CHESTER, Pa. - Residents of this city along the Delaware River are a major step closer to having an innovative, reliable and competitive alternative for their television service, thanks to a unanimous vote on Wednesday (Dec. 17) by the Chester City Council authorizing Verizon to offer its fiber-optic-powered FiOS TV.
The company plans to begin offering FiOS Internet and FiOS TV to more than 3,600 households in parts of Chester later this month, and will make the services available to all households in the city within six years.
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. It also delivers Internet download speeds of up to 50 Mbps* (megabits per second) and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps, as well as crystal-clear voice services.
In Pennsylvania, Verizon currently offers FiOS Internet and FiOS TV services to more than 200 communities in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, and the Philadelphia City Council is considering a cable franchise agreement with Verizon to offer video choice in the commonwealth's largest city.
"Approval of Verizon's video franchise is great news for Chester residents, who soon will have more choice for their video entertainment," said Gale Y. Given, president of Verizon Pennsylvania. "We commend Mayor Wendell Butler Jr., the City Council and their staffs for their dedication and hard work throughout this process.
"Clearly, they recognize and support the technological advantage and competitive benefits - as well as the distinctive edge in economic development and quality of life - that fiber will bring to their community," Given added. "We look forward to reaching similar agreements with other Pennsylvania communities in the following weeks."
Verizon currently provides FiOS TV in parts of California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Washington state.
FiOS TV service highlights include:
- More than 500 all-digital channels grouped by genres such as entertainment, sports, news, marketplace, movies and family, making it easy for audiences to find their favorite programming.
- Approximately 105 high-definition channels in southeastern Pennsylvania, with extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.
- An industry-leading library of more than 14,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles each month, 8,500 of which are free of charge. The VOD library also includes 1,200 HD VOD titles per month.
- An innovative Interactive Media Guide that helps customers quickly and easily find and enjoy content from TV listings, VOD catalogs and the digital video recorder (DVR), as well as personal music and photos from a home network.
- A unique Home Media DVR that now allows customers to stream recorded HD programs to six other TV sets throughout the home equipped with HD set-top boxes. The feature, which has been available for standard-definition programming, includes the ability to watch three separately recorded shows on three sets at the same time, plus pause recorded programming in one room and continue watching in another.
- Consumers in Chester can check online at www.verizon.com/fios for more information or to request that Verizon contact them when FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services become available. Customers also can call their local Verizon sales office or 888-438-3467.
* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.