings; and other important benefits to the city, including insurance, indemnification and enforcement protections.

"Verizon will compete aggressively for subscribers in Easton with our FiOS services, which are fueled by our lightning-fast fiber-optic network," Cupelo said. Verizon soon will begin its door-to-door sales campaign in Easton, explaining the many advantages of FiOS TV to local consumers.

Verizon is the first company to offer a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network, connecting homes and businesses directly to fiber optics on a widespread scale.

FiOS TV offers a broad collection of programming, with more than 500 all-digital channels and 15,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles each month -- 70 percent of which are free. Verizon's industry-leading VOD library also includes more than 1,400 HD titles per month.

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.

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 up to 50 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds up to 20 Mbps.*

Verizon also offers a range of fast, affordable DSL-enabled High Speed Internet service with speeds of up to 1 Mbps/384 Kbps (kilobits per second), 3 Mbps/768 Kbps and 7.1 Mbps/768Kbps* available, as well as wireline voice and all-digital-quality DIRECTV service. For more information on High Speed Internet and Verizon bundled services, visit http://www22.verizon.com/residential/highspeedinternet/.

* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

[In Massachusetts, FiOS TV is available in Abington, Acton, Andover, Arlington, Ashland, Bedford, Bellingham, Belmont, Boxborough, Boxford, Braintree, Burlington, Canton, Danvers, Dedham, Dover, Dunstable, Framingham, Franklin, Georgetown, Grafton, Groton, Hamilton, Hanover, Hingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Hull, Ipswich, Kingston, Lakeville, Lawrence, Leominster, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Mansfield, Marion, Marlborough, Marblehead, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Maynard, Medfield, Medway, Melrose, Mendon, Methuen, Middleborough, Middleton, Millbury, Nahant, Natick, Needham, Newton, Norfolk, North Andover, North Reading, Northborough, Norwood, Norwell, Plymouth, Reading, Rochester, Rockland, Rowley, Sherborn, Southborough, Stoneham, Stoughton, Stow, Sudbury, Sutton, Swampscott, Taunton, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Walpole, Waltham, Wareham, Wayland, Wellesley, Wenham, West Newbury, Westborough, Weston, Westwood, Wilmington, Winchester, Wrentham and Woburn, and will soon be available in Chelmsford, Easton and North Attleborough.]

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 87 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 235,000 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: Richard Colon, +1-781-849-2046, richard.b.colon@verizon.com, or
Phil Santoro, +1-617-743-4760, philip.g.santoro@verizon.com

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

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

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