Verizon Expands its Award-Winning FiOS Services to More Consumers in the City of Pittsburgh

Verizon, the only company in the city providing voice, broadband and entertainment services over an advanced, all fiber-optic network, expanded its award-winning FiOS services on Thursday (Dec. 3) to more households across the city of Pittsburgh.

"Pittsburghers have enthusiastically embraced FiOS, which offers services old-fashioned cable just can't match," said Mary Yarbrough, vice president of marketing and sales operations for Verizon's Mid-Atlantic region.  "With choice finally available to them, consumers in the city have been making the switch to FiOS, with the most HD channels and the fastest, two-way broadband connection speeds available in Pittsburgh."

Verizon initially launched FiOS TV in the city in late September, making the service available to nearly 67,000 households across more than 20 city neighborhoods.  With Verizon's latest expansion, more than 1,600 households in parts of the city's Allentown, North Side and Squirrel Hill neighborhoods are eligible for FiOS services, with several thousand more households eligible by the end of the year.

FiOS TV offers more than 600 channels, including 129 high-definition (HD) channels in Pittsburgh - more HD channels than the city's current cable provider.  Verizon's FiOS Internet delivers the fastest two-way connection speeds available - with downstream speeds of up to 50 Mbps* (megabits per second) and upstream speeds of up to 20 Mbps.

Where FiOS services are available, Verizon offers a number of cost-saving promotions to help customers get the most for their money.  All new customers that sign up for a FiOS triple-play bundle by Jan. 16 will receive a $150 Visa prepaid card.  The promotion also provides new FiOS customers with $10 a month off for the first year of certain FiOS triple-play bundles.  When customers choose FiOS TV as part of their bundles during the promotion, they will receive a Verizon Home Media Digital Video Recorder (DVR) at no additional charge for three months (a $60 value).

"With the holiday season upon us, consumers can take advantage of some very compelling, value-packed offers," said Yarbrough.  "There's never been a better time to make the move from cable to FiOS."  

FiOS Internet and FiOS TV both topped this year's J.D. Power customer satisfaction surveys for the East region.  In 2009, for the fourth consecutive year, FiOS Internet won a Readers Choice Award from PCMag.com, ranking No. 1 in speed, overall customer satisfaction and reliability in the current survey.

Customers interested in FiOS services can visit www.verizon.com/fios or call 1-888-GET FiOS (888-438-3467) for more information. 

FiOS services also are available to small and medium-sized businesses.  Business customers can learn more about business-grade FiOS services at www.verizon.com/bizfiostv, or by calling 877-FiOS BIZ (877-346-7249).

FiOS TV Service Highlights

FiOS TV service highlights include:

• More than 600 all-digital channels in Pittsburgh grouped by genres such as entertainment, sports, news, marketplace, music, movies and family, making it easy for audiences to search for and find their favorite programming.

• A total of 129 HD channels available in Pittsburgh, with extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.
• An industry-leading library of more than 18,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles each month, 70 percent of which are free. In addition, the VOD library includes more than 2,400 HD titles per month.
• An innovative interactive media guide (IMG) that provides next-generation, personalized interactive services, along with content from TV listings, VOD catalogs and the DVR, as well as personal music, videos and photos from a home network.  Among the features of the IMG are:
• Multi-Room DVR - Use one DVR to record HD and SD programs on up to six other TV sets throughout the home.  This includes the ability to watch three separately recorded shows on three TV sets at the same time, plus pause recorded programming in one room and continue watching in another.

• Media Manager - This feature lets FiOS DVR customers access personal photos, videos, music and slide shows from their home computers and play them on their TVs.  Customers who subscribe to Media Manager also can search for and enjoy online videos from blip.tv, Dailymotion and Veoh on their TV screens.
• Remote DVR management - Subscribers can remotely control their DVRs online, and via any cell phone with a data plan.  Customers can use the service to remotely review, change or add recording requests; delete recorded programs; browse and search TV and VOD listings; set parental controls; and more.
• Widgets - Customers have one-touch, on-demand access to personalized information such as local traffic reports, daily local and national news headlines, fantasy sports, daily national sports headlines, and daily horoscopes, as well as interactive social TV applications from Twitter and Facebook, all while still enjoying their TV programming.  Additional widgets include:
• ESPN Fantasy Football - FiOS TV customers who are registered users of ESPN Fantasy Football will have instant on-screen access to personalized NFL statistics, including rosters, box scores, scoring leaders and player information.

• Pro Football Widget - One-stop access to NFL stats and the NFL RedZone channel, giving customers who subscribe to the channel the ability to set on-screen alerts for whenever a team is moving inside its opponent's 20-yard line. 
• KODAK Widget - This widget gives registered KODAK Gallery users instant on-screen access to photos and slideshows that they have stored on Kodak's online digital photo service.
• Weatherbug Widget - Provides instant access to real-time, personalized weather information and forecasts.  Users can customize weather reports by any ZIP code, pull up hourly or seven-day forecasts and view radar weather imagery to see how local conditions are developing.
• Free casual games - With the remote control and an HD set-top box, customers can access chess, solitaire, sudoku, Chinese checkers, reversi and wordplay.
• What's Hot on FiOS TV - Features information on the most-popular programs currently being broadcast in the region and the most popular VOD titles.
• Dual Pause and Play - Allows customers to pause live programming, change channels, and then return to the paused program and pick up where they left off.
• Channel sorting options - Customers can create two separate lists of favorite channels for family members.  Customers also can filter channels in the guide by genre, for instances where a customer may only want to see HD content, international channels or kids programming, among others.

Programming choices for Hispanic, African-American, Asian, Russian and other multicultural audiences are available, making FiOS TV an outlet for emerging and independent networks to showcase their diverse programming.

The value of FiOS TV extends to installation and customer support. Specially trained Verizon technicians will install the service for up to three existing TV outlets and acquaint subscribers with FiOS TV features and services.  Verizon provides 24 x 7 technical assistance by phone from its Fiber Solutions Centers. 

In September, the Pittsburgh City Council approved a bill authorizing Verizon to offer its FiOS TV to city residents.  As part of the cable franchise agreement, Verizon will make FiOS TV available to more than 160,000 households throughout the city within six years.

FiOS TV currently is available to nearly 300 communities in southeastern, south-central and western Pennsylvania, as well as parts of 13 other states.

All customers who subscribe to FiOS Internet service with downstream connections of up to 20 Mbps or higher get free access to thousands of Wi-Fi connections across the U.S.**  Free Verizon Wi-Fi hot spot locations include hotels, airports, restaurants, coffee shops, retailers, convention centers and public locations across the U.S.  For a list of hot-spot locations, visit www.verizon.net/hotspots.

FiOS Internet services also provide a gateway to other valuable services that help preserve and protect data, including Verizon Internet Security Suite and Verizon Online Backup & Sharing.

For the latest news, updates and information about FiOS services, visit www.verizon.com/newscenter and http://www.verizon.com/athomeblog.

* Internet speeds refer to the connection speed between the user's location and Verizon's central office.  Actual surfing speeds will vary based on many factors and be lower than connection speed.

** Verizon Wi-Fi available with select packages and in designated locations only. Software limitations and other terms apply.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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