TV as You've Never Seen It Before: Verizon Launches FiOS TV in Greater Pittsburgh Area

TV as You've Never Seen It Before: Verizon Launches FiOS TV in Greater Pittsburgh Area

Only TV Service Delivered Over Nation's Most Advanced, All-Fiber-Optic Network Straight to Consumers' Homes

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The future of television has arrived for thousands of southwestern Pennsylvania consumers as Verizon today announced the launch of its industry-leading FiOS TV service in the greater Pittsburgh area.

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.

"FiOS TV brings something to consumers that they've never had before and is long overdue - expanded choice and competition for TV service," said William B. Petersen, president of Verizon Pennsylvania. "FiOS TV represents the future of television, delivering incredible picture quality, sound clarity and innovative services - all from a brand they can trust."

In southwestern Pennsylvania, FiOS TV is available now to more than 60,000 households in parts of 14 communities. The company expects to expand FiOS TV availability to dozens more area communities during the coming months.

(NOTE: See attached list of southwestern Pennsylvania communities where FiOS TV is now available.)

Eligible consumers can bundle FiOS TV service with FiOS Internet service, the Verizon Freedom Essentials unlimited calling plan and a Verizon Wireless calling plan on a single bill to create the ultimate bundle for savings and convenience. Consumers can check online at www.verizon.com/fiostv to see if FiOS TV is available in their area, or to request that Verizon contact them when FiOS TV is available. Consumers also can call their local Verizon sales office at 1-800-660-2215.

FiOS TV Service Highlights

FiOS TV represents an excellent value when compared to competitors' offerings, which typically include fewer channels at a higher price.

   Service highlights include:    -- FiOS TV Premier, the lead offer, with more than 200 all-digital      channels for $42.99 per month.    -- More than 20 high-definition channels with extraordinary clarity and      theater-quality sound.    -- A library of more than 10,000 on-demand titles, 60 percent of which are      free.    -- Channels grouped by genres such as entertainment, sports, news,      shopping, movies and family, making it easy for audiences to find their      favorite programming.    -- A colorful new interactive media guide that helps customers quickly and      easily find and enjoy content from TV listings, video-on-demand      catalogs and digital video recorders (DVR) as well as personal music      and photos from a home network.    -- Set-top boxes ranging from a standard-definition box for $4.99 per      month 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 PCs and play them      on their televisions.  Home Media DVR is $19.99 per month.    -- FiOS TV Widgets, a free interactive feature that provides local weather      and traffic information while customers are watching their favorite      shows.   

FiOS TV also features diverse entertainment in a variety of languages. Spanish-speaking viewers can choose La Conexion, a package of nearly 140 popular English and Spanish-language channels for $32.99 per month, or a Spanish-language package for $11.99 per month. Verizon also offers 14 international premium channels in languages such as Chinese, French, Italian, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese.

"FiOS TV is the next generation in television entertainment," said Beth Mulhern, director of regional marketing for Verizon. "FiOS TV takes on cable by offering consumers choice, value, simplicity and innovation. And as time goes on, we'll add more interactive services that will continue to differentiate FiOS TV from the competition."

FiOS TV is designed to be a formidable competitor to cable and satellite. Verizon's fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network is currently under construction in parts of 16 states. In addition to Pennsylvania, Verizon currently offers FiOS TV in parts of California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.

"Verizon's all-fiber-optic upgrade is a complete transformation of our communications network," said James V. O'Rourke, Verizon senior vice president of operations. "It's a transformation that will offer consumers the very best services - super-fast Internet speeds, superior TV and crystal-clear voice - all at competitive prices with Verizon's unmatched customer service. No cable TV company has created anything like this."

The network brings the power and capacity of fiber optics directly into people's homes and has industry-leading quality and reliability. In addition to FiOS TV, Verizon's all-fiber network allows the company to offer consumers and businesses high-speed FiOS Internet service at download speeds of up to 30 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds up to 5 Mbps.* FiOS Internet service currently is available to many consumers and small businesses in more than 100 southwestern Pennsylvania communities.

* 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 63.7 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 nearly 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.

  Verizon FiOS TV is now available in parts of the following southwestern                         Pennsylvania communities:                           (as of  Nov. 8, 2007)                                 Bethel Park                               Franklin Park                                  Hampton                              Indiana Township                                 McCandless                                Mt. Lebanon                                   O'Hara                               Ohio Township                                   Peters                                    Ross                                 Sewickley                                   Shaler                              Upper St. Clair                                 West View  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Verizon

CONTACT: Lee Gierczynski of Verizon, +1-412-633-5574, or
lee.j.gierczynski@verizon.com

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

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/618232.html

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Profile: International Entertainment