More Cable Choice Comes to Maryland as Verizon Launches FiOS TV in Harford County

More Cable Choice Comes to Maryland as Verizon Launches FiOS TV in Harford County

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

BEL AIR, Md., April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The future of television has arrived in Harford County as Verizon introduces FiOS TV to more than 3,400 homes and businesses via the company's revolutionary all-fiber-optic network.

In Maryland, Verizon's FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services are available to dozens of communities in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, including Aberdeen, Annapolis, Bel Air and LaPlata.

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 and businesses.

FiOS TV scored highest in J.D. Power's "2008 Residential Television Service Satisfaction Study for the East Region." And a leading consumer magazine gave FiOS TV the top rating in its most recent survey of television service, with top marks in all six categories it measured: channel choice, image quality, sound quality, reliability, value and support.

"Cable just can't match the high-definition channels or the innovative features and enhancements FiOS TV customers enjoy," said William R. Roberts, Verizon's regional president for Maryland and Washington, D.C. "We've harnessed the vast capacity of our advanced fiber-optic network to deliver a revolutionary, new entertainment experience."

Currently, FiOS TV is available to 9.7 million homes in 14 states: California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

This spring, Verizon is offering consumers the ultimate home upgrade by making it easy and affordable to switch from old-fashioned cable to the power of Verizon's advanced all-fiber-optic network and FiOS services.

Packages of FiOS Internet, FiOS TV and Verizon Freedom unlimited local and long-distance calling services are available starting at under $100 a month. New customers who order a FiOS service bundle by June 20 can get an even sweeter deal with a current promotion that offers up to $150 back in the form of a prepaid card, a two-year price guarantee, and premium installation at no extra cost by a specially trained technician who sets up a powerful home network from start to finish. For details on FiOS services and the promotion, visit http://www.verizon.com/ultimateupgrade.

Customers also can call their local Verizon sales office or 888-GET FiOS (888-438-3467). Information on construction schedules is available at www.verizon.com/md.

Small and medium-sized businesses interested in business-grade FiOS services can visit www.verizon.com/bizfiostv or call 877-FiOS BIZ (877-346-7249) for more information.

   FiOS TV Service Highlights    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 110 high-definition (HD) channels in Maryland, with       extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.   --  An innovative interactive media guide (IMG) 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.  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.       --  Remote DVR Management - Verizon FiOS TV customers now have the           option to remotely control their Home Media DVRs either online or           through any wireless handset with a data plan.  All FiOS TV DVR           customers can now remotely control their DVRs online.  On-the-go           FiOS TV subscribers can use the service to remotely review, change           or add recording requests, delete recorded programs, browse and           search TV and video-on-demand listings, set parental controls, and           more.       --  ESPN Fantasy Sports - Personalized Fantasy Football stats           displayed on customers' TV screens on any ESPN channel, for ESPN           online registered participants. Customers can view rosters, box           scores, scoring leaders and player information.  ESPN Fantasy           Sports also will be accessible via FiOS TV Widgets and Games.       --  Video on Demand (VOD) - Industry-leading library with more than           14,000 titles per month, 70 percent of which are free.  The VOD           library includes more than 1,300 HD titles per month, more than           1,000 of which are free.       --  "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.   

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

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.

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 specialized Fiber Solutions Centers.

FiOS Internet Highlights

Verizon's 50/20 FiOS Internet connection is the fastest available to Harford County consumers, and the company's 20/20 symmetrical service is the first of its kind commercially available to U.S. consumers on a mass scale. Pioneering a new category of broadband for the American consumer, Verizon's symmetrical FiOS provides the ultra-fast, two-way speeds crucial for such burgeoning online activities as video conferencing, social networking and super-fast uploading of electronic photo albums or home videos, as well as multi-player gaming and online work collaboration.

For the second year in a row, Verizon's FiOS Internet service was named the top pick in PC Magazine's 2008 readers' survey and also was named a winner in PC World Magazine's The 100 Best Products of 2008 -- the second year in a row the broadband service made that list.

At 50 Mbps, downloading a 5 GB (gigabyte) file, such as 112-minute, high-definition movie purchased online, takes approximately 13.3 minutes, while a 50 MB (megabyte), or 60-minute, Web video takes 8 seconds, and a 5 MB MP3 music file takes less than eight-tenths of a second.

Using a 20 Mbps upstream broadband connection, a consumer could upload a 250 MB file of 200 photos in about 90 seconds, instead of the roughly 47 minutes it takes over a 768 kilobit-per-second (Kbps) upstream connection. A 3 GB file, such as a one-hour family video shot with a high-definition video camera, could be uploaded in around 20 minutes, compared with more than nine hours with 768 Kbps (kilobits per second) upstream.

* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) , headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 86 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 237,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 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: Media, Sandra Arnette of Verizon, +1-410-393-7109,
sandra.u.arnette@verizon.com

Web Site: http://www.verizon.com/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html

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Profile: International Entertainment