Verizon Bringing FiOS TV to More Neighborhoods in Manhattan and Queens

Verizon Bringing FiOS TV to More Neighborhoods in Manhattan and Queens

Company Also Continues to Expand Availability of FiOS Services in Brooklyn Communities

NEW YORK, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- What a way to start off the New Year: More FiOS TV availability in more New York City neighborhoods!

Residents and businesses in additional areas in Manhattan and Queens can now sign up for the all-digital, all-fiber service foot and join the Verizon FiOS TV revolution that is sweeping the city.

Verizon has begun offering a bundled package of FiOS TV, FiOS Internet and wired, reliable voice services for a price as low as $94.99 a month to consumers and businesses in Murray Hill, Sutton Place, Tudor City and Turtle Bay in Manhattan, and Bellaire, Bellerose and Queens Village in Queens.

In addition, Verizon is spreading Verizon FiOS TV availability to more areas in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bensonhurst East, Gravesend and Homecrest, where the service was previously activated.

Door-to-door marketing and other pre-sales activities have been taking place in all the neighborhoods in preparation for the introduction of FiOS TV.

With this expansion, Verizon has met its goal of having half-a-million homes open for sale in New York City at the end of 2008. Last July, Verizon launched FiOS TV in the city in 108 neighborhoods across all five boroughs, providing TV availability to more than 300,000 households.

"We are moving quickly to get Verizon FiOS TV to as many neighborhoods and as many customers as possible," said Chris Creager, Verizon's president for the Northeast area. "New Yorkers know a great deal when they see it, and once FiOS comes to their neighborhoods they're eager to sign up for our truly great bundle of services.

"More importantly," Creager said, "they're eager to dump their old cable company and sign on with the best technology, the best picture quality, the fastest Internet access, all for the best value on the market today. When they hear their neighbors have FiOS, they call us to place their order."

Creager said that the company is continuing to build its all-fiber infrastructure throughout neighborhoods that already have the advanced services.

Verizon is New York's market leader in high-definition (HD) availability. FiOS TV offers more than 500 total channels in the region -- featuring 106 HD channels, more than any local cable TV company, including Cablevision or Time Warner.

New customers who subscribe to FiOS TV between now and Feb. 21 will receive their choice of free use for six months of either a high-definition (HD) digital video recorder (DVR) or an HD Home Media DVR. Customers who take advantage of this offer will save between $95 and $119 the first six months, depending upon the DVR they choose.

   FiOS TV service highlights include:   --  More than 500 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 106 high-definition channels in the New York City market,       with extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.   --  More than 14,000 video on demand (VOD) titles, 70 percent of which are       free.  In addition, the VOD library includes more than 1,200 HD VOD       titles per month.   --  100 per cent digital quality on every channel and less "pixilation"       (distortion) than with cable or satellite.  Unlike some cable       providers, FiOS TV quality is not deteriorated by the recompression of       video signals before they are passed on to customers.   --  An innovative interactive media guide (IMG) that helps customers       quickly and easily find and enjoy content from TV listings, VOD       catalogs and the Home Media DVR (digital video recorder), as well as       personal music and photos from a home network.  Among the features of       the IMG are:       --  Multi-Room DVR -- Verizon's Home Media DVR allows customers to           stream recorded HD and standard-definition (SD) programs to up to           six other TV sets throughout the home.  This includes the ability           to watch three separately recorded shows on three TV sets at the           same time, plus pause recorded programming in one room and           continue watching in another.       --  Widgets -- Customers have one-touch, on-demand access to local           weather and traffic reports shown on TV screens.  Widgets provide           local traffic and weather reports, daily local and national news           headlines, daily national sports headlines, community news, and           daily horoscopes.       --  Free casual games -- With the remote control and an HD set-top           box, customers can access chess, solitaire and wordplay.       --  "What's Hot on FiOS TV" -- Features information on the           most-popular programs currently being broadcast in the region and           the most popular VOD titles.       --  Return to paused programming -- Allows customers to pause live           programming, change channels, and then return to the paused           program and pick up where they left off.       --  Channel sorting options -- Customers can create two separate lists           of favorite channels for family members.  Customers also can           filter channels in the guide by genre, for instances where a           customer only may want to see HD content, international channels           or kids programming, among others.       --  Fantasy Football -- FiOS TV customers who are registered users of           ESPN Fantasy Football will have instant on-screen access to           personalized NFL statistics, including rosters, box scores,           scoring leaders and player information.    

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

Information on packages and prices is available at www.verizon.com/fiostv. New Yorkers also can call 1-888-GET-FIOS (888-438-3467) to see if they qualify to order FiOS TV.

Verizon delivers FiOS TV and Internet services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes and businesses, providing stunning picture-and-sound quality, a broad spectrum of content diversity, interactive features and the fastest Internet speeds, creating the ultimate home-entertainment experience.

FiOS Internet delivers 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 FiOS Internet service was named the top pick in PC Magazine's 2008 reader survey and also was named a winner in PC World Magazine's The 100 Best Products of 2008. It was the second year in a row that the broadband service made the survey and best product lists.

In addition, Verizon FiOS TV has been ranked "Highest in Residential Television Service Satisfaction in the East Region," in J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Satisfaction Study(SM).

(More information about FiOS TV and fiber optics is available in Verizon's online News Center at www.verizon.com/news.)

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 Fiber Solutions Centers.

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 nearly 71 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 employs a diverse workforce of more than 228,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 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.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Verizon

CONTACT: Richard Young, Verizon, +1-212-321-0500,
richard.j.young@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/094251.html

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Profile: International Entertainment