Verizon Brings Fiber to Consumers and Small Businesses in Lynn, Nahant and Swampscott, Mass.

BOSTON - Verizon is bringing to the city of Lynn and the towns of Nahant and Swampscott one of the most significant advancements in telecommunications technology in the past 100 years.

The company today announced it is rolling out a fiber-optic network - known as fiber to the premises, or FTTP -- that will deliver faster data speeds and crystal clear voice to residence and business customers. This transformational upgrade to Verizon's network also has the capability to offer a full suite of video services, a competitive choice to existing cable television providers. The company will seek a franchise agreement before offering cable TV service in a selected community.

Today's announcement brings to 28 the number of communities in eastern Massachusetts identified by the company for deployment of its all-fiber network. The others are Andover, Bedford, Belmont, Boxford, Burlington, Canton, Dedham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Lakeville, Lexington, Lincoln, Lynnfield, North Reading, Natick, Newton, Reading, Sherborn, Topsfield, Wellesley, Westborough, West Newbury, Westwood, Winchester and Woburn.

"We're pleased and excited that Verizon has chosen the city of Lynn for its all-fiber network," said Lynn Mayor Edward Clancy. "In the future, residents and businesses in our city can look forward to ultra-fast Internet connections."

FTTP uses hair-thin strands of fiber and optical electronics to directly link homes and businesses to Verizon's network. The state-of-the-art network upgrade will unleash a range of advanced communication services.

"We are building the communications network of the future to provide customers unmatched network reliability, incredible speed and exciting new options for voice, data and video connections," said Donna Cupelo, Verizon region president for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. "Our FTTP project will help stimulate economic development and enhance these communities as great places to live and do business."

Although the use of fiber optics is common for long-distance and inter-city communications throughout the telecommunications industry, Verizon is one of the first major telecom companies to begin using it to directly connect homes and businesses to the network on a widespread scale.

Verizon has announced it is deploying its FTTP network in 14 states: California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia. To help build the network across the country, Verizon will hire between 3,000 and 5,000 new employees by the end of this year, including hundreds in Massachusetts.

Fiber offers tremendous advantages to network operators, in addition to new and superior services for customers. For example, fiber offers reliable service in stretches of wet weather that can affect copper-based networks and coaxial cable systems.

"Verizon's fully fiber-optic network is technically superior to other communication platforms because it offers faster data speeds than those currently available, as well as voice and video capability," said Cheryl Mongell, Verizon market area president for New England. "Our fiber engineering creates a network that requires less day-to-day maintenance and allows for proactive and even faster repairs."

Customer reaction to Verizon's new fiber-based Internet access service, called FiOS (FYE'-ose), has been very positive, with broadband subscribers more than doubling in the company's inaugural FiOS market of Keller, Texas, just outside Dallas/Fort Worth. Verizon will notify customers when FiOS is available locally.

"FiOS has been an extraordinary hit with our first customers. People are literally lining up to get what they know is a fantastic and even more reliable service at an excellent price," said Mongell. "The need for speed and ability to take advantage of bandwidth-intensive applications remain a top priority for all computer users."

There are three tiers of Verizon FiOS Internet Service for consumers, with downstream (download) speeds of up to 5, 15 and 30 Mbps (megabits per second).*

• Up to 5 Mbps (megabits per second) downstream and 2 Mbps upstream. Suited for Internet surfing and basic computer functions. $34.95 a month as part of a calling package, or $39.95 a month stand-alone.

• Up to 15 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream. Appealing to families that have multiple computers and various needs such as media downloads and the ability to access or share large files. $44.95 a month as part of a calling package, or $49.95 a month stand-alone.

• Up to 30 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream. Designed for communications-intensive power users with significant bandwidth needs, such as telecommuters or work-at-home households and avid online gamers. $179.95 a month as part of a calling package, or $199.95 a month stand-alone.

The FTTP initiative represents a natural extension of the more than 10 million miles of fiber-optic cable Verizon already has in place and extends the high capacity, speed and quality of fiber directly to the customer's doorstep. With FTTP technology, Verizon can easily add more capacity, higher speeds or future video services.

Verizon's digital subscriber line (DSL) service will remain the company's most widely available form of high-speed Internet access for the foreseeable future while the company ramps up FTTP deployment. The company offers DSL on a widespread basis in Massachusetts.

With more than $71 billion in annual revenues, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon has a diverse work force of more than 210,000 in four business units: Domestic Telecom serves customers based in 29 states with wireline telecommunications services, including broadband and other services. Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 43.8 million voice and data customers across the United States. Information Services operates directory publishing businesses and provides electronic commerce services. International includes wireline and wireless operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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*NOTE: Actual (throughput) speeds will vary.