Verizon Files Application and Plan to Offer TV Throughout Five Boroughs of New York City

NEW YORK, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon announced today that it has filed with the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) its application and plan under which, for the first time, TV service will be offered by a single provider throughout the City of New York. Verizon's revolutionary FiOS TV service will be delivered over the most advanced fiber-optic network.

Verizon submitted the plan in response to a Solicitation DoITT issued on April 11. The Solicitation seeks "proposals for franchises for the provision of cable television services to be made available throughout the City." Currently, only two legacy cable TV companies operate in separate and distinct parts of the city, leaving consumers, effectively, with little or no competitive choice for their cable TV news, information and entertainment.

"This important step sets in motion the process for Verizon to offer choice and competition in the traditional monopoly cable TV market to all the residents of the five boroughs of New York City," said Monica Azare, Verizon senior vice president for New York and Connecticut. "For too long, residents have been locked in to one provider for their cable TV entertainment. With an award of the first-ever Citywide franchise, Verizon will be able to throw open the doors to competition, providing real choice and real value."

Verizon's proposal will now be evaluated by the City, and then forwarded to the City's Franchise and Concession Review Committee for a public hearing and consideration. If the Committee and the City approve Verizon's proposal, it will be submitted to the New York Public Service Commission for confirmation, as are all cable franchises. If all approvals are achieved in a timely fashion, Verizon would begin offering service to City residents later this year.

"Our investment in the City is historic, which is reflected in the citywide nature of our plan," Azare said. "When our fiber deployment project is completed it will reach to each and every borough, neighborhood, boulevard, avenue and street, without regard to the demographics of a particular area. More importantly, City residents will be able to take advantage of the power of fiber optics delivered straight to their doors."

This 12-year proposed agreement is unprecedented in scope and is designed to serve the unique needs of approximately 3.1 million households that will have access to FiOS TV, including households in multiple dwelling units.

In keeping with the citywide scope of the Verizon plan, key aspects include:

    -- Verizon building its state-of-the-art fiber-optic network throughout
       the entire City by midyear 2014.  This will make Verizon the largest
       provider of television service in New York City, and the only one
       serving the entire City;
    -- Making available FiOS TV service to requesting customers in all five
       boroughs within a six-year time frame as Verizon's wire centers are
       upgraded to being video-capable.  If Verizon's proposal is approved,
       hundreds of thousands of New York City residents will have access to
       FiOS TV this year;
    -- FiOS TV will include an all digital channel line-up of more than 400
       channels and 150 HD channels by year-end, and a growing library of more
       than 10,000 video-on-demand selections;
    -- Verizon will provide a fiber-optic institutional network (known as an
       INET), primarily to support the City's public safety needs;
    -- Verizon agrees to pay franchise fees equivalent to five percent of
       gross revenues on cable TV service, as do other cable TV operators in
       the City;
    -- Verizon has agreed to appropriate customer service provisions.

Verizon began constructing its fiber network in the City in late 2004, and consumers currently are enjoying the value and super-fast speeds offered by Verizon FiOS Internet service. (See below for city neighborhoods where FiOS Internet is already available.)

Verizon has an aggressive plan to provide FiOS service to requesting customers in multiple dwelling units (MDUs). Already, Verizon has installed FiOS in hundreds of MDU buildings throughout the City. The company works with property owners and landlords to gain access to the buildings, and then creates a fiber network to serve tenants in the buildings who request the FiOS services.

Verizon's FiOS TV is a formidable competitor to cable and satellite, offering a broad range of all-digital programming, high-definition (HD) channels and access to more than 10,000 on-demand titles, 70 percent of which are at no additional charge.

Verizon's fiber network delivers amazingly sharp pictures and sound, and has the capacity to transmit a wide array of HD 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.(*)

           Verizon Fiber Deployment and FiOS Internet Availability
                        by New York City Neighborhood
                                  March 2008

    Manhattan
    Battery Park City-Lower Manhattan
    Chinatown
    East Harlem North
    East Harlem South
    East Village
    Hudson Yards Chelsea Flatiron-Union Square
    Lenox Hill -- Roosevelt Island
    Lower East Side
    Midtown -- Midtown South
    Upper East Side -- Carnegie Hill
    Yorkville

    The Bronx
    Williamsbridge
    Olinville
    Woodlawn
    Wakefield
    Eastchester
    Edenwald
    Norwood
    Bronxdale
    Laconia
    Baychester

    Brooklyn
    Canarsie
    Clinton Hill
    Bensonhurst East
    Crown Heights North
    Brooklyn Heights -- Cobble Hill
    Homecrest
    Williamsburg
    Fort Greene
    DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill
    Crown Heights South
    Bedford
    Gravesend
    North Side -- South Side
    Flatlands
    Georgetown-Marine Park-Bergen Beach-Mill Basin
    Prospect Heights
    Madison

    Queens
    Fresh Meadows -- Utopia
    Glen Oaks-Floral Park-New Hyde Park
    Laurelton
    Rosedale
    Springfield Gardens S-Brookville
    Douglaston Manor-Douglaston-Little Neck
    Auburndale
    Bayside -- Bayside Hills
    Breezy Point-Belle Harbor-Rockaway Park-Broad Channel
    Ft. Totten-Bay Terrace-Clearview
    Oakland Gardens

    Staten Island
    Stapleton -- Rosebank
    Port Richmond
    Charleston-Richmond Valley-Tottenville
    New Brighton -- Silver Lake
    Grymes Hill-Clifton-Fox Hills
    Old Town-Dongan Hills-South Beach
    Westerleigh
    Oakwood -- Oakwood Beach
    Grasmere-Arrochar-Fort Wadsworth
    New Springville-Bloomfield-Travis
    Todt Hill-Emerson Hill-Heartland Village-Lighthouse Hill
    New Dorp -- Midland Beach
    Arden Heights
    Rossville -- Woodrow
    Great Kills
    Mariners Harbor-Arlington-Pt. Ivory-Granitville
    Annadale-Huguenot-Prince's Bay-Eltingville
    West New Brighton-New Brighton-St. George


    * 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.

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