TV Choice and Competition Near for Residents of the City of Newburgh, N.Y.

NEW YORK - Residents of the Orange County City of Newburgh are a major step closer to having a real choice for their cable television service, thanks to a newly approved agreement authorizing Verizon to offer its FiOS TV service, delivered over the most advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes.

The Newburgh City Council granted a video franchise to Verizon last night (Monday, Aug. 11), paving the way for video choice in this community. 

The new franchise brings to 127 the total number of New York municipalities that have approved video franchises for Verizon.  

"This is great news for residents of the City of Newburgh, who now will have a new choice for their video entertainment," said Andrés Irlando, Verizon senior vice president for New York and Connecticut. 

"Consumers in the City of Newburgh will be able to choose their cable provider as easily as they choose their phone company.  Competition like this drives innovation and value and puts the consumer in control, and we will continue to compete aggressively for business in these areas," he said.

As with all local franchise approvals in New York, the agreement between Verizon and the City of Newburgh is subject to review by the New York State Public Service Commission.

Verizon's FiOS TV is a formidable competitor to cable and satellite, offering a broad collection of all-digital programming, up to 100 high-definition (HD) channels in the New York market and access to more than 11,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles, 70 percent of which are free.  The VOD library also includes an increasing number of HD titles, and Verizon plans to have 1,000 HD VOD titles per month by year-end.

Verizon's fiber network 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 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.*

The City of Newburgh joins a growing list of New York communities that are paving the way for competition and choice in the television market.  In addition to the City of Newburgh, Verizon has been granted video franchises in the following municipalities:

City of New York

Long Island
Amityville, Massapequa Park, Cedarhurst, Laurel Hollow, Lynbrook, Mineola, East Hills, East Rockaway, Farmingdale, Valley Stream, Freeport, Williston Park, New Hyde Park, Sands Point, Bayville, Old Field, Floral Park, South Floral Park, Garden City, Nissequogue, Northport, Poquott, East Williston, Head of the Harbor, Mill Neck, Stewart Manor, Centre Island, Lawrence, Malverne, Manorhaven, Huntington Bay, The Branch, Oyster Bay Cove, Flower Hill, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Munsey Park, North Hills, Plandome, Plandome Heights, Plandome Manor, Rockville Centre, Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Harbor, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Thomaston, Bellerose, Lloyd Harbor and Baxter Estates; and the towns of North Hempstead, Huntington, Smithtown, Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Islip and Babylon.

Rockland County
Nyack, South Nyack, Upper Nyack, Grandview-on-Hudson, Clarkstown, Orangetown, Piermont, Airmont, the Town of Haverstraw, West Haverstraw, Chestnut Ridge, Ramapo, Spring Valley, Stony Point, the Village of Haverstraw, Suffern, Hillburn, Wesley Hills and Montebello.

Dutchess County
Wappinger and Wappingers Falls

Orange County
Town of Newburgh

Erie County
Amherst, Blasdell, Village of Hamburg, Town of Hamburg, West Seneca, Tonawanda, Village of Orchard Park and Town of Orchard Park.

Putnam County
Kent

Westchester County
Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown, Irvington, Greenburgh, Eastchester, Mount Kisco, Elmsford, Port Chester, Tuckahoe, White Plains, Rye Brook, North Castle, Mount Vernon, Mount Pleasant, Yonkers, Scarsdale, Bronxville, New Rochelle, Cortlandt, Peekskill, Buchanan, Rye, Larchmont, the Village of Mamaroneck, the Town of Mamaroneck, New Castle, Pelham Manor, Sleepy Hollow, Briarcliff Manor, the Town of Ossining and the Village of Ossining.

* 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 69 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 more than 228,600 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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