TV Choice and Competition Near for Residents of the Towns of Amherst and Hamburg, and Village of Lawrence, N.Y.

NEW YORK - Residents of the Erie County towns of Amherst and Hamburg, and the Nassau County village of Lawrence are a major step closer to having a real choice for their cable television service, thanks to newly approved agreements authorizing Verizon to offer its FiOS TV service, delivered over the most advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes.

The Amherst Town Board granted a video a franchise to Verizon Monday (June 16), paving the way for video choice in the community. 

The Town of Hamburg voted in favor of a franchise for Verizon on June 9, and the Village of Lawrence followed suit on June 12.

The three new franchises bring to 122 the total number of New York municipalities that have approved video franchises for Verizon.  

"This is great news for residents of Amherst, Hamburg and Lawrence, who now will have a new choice for their video entertainment," said Monica Azare, Verizon senior vice president for New York and Connecticut. 

"Consumers in these communities 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," she said.

As with all local franchise approvals in New York, the agreements between Verizon and the towns of Amherst and Hamburg and the village of Lawrence are 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, 30 high-definition (HD) channels in the New York market and access to more than 10,000 on-demand titles, 70 percent of which are free.

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.*

Amherst, Hamburg and Lawrence join a growing list of New York communities that are paving the way for competition and choice in the television market.  In addition to these three, Verizon has been granted video franchises in the following municipalities:

City of New York

Long Island
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, Poquott, East Williston, Head of the Harbor, Mill Neck, Stewart Manor, Centre Island, 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, 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
Blasdell, Hamburg, West Seneca, Tonawanda, Village of Orchard Park and Town of Orchard Park.

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 more than 67 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 employed a diverse workforce of approximately 232,000 as of the end of the first quarter 2008 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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