Verizon Makes FiOS TV Available to Nearly 10,000 Households in Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, Calif.

Verizon Makes FiOS TV Available to Nearly 10,000 Households in Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, Calif.

More Than 1 Million Southern California Households Now Can Order Verizon's FiOS TV and FiOS Internet Services, Delivered Over Nation's Most Advanced Fiber-Optic Network Straight to Consumers and Businesses

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The future of television has arrived in Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana as Verizon introduces FiOS TV to nearly 10,000 more homes and businesses, delivered via the company's revolutionary all-fiber-optic network. Consumers can enjoy the ultimate entertainment experience from FiOS TV, with 127 high-definition (HD) channels in California and Verizon's industry-leading video on demand (VOD) -- an experience cable simply can't match.

"Our FiOS services will give Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana consumers an outstanding, superior alternative for their Internet access and video entertainment," said Dustin Kroeger, director of West Coast marketing. "Customer response to FiOS TV and FiOS Internet service has been astounding. Every day, more Californians are choosing Verizon and saying goodbye to their cable or satellite company. Now, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana residents can join the all-fiber, FiOS revolution."

In California, Verizon's FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services are now available to more than 1 million households in 85 communities throughout San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Riverside counties.

"Cable and satellite providers just can't match the high-definition channels or the innovative features and enhancements FiOS TV customers enjoy," said Kroeger. "We've harnessed the vast capacity of our advanced fiber-optic network to deliver a revolutionary, new entertainment experience."

Verizon currently offers consumers a new set of FiOS bundles that include more choices, faster Internet speeds and exciting new incentives, such as Compaq Mini netbooks or Flip Ultra camcorders. More information can be found at www.verizon.com/seefios.

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.

                         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 127 HD channels in California, with extraordinary       clarity and theater-quality sound.     --  An industry-leading offering of more than 15,000 VOD titles each       month, 70 percent of which are free.  FiOS TV VOD also includes more       than 1,400 HD titles each month.     --  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 - Home Media DVR customers can 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.  Subscribers also receive       daily local and national news headlines, daily national sports       headlines, community news, and daily horoscopes.     --  Free casual games - With the remote control, customers can access       chess, solitaire, wordplay and Sudoku from the FiOS TV Main Menu.     --  Remote DVR Management - Home Media DVR customers can control their       home DVRs from any Internet-connected computer -- or a wireless phone       -- to review, change or add programs to record at home and to set       parental controls.     --  Fantasy Football - 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.     --  "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" - Customers can 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 may only       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.

FiOS Internet Highlights

Verizon's 50/20 Mbps (megabits per second) FiOS Internet connection is the fastest available to Rancho Cucamonga consumers.* FiOS Internet 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. Verizon's FiOS Internet service is now available at newly increased speeds of 15/5 Mbps and 25/15 Mbps.

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 both lists.

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 eight 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 Kbps (kilobits per second) 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 upstream.

Residential customers can learn more information and order FiOS by calling 888-GET FiOS (888-438-3467) or visiting www.verizon.com/fios. Small and medium-sized businesses can place orders by visiting www.verizon.com/bizfiostv or calling 877-FiOS BIZ (877-346-7249) for more information.

* 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: Kevin Laverty, Verizon, +1-425-261-5855,
kevin.laverty@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