Zephyrhills latest city to sign on FiOS

[Bschneider]

Zephyrhills latest city to sign on FiOS

Tampa Bay Business Journal - December 13, 2006

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2006/12/11/daily33.html

Verizon continues to expand its cable offerings throughout Central Florida after the Zephyrhills city council approved a franchise agreement to bring FiOS to the city's 12,000 residents.

Zephyrhills becomes the 11th jurisdiction in Florida, bringing the total residents in Florida that will have FiOS available to them to more than 1.9 million once build out is complete.

FiOS is expected to begin in the Pasco County city sometime next year with full build out in three years. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) won a franchise agreement in Port Richey (http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2006/11/27/daily24.html) on Nov. 28

The cable upstart now accounts for 117,000 cable customers nationally, according to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with a 10-percent penetration of FiOS-eligible households in Florida.

[Bschneider]

FiOS TV Gets Fla., Pa. Franchises


By Todd Spangler & David Cohen 12/12/2006 5:09:00 PM

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6399236.html?display=Breaking+News

Verizon Communications won a 15-year agreement with the city of Zephyrhills, Fla., to offer FiOS TV service to the town’s 12,000 residents, and the Delaware County municipalities of Middletown and Newtown added to the telco’s Pennsylvania footprint by approving franchises.

The additions of Middletown and Newtown bring Verizon’s southeastern Pennsylvania franchise total to 100. FiOS TV is currently available to more than 80,000 households in parts of 35 communities in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

And the Zephyrhills deal marks the 11th community in Florida that has signed up for FiOS TV. Verizon expects to start offering service in Zephyrhills -- which is about 30 miles from Tampa -- “sometime in 2007.”

The franchise agreement requires FiOS TV to carry Pasco County governmental-access and educational-access channels.

Verizon eventually expects to be able to offer 1.9 million residents in its service territory access to FiOS TV.