This Is FiOS! This Is The Big Apple! Verizon FiOS TV Makes Its New York City Debut

NEW YORK - There's finally home entertainment that's big enough for The Big Apple as Verizon begins offering FiOS TV service today in New York City.

"New Yorkers at long last have a better choice for TV," said Maura Breen, Verizon general manager for New York.  "We've had great success in the suburban areas around the city.  Now it's time to put the Verizon FiOS TV show on Broadway - and eventually every other street, avenue and boulevard in the city - so New Yorkers can kiss old-fashioned cable good bye."

Verizon will offer 100 high-definition channels to the metro New York market.  [Note: See separate Verizon news release headlined, "Verizon FiOS TV Delivers 100 High-Definition Channels to New Yorkers - on the Network Built for HD."]

"Our advanced fiber-optic network was built for HD, and we're offering more HD options than Time Warner (now Spectrum) or Cablevision (now Optimum Online)" said Virginia Ruesterholz, president of Verizon Telecom.  "With all-fiber connections running straight to their homes and apartments, viewers get eye-popping, jaw-dropping TV in both standard and high definition."

Verizon is initially offering FiOS TV to parts of each of the five New York City boroughs.  For residents in parts of the first 108 launch neighborhoods (list at end of news release), FiOS TV means an unparalleled viewing experience that comes with unmatched, red-carpet customer service.  With this initial launch, some 300,000 households will be able to order and enjoy FiOS TV service and Verizon's FiOS triple-play bundle of FiOS TV, FiOS Internet and wired, reliable telephone service.  By the end of 2008, the company expects to have half-a-million homes open for sale in New York City.

Nationally, FiOS Internet is available in parts of 16 states, and FiOS TV is offered in parts of 13 states.

Over the past several weeks, Verizon has been advertising in local newspapers and mailing and placing promotional materials in the initial launch neighborhoods to enable consumers to pre-order the FiOS TV service once the company was given final regulatory approval, which was granted on July 16 by the New York Public Service Commission.

Customers in these neighborhoods have been signing up early for FiOS TV, and Breen noted, "These advance orders blew past all of our projections."  Verizon will start installing FiOS TV in customers' homes beginning Wednesday.

Over the next few years, Verizon will place fiber down every street and avenue across all five boroughs to reach all 3.1 million households in the city.

To help launch FiOS TV in New York City, Verizon is offering a selection of power-packed bundles of services, including one for just for just $94.99 a month that features:

• FiOS Internet service with a maximum connection speed of 20 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and 5 Mbps upstream.
   
• Verizon Freedom Essentials telephone service with unlimited local and long-distance calling.
   
• FiOS TV service with 54 free HD channels. 

Other bundles are available that include even faster Internet service of 20/20 Mbps, plus all standard- and high-definition premium channels.

To mark the kickoff of FiOS TV in the city, scores of Verizon employees, outfitted in Verizon FiOS TV gear, will greet New Yorkers at Grand Central Terminal today - a live version of the company's "It's the Network" team seen in company advertisements.  The employees and sales consultants will be on hand all day at the Vanderbilt Avenue (at 43rd Street) entrance to Grand Central to take orders and schedule installation appointments for FiOS TV and the company's triple-play bundle.

Mass media advertising for FiOS TV is scheduled to begin today.

Verizon has met the unique challenge of installing fiber optics directly to multiple dwelling units (MDUs) within the five boroughs.  Through the use of bendable fiber, the company is able to creatively snake fiber around curves and tight spaces, without loss of the fiber signal. 

Said Breen, "Our engineering and installation teams have been able to wire some 800 MDUs already.  Using this innovative technology has really given us a boost in designing build plans for these buildings.  And we're in discussions with hundreds of other building and property owners to bring FiOS to their properties.  It's a huge marketing advantage to have apartments that are FiOS-ready."

Breen added: "New Yorkers love to do business with the home team.  Verizon is as New York as New York gets, with 12,000 city residents employed by the company, and dozens of work centers, garages and switching centers in seemingly every neighborhood.  Verizon is intrinsically tied to the everyday hustle and bustle that is only New York City."

FiOS TV is Currently Available in Parts of the Following NYC Neighborhoods

The Bronx
Baychester, Bronxdale, Eastchester, Edenwald, Laconia, Norwood, Olinville, Wakefield, Williamsbridge, Woodlawn

Brooklyn
Bergen Beach, Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Gravesend, Homecrest, Madison, Manhattan Terrace, Marine Park, Midwood, Mill Basin, Mill Island, Paerdegat Basin

Manhattan
Battery Park City, Carnegie Hill, Chelsea, Chinatown, Clinton, East Harlem North, East Harlem South, East Village, Flatiron, Hudson Yards, Lenox Hill, Lower East Side, Midtown, Midtown South, NoHo, Union Square, Upper East Side, Roosevelt Island, West Village, Yorkville

Queens
Auburndale, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Beechurst, Cambria Heights, Clearview, Douglaston, Douglaston Manor, Far Rockaway, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Laurelton, Little Neck, Malba, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens, Rosedale, South Brookville, Springfield Gardens, Whitestone

Staten Island
Annadale, Arden Heights, Arlington, Arrochar, Bloomfield, Charleston, Clifton, Dongan Hills, Eltingville, Emerson Hill, Fort Wadsworth, Fox Hills, Granitville, Grasmere, Great Kills, Grymes Hill, Heartland Village, Huguenot, Lighthouse Hill, Mariners Harbor, Midland Beach, New Brighton, New Dorp, New Springville, Oakwood, Oakwood Beach, Old Town, Pt. Ivory, Prince's Bay, Port Richmond, Richmond Valley, Rosebank, Rossville, St. George, Silver Lake, South Beach, Stapleton, Todt Hill, Tottenville, Travis, Westerleigh, West New Brighton, Woodrow

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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