Cable Choice Comes to Hampton, Va., as Verizon Launches FiOS TV

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HAMPTON, Va. - The future of television is arriving for consumers in parts of Hampton as Verizon introduces FiOS TV over its revolutionary fiber-optic network here.  FiOS TV currently is available to consumers in parts of Chesapeake, Newport News and Virginia Beach.

Verizon delivers FiOS TV over the nation's largest digital, all-fiber network, which has earned certification from the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes.

"Our FiOS Internet and TV services have been an extraordinary hit with consumers in Virginia, and more residents are joining the FiOS family each day," said Robert W. Woltz Jr., president of Verizon Virginia.  "Verizon is winning customers by providing the best, most reliable network available at a competitive price for voice, data and video services - all backed by the best employees in the business and a name consumers can trust."

Verizon FiOS TV is available now to nearly 4,200 households in parts of the following Hampton neighborhoods: Aberdeen Garden (East & West), Bethel Park, Big Bethel Heights, Carson Heights, Forest Park, Mercury West, Pine Tree Place, Sylvia Estates, Three Chopt Village and White Acres.

Hampton residents who are FiOS TV-eligible can trim their monthly bills by bundling FiOS TV service, FiOS Internet service and the Verizon Freedom Essentials unlimited calling plan.  They also can add a Verizon Wireless calling plan for a Grand Slam of communications and entertainment services.

In addition, new customers who subscribe to FiOS TV between now and Oct. 4 will receive their choice of a year's free use of either a high-definition (HD) digital video recorder (DVR) or an HD Home Media DVR.  Verizon is also offering new FiOS TV customers, or existing customers who upgrade to a bundled package, one free month of HBO and Cinemax, which includes the latest hit movies, documentaries and original programming from more than 25 premium channels and access to hundreds of titles on video-on-demand (VOD).  New customers who take advantage of this offer will save between $200 and $260 the first year, depending upon the DVR customers choose.

Small and medium-sized businesses now also can combine unparalleled broadband FiOS Internet speeds with FiOS TV and Verizon's always-reliable voice service.

FiOS TV Service Highlights

FiOS TV service highlights include:

  • More than 400 all-digital channels grouped by genres such as entertainment, sports, news, shopping, movies and family, making it easy for audiences to find their favorite programming.
     
  • A total of 45 high-definition channels in the Hampton Roads market, with extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.  The company plans to expand its lineup to offer all available major HD programming by year-end. 
     
  • An industry-leading library of more than 11,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles each month, 70 percent of which are free.  In addition, the VOD library includes an increasing number of HD on-demand titles in high definition, and Verizon plans to offer 1,000 HD VOD titles per month by the end of the year.
     
  • An easy-to-use interactive media guide that integrates HD programming, on-demand content and the digital video recorder along with broadcast television into a seamless user experience.
     
  • Set-top boxes ranging from a standard-definition box to the Home Media DVR, featuring a multi-room DVR that enables up to three simultaneous viewings of recorded programs without requiring customers to set up a complex home network or buy extra equipment.  The recorder is bundled with Media Manager, a new feature that lets customers easily access photos and music from their personal computer and play them on their entertainment center where they look and sound the best.
     
  • FiOS TV Widgets, a free interactive feature that provides local weather and traffic information.

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

Sports fans subscribing to FiOS TV Premier in the Hampton Roads market will also receive a host of sports channels - including Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, several ESPN channels and the NFL Network - at no extra charge. 

FiOS TV is delivered over Verizon's all-fiber-optic network, which brings the power and capacity of fiber optics directly into people's homes and has industry-leading quality and reliability.  Fiber 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. 

FiOS Internet Highlights

Verizon's all-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 services.  Verizon's 50/20 FiOS Internet connection is the fastest available to U.S. consumers, and the company's 20/20 symmetrical service is the first of its kind commercially available to U.S. consumers on a mass scale.  Pioneering a new category of broadband for the American consumer, Verizon's symmetrical FiOS provides the ultra-fast, two-way speeds crucial for such burgeoning online activities as video conferencing, social networking and super-fast uploading of electronic photo albums or home videos, as well as multi-player gaming and online work collaboration.

At 50 Mbps, downloading a 5 GB (gigabyte) file, such as 112-minute, high-definition movie purchased online, takes approximately 13.3 minutes, while a 50 MB (megabyte) or 60-minute Web video takes 8 seconds, and a 5 MB MP3 music file takes less than eight-tenths of a second.

Using a 20 Mbps upstream broadband connection, a consumer could upload a 250 megabyte (MB) file of 200 photos in about 90 seconds, instead of the roughly 47 minutes it takes over a 768 kilobit-per-second (Kbps) upstream connection.  A 500 MB file, such as 400 digital photos or a medical imaging data file, could be uploaded in less than four minutes, compared with about 90 minutes over a 768 Kbps connection.  A 3 gigabyte (GB) file, such as a one-hour family video shot with a high-definition video camera, could be uploaded in around 20 minutes, compared with more than nine hours with 768 Kbps upstream.

FiOS Internet 50/20 Mbps service is available for $89.95 a month in Virginia with an annual service plan; the 20/20 Mbps service is available for $64.99 a month with an annual service plan   FiOS Internet service is also available as part of a discounted bundle of multiple Verizon services. 

Hampton consumers can check online at www.verizon.com/fios for more information or to request that Verizon contact them when FiOS services become available.  Customers also can call their local Verizon sales office or 888-GET FiOS (888-438-3467).

Since Verizon began building its fiber-optic network in Virginia in 2004, the company has placed more than 36 million feet of fiber and created hundreds of new full-time positions to build and support the network and FiOS services, including 460 in the company's Hampton Fiber Solutions Center. 

The value of FiOS TV extends to the installation and customer support.  Specially trained Verizon technicians will install the service and acquaint subscribers with FiOS TV features and services.  Verizon is waiving the installation fee for up to three existing TV outlets, and there is no charge to install a needed optical network terminal at the subscriber's home.  Charges for other installation services, such as additional outlets, may apply.  Verizon provides 24 x 7 technical assistance by phone from its specialized Fiber Solutions Centers.

* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

 

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