TV Choice and Competition Near for Residents of Town of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

NEW YORK - Residents of the Dutchess County Town of Poughkeepsie 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 town granted a video franchise to Verizon Wednesday night (Feb. 4), paving the way for video choice in this community.  It is the first video franchise granted to the company in New York state in 2009, and it brings to 146 the total number of New York municipalities that have authorized Verizon to provide FiOS TV service.  

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

"Poughkeepsie consumers 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 compete aggressively for customers in this area," he said.

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

A staple in the New York business community, with more than 32,000 employees in the state, Verizon is continuing to invest in the state's infrastructure by building, maintaining and enhancing its wireline and wireless networks across New York, including its state-of-the-art fiber-optic network, providing consumers and businesses with reliable FiOS services for their Internet, entertainment and voice services.

Verizon's FiOS TV is a formidable competitor to cable and satellite, offering a broad collection of all-digital programming, up to 107 high-definition (HD) channels in the New York market and access to more than 14,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles, 70 percent of which are free.  The VOD library also includes more than 1,200 HD titles per month.

Verizon's FiOS TV service was selected as the top-ranked residential television service provider in the Northeast region by J.D. Power for 2008.  FiOS TV is currently available to more than 9.2 million homes in 14 states: California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

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 Town of Poughkeepsie 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 town, Verizon has been granted video franchises in the following municipalities:

City of New York

Long Island
Amityville, Atlantic Beach, 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, Hewlett Bay Park, Mill Neck, Stewart Manor, Centre Island, Lawrence, Lindenhurst, 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, Port Washington North, Rockville Centre, Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Harbor, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Thomaston, Bellerose, Lloyd Harbor, Baxter Estates, Hempstead, Cove Neck, Brightwaters and Hewlett Harbor; and the towns of North Hempstead, Huntington, Smithtown, Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Islip and Babylon

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, the Village of Ossining and the Town of Yorktown

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, Montebello, New Hempstead and Pomona

Dutchess County
Wappinger, Wappingers Falls and Village of Fishkill, Town of Fishkill, City of Poughkeepsie

Orange County
Town of Newburgh and City of Newburgh

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

Putnam County
Kent, Town of Carmel

* 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 more than 80 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 224,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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