TV Choice and Competition Are Near for Residents of Little Creek, Del.

LITTLE CREEK, Del. - Monday night's (May 7) unanimous approval of Verizon's cable franchise agreement makes Little Creek, Del., the first municipality in Kent County to bring its consumers one step closer to having a real choice for their cable television services.

The Little Creek Town Council granted Verizon a franchise to serve nearly 100 households with the company's fiber-optic-powered FiOS TV.  FiOS TV is the only TV service delivered over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network straight to consumers' homes.

Little Creek is the tenth Delaware jurisdiction to grant Verizon a cable franchise.  The company already has obtained franchises in the three Ardens (Arden, Ardentown and Ardencroft), Bellefonte, Delaware City, Middletown, Newark, Odessa and Townsend.  In addition, the Delaware Public Service Commission last October approved Verizon's franchise to serve the unincorporated areas of the state. 

"As a result of this new franchise, consumers in Little Creek soon will be able to choose their cable provider as easily as they choose their phone company," said William R. Allan, president of Verizon Delaware.  "Competition drives innovation, value and service quality, and it puts the consumer in control.  We will compete aggressively in Delaware for business with our FiOS services, which are fueled by our lightning-fast fiber-optic network."

Verizon's FiOS TV service currently is available to over 56,000 households in New Castle County.  The company will announce the availability of FiOS TV in Little Creek as it completes network construction of the all-fiber-optic network and video facilities for the town.

In addition to Delaware, Verizon currently provides FiOS TV in parts of California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.  The company is preparing to offer FiOS TV in parts of Indiana and Rhode Island.

FiOS TV offers a broad collection of all-digital programming, over two dozen high-definition channels in the Delaware market, 8,600 video-on-demand titles and more.  It is delivered over Verizon's all-fiber-optic network, which 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.  

In addition to FiOS TV, Verizon's fiber network also allows the company to offer consumers and businesses crystal-clear voice service and high-speed FiOS Internet Service at download speeds of up to 30 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds up to 5 Mbps.*   FiOS Internet Service currently is available to many consumers and small businesses in Delaware.

* 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 60.7 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 has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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