New Port Richey Grants the Latest Verizon FiOS TV Franchise in Florida

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - For some 16,000 residents of New Port Richey, a new choice for TV service is on the way.   The city voted Tuesday night (March 20) for competition and against an exclusive cable monopoly, becoming the 13th jurisdiction in Florida to award a far-reaching franchise to Verizon for its FiOS TV product, to be delivered via the company's new, digital all-fiber network.

The franchise makes Florida one of Verizon's most competitive frontiers for FiOS services.  As the fiber network is built, the New Port Richey franchise -- combined with Verizon's franchises for Temple Terrace, Tampa, Oldsmar, Manatee County, Bradenton, Palmetto, Sarasota County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Port Richey, Zephyrhills and Venice -- will enable over 1.9 million residents in Verizon's Florida service territory to enjoy stepped-up competition and more consumer choice for video services in the region.

"The decision by the New Port Richey City Council to grant Verizon a franchise marks the last franchise we needed to serve all of our territories in Pasco County," said Alan Ciamporcero, Verizon's Southeast region president.  "New Port Richey, Port Richey, Pasco County and Zephyrhills make it a clean sweep -- our all-fiber network will be a valuable economic development project for these communities and a great service for consumers. 

"We are ready to serve New Port Richey and will be busy throughout the next year and thereafter constructing the fiber network," continued Ciamporcero.  "We look forward to providing our FiOS service to the city's residents as soon as possible and for many years to come."    

Verizon, providing FiOS services on the nation's most advanced digital all-fiber optic network, will offer FiOS TV to some residents in the city during 2007.  Service will be extended throughout the city within three years of the initial offering. 

As the fiber network is completed, residents will also enjoy FiOS broadband products that deliver very fast data speeds ranging from up to 5 Mbps to up to 30 Mbps (megabits per second).  Verizon currently offers service to over 58,000 households in areas of Pasco County.  Verizon, which launched FiOS TV in September 2005, also offers the service in parts of California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Texas, Pennsylvania and Virginia.   

When Verizon reported its 2006 year-end earnings, the company noted that it had a total of 207,000 FiOS TV customers nationally, beating the initial in-service goal of 175,000 customers for its first year of TV operations.

The 15-year agreement contains provisions for:

• Deployment of cable service throughout the initial franchise area no later than 36 months after the service is launched.

• Extensive customer service requirements.
• Liability insurance and indemnification requirements. 

Verizon's FiOS TV delivers hundreds of digital video and music channels, high-definition programming, video-on-demand content, a robust interactive programming guide and other customer-friendly features. Verizon is constructing its fiber-optic network in 16 states, or more than half the states where it offers landline communications services.

Customers can buy FiOS TV as a stand-alone service or packaged with voice and FiOS high-speed data services, which are already available in some areas. For information on Verizon's FiOS Internet Service and FiOS TV offerings, visit www.Verizonfios.com and www.Verizonfios.com/tv.

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 59 million customers nationwide.  Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which operates one of the most expansive wholly owned global IP networks, and Verizon Telecom, which is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of approximately 242,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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