Florida Consumers in Venice and Osprey Can Start Enjoying the FiOS Fiber Advantage

Florida Consumers in Venice and Osprey Can Start Enjoying the FiOS Fiber Advantage

First Opportunity for Consumers in South Sarasota County to Order Verizon's FiOS; Now Available to 6,600 Households Here, With Nearly 4,000 More Projected to Be FiOS-Capable by Year-End

SARASOTA, Fla., July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The curiosity Venice area consumers have expressed about Verizon's FiOS service can now be satisfied as the company announced the first availability of its fiber-powered voice, Internet and TV offerings to 6,600 households in parts of Venice and Osprey. The triple-play bundles are delivered over Verizon's all-fiber network, directly to people's homes and businesses.

Approximately 3,000 households in each community can now order the full suite of FiOS services. The total is projected to grow to more than 10,000 households in Venice and Osprey by year end as Verizon completes the necessary construction and engineering activities to expand availability. While FiOS has been available to other areas largely in the middle and northern portions of Sarasota County, today's announcement marks the first expansion into the southern portion.

"We first started deploying fiber in the Venice area in January, and after just seven months, we are now rolling out FiOS to parts of the community, with more to follow soon," said John Ferrell, Verizon's senior vice president and general manager for the Southeast region. "This community has been eager to provide the fiber service for its residents and to give them an alternative to old-fashioned cable. Today marks the beginning of a new, better way to enjoy TV, Internet and voice service for Venice and Osprey residents."

To date, Verizon has deployed 6.3 million feet of fiber in Sarasota County and 51 million feet of fiber in its Florida service territory. More than 520,000 households in Hillsborough, Pasco, Sarasota, Manatee and northern Pinellas counties can now order one or more of the FiOS services.

Verizon, providing FiOS services on the nation's most advanced digital all-fiber-optic network, recently had its FiOS Internet service named a winner of PC World Magazine's 100 Best Products of 2007 Awards. The only Internet service to make the prestigious list, Verizon FiOS Internet was ranked fourth on the magazine's roster of what it calls "the finest products and services of the past 12 months," which were selected "based on exemplary design, features, performance and innovation." Additionally, only Verizon's network has earned the certification of the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes.

Consumers can check online at www.verizon.com/fiostv to see if FiOS TV is already available in their area, or to request that Verizon contact them when FiOS TV is available. To order FiOS TV, consumers can call their local Verizon sales office or 1-877-4-FIOS-TV (1-877-434-6788).

Service Highlights

Verizon's FiOS TV Premier package delivers more than 200 all-digital channels for $42.99 per month. All Tampa Bay-area customers have access to 29 high-definition (HD) channels and more than 8,600 on-demand titles, 60 percent of which are free. Verizon offers three set-top boxes: standard definition for $4.99 per month; high definition, which includes HD channels, for $9.99 per month; and a dual-tuner, HD-capable digital video recorder for $12.99 per month.

Verizon also offers innovative features not available from other providers, such as Home Media DVR (digital video recorder) and FiOS TV Widgets. Home Media DVR, at $19.99 per month, has a multi-room DVR feature enabling up to three simultaneous viewings of recorded programs without requiring customers to set up a complex home network or buy extra equipment. Customers also can access photos and music on their PCs and play them on their TV. FiOS TV Widgets is a free interactive feature that provides viewers with local weather and traffic information while they're watching their favorite shows.

Currently, Verizon is also offering triple- and double-play bundles built around its FiOS service. The lineup for Verizon FiOS bundles in Florida is:

   Triple plays   --  20/5 Mbps (megabits per second) FiOS Internet service, FiOS TV Premier       and Freedom Essentials voice - $109.99 per month.    --  10/2 Mbps FiOS Internet service, FiOS TV Premier and Freedom       Essentials voice - $99.99 per month.    Double plays   --  20/5 Mbps FiOS Internet service and Freedom Essentials voice - $69.99       per month.    --  10/2 Mbps FiOS Internet service and Freedom Essentials voice - $59.99       per month.   

"Our all-fiber-optic network delivers a superior customer experience today, and has an abundance of bandwidth for the exciting services we'll offer in the future," said Ferrell. "We also believe our bundled services offer both a great price and great value right now."

Verizon will bring FiOS TV in 2007 and beyond to additional communities in the six-county west central Florida area. The Florida legislature recently passed the Consumer Choice Act of 2007, which was signed into law May 18 by Gov. Charlie Crist. Verizon has already received approval for its initial franchise application with the state, enabling it to serve 77,000 households where it previously did not have franchise rights. Future additions to this application will speed approvals in cities and counties where Verizon currently does not have a franchise.

In addition to Florida, Verizon currently offers FiOS TV in parts of California, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.

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 and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps as well as high-quality voice service.*

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 24x7 technical assistance by phone from its specialized Fiber Solutions Centers.

* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

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 62 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 has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

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Source: Verizon

CONTACT: Bob Elek, +1-813-483-2541, bob.elek@verizon.com

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/
http://www.verizon.com/news

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Profile: International Entertainment