Bschneider
08-31-2007, 07:50 AM
FiOS TV Service Expands to More Than 17,000 Households in North Pinellas County, Florida
Major Addition Marks Significant Development for Pinellas Consumers and for Verizon
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-29-2007/0004653434&EDATE=
TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- For Palm Harbor resident DougMartell, the wait for FiOS TV, Internet and voice services was like waitingfor Christmas when he was a child. He knew his patience would be worth it.
"I'd heard about FiOS service and was anxious to get it," Martell said."I knew it would be better than cable. But now that I have it, it's evenbetter than I expected. The clarity of the TV picture and the quality isoutstanding, the voice service is better, and the Internet speed is tentimes faster than my previous cable connection. FiOS is just an outstandingservice."
Martell had the service installed in his Parker's Meadow house earlierthis month, becoming one of the first FiOS triple-play customers in northPinellas County as Verizon recently expanded fiber availability in the St.George, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs areas. The triple-play bundles aredelivered over Verizon's all-fiber network, directly to people's homes andbusinesses.
More than 17,000 households in north Pinellas County can now order thefull suite of FiOS services. These households represent the majority of the22,000 households that became eligible for FiOS TV when Verizon receivedapproval in July for its first state-issued video franchise under theConsumer Choice Act of 2007, which was signed into law in May by Gov.Charlie Crist.
The total expansion through the franchise will add 55,000 morehouseholds in these communities as well as others in Sarasota County.Verizon will continue its push into Pinellas County in 2008 and beyond asmajor engineering and construction in the county gains momentum. While FiOSTV has been available in other areas in Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota andPasco counties, today's announcement marks the first expansion intoPinellas.
"This is an important and exciting development for consumers inPinellas County, giving them the opportunity to choose the leading fibertechnology available in the country today," said John Ferrell, Verizon'ssenior vice president and general manager for the Southeast region. "ForVerizon, it marks one more giant step forward in the process of creating anew fiber network in our Florida territories, a revolutionary medium thatis changing telecommunications and home entertainment in the Tampa Bay area-- and will do so for years to come."
To date, Verizon has deployed nearly 1.4 million feet of fiber inPinellas County and more than 51 million feet of fiber in its Floridaservice territory. More than 520,000 households in Hillsborough, Pasco,Sarasota, Manatee and Pinellas counties can now order one or more of theFiOS services.
FiOS was recently named to the top five of PC World Magazine's 100 BestProducts of 2007, a roster of what the magazine called "the finest productsand services of the past 12 months" -- selected "based on exemplary design,features, performance and innovation." Readers of PC World andComputerworld magazines have recently ranked FiOS Internet No. 1, with topscores across the board in overall satisfaction, connection reliability,download and upload speeds, customer service and technical support.Additionally, only Verizon's network has earned the certification of theindependent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way tocustomers' homes.
Consumers can check online at http://www.verizon.com/fiostv (http://www.verizon.com/fiostv) to see ifFiOS TV is already available in their area, or to request that Verizoncontact them when FiOS TV is available. To order FiOS TV, consumers cancall their local Verizon sales office or 1-877-4-FIOS-TV (1-877-434-6788).
Service Highlights
Verizon's FiOS TV Premier package delivers more than 200 all-digitalchannels for $42.99 per month. All Tampa Bay-area customers have access to29 high-definition (HD) channels and more than 8,600 on-demand titles, 60percent of which are free. Verizon offers three set-top boxes: standarddefinition for $4.99 per month; high definition, which includes HDchannels, for $9.99 per month; and a dual-tuner, HD-capable digital videorecorder for $12.99 per month.
Verizon also offers innovative features not available from otherproviders, such as Home Media DVR (digital video recorder) and FiOS TVWidgets. Home Media DVR, at $19.99 per month, has a multi-room DVR featureenabling up to three simultaneous viewings of recorded programs withoutrequiring customers to set up a complex home network or buy extraequipment. Customers also can access photos and music on their PCs and playthem on their TV.
FiOS TV Widgets is a free interactive feature that provides viewerswith local weather and traffic information while they're watching theirfavorite shows.
Currently, Verizon is also offering triple- and double-play bundlesbuilt around its FiOS service. The lineup for Verizon FiOS bundles inFlorida is:
Triple play
-- 10/2 Mbps (megabits per second) FiOS Internet service, FiOS TV Premier, Freedom Essentials voice and one set-top box - $99.99 per month.
Double plays
-- 10/5 Mbps FiOS Internet service and Freedom Essentials voice - $64.99 per month.
-- FiOS TV Premier plus one set-top box and Freedom Essentials voice - $69.99 per month. (All prices are for two-year contracts.)
"Our all-fiber-optic network delivers a superior customer experiencetoday and has an abundance of bandwidth for the exciting services we'lloffer in the future," said Ferrell. "We also believe our bundled servicesoffer both a great price and great value right now."
Verizon, providing FiOS services on the nation's most advanced digitalall-fiber optic network, will bring FiOS TV in 2007 and beyond toadditional communities in the six-county west central Florida area. Tospeed service availability, Verizon will amend its state-issued videofranchise as the network is expanded into cities and counties where thecompany currently does not have a video franchise.
In addition to Florida, Verizon currently offers FiOS TV in parts of California, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, NewYork, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.
Fiber delivers amazingly sharp pictures and sound and has the capacityto transmit a wide array of high-definition programming that is so clearand intense it seems to leap from the TV screen. It also delivers Internetdownload speeds of up to 50 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps as wellas high-quality voice service.*
The value of FiOS TV extends to the installation and customer support.Specially trained Verizon technicians will install the service and acquaintsubscribers with FiOS TV features and services. Verizon is waiving theinstallation fee for up to three existing TV outlets, and there is nocharge to install a needed optical network terminal at the subscriber'shome.
Charges for other installation services, such as additional outlets,may apply. Verizon provides 24 x 7 technical assistance by phone from itsspecialized Fiber Solutions Centers.
*NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ (http://studio.financialcontent.com/Engine?Account=prnewswire&PageName=QUOTE&Ticker=VZ)), headquartered in New York, is aleader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wirelesscommunication innovations to mass market, business, government andwholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliablewireless network, serving more than 62 million customers nationwide.Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which deliversinnovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world,and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of convergedcommunications, information and entertainment services over the nation'smost advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverseworkforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidatedoperating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com (http://www.verizon.com/).
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speechesand biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and otherinformation are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web athttp://www.verizon.com/news (http://www.verizon.com/news). To receive news releases by e-mail, visit theNews Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.
Major Addition Marks Significant Development for Pinellas Consumers and for Verizon
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-29-2007/0004653434&EDATE=
TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- For Palm Harbor resident DougMartell, the wait for FiOS TV, Internet and voice services was like waitingfor Christmas when he was a child. He knew his patience would be worth it.
"I'd heard about FiOS service and was anxious to get it," Martell said."I knew it would be better than cable. But now that I have it, it's evenbetter than I expected. The clarity of the TV picture and the quality isoutstanding, the voice service is better, and the Internet speed is tentimes faster than my previous cable connection. FiOS is just an outstandingservice."
Martell had the service installed in his Parker's Meadow house earlierthis month, becoming one of the first FiOS triple-play customers in northPinellas County as Verizon recently expanded fiber availability in the St.George, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs areas. The triple-play bundles aredelivered over Verizon's all-fiber network, directly to people's homes andbusinesses.
More than 17,000 households in north Pinellas County can now order thefull suite of FiOS services. These households represent the majority of the22,000 households that became eligible for FiOS TV when Verizon receivedapproval in July for its first state-issued video franchise under theConsumer Choice Act of 2007, which was signed into law in May by Gov.Charlie Crist.
The total expansion through the franchise will add 55,000 morehouseholds in these communities as well as others in Sarasota County.Verizon will continue its push into Pinellas County in 2008 and beyond asmajor engineering and construction in the county gains momentum. While FiOSTV has been available in other areas in Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota andPasco counties, today's announcement marks the first expansion intoPinellas.
"This is an important and exciting development for consumers inPinellas County, giving them the opportunity to choose the leading fibertechnology available in the country today," said John Ferrell, Verizon'ssenior vice president and general manager for the Southeast region. "ForVerizon, it marks one more giant step forward in the process of creating anew fiber network in our Florida territories, a revolutionary medium thatis changing telecommunications and home entertainment in the Tampa Bay area-- and will do so for years to come."
To date, Verizon has deployed nearly 1.4 million feet of fiber inPinellas County and more than 51 million feet of fiber in its Floridaservice territory. More than 520,000 households in Hillsborough, Pasco,Sarasota, Manatee and Pinellas counties can now order one or more of theFiOS services.
FiOS was recently named to the top five of PC World Magazine's 100 BestProducts of 2007, a roster of what the magazine called "the finest productsand services of the past 12 months" -- selected "based on exemplary design,features, performance and innovation." Readers of PC World andComputerworld magazines have recently ranked FiOS Internet No. 1, with topscores across the board in overall satisfaction, connection reliability,download and upload speeds, customer service and technical support.Additionally, only Verizon's network has earned the certification of theindependent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way tocustomers' homes.
Consumers can check online at http://www.verizon.com/fiostv (http://www.verizon.com/fiostv) to see ifFiOS TV is already available in their area, or to request that Verizoncontact them when FiOS TV is available. To order FiOS TV, consumers cancall their local Verizon sales office or 1-877-4-FIOS-TV (1-877-434-6788).
Service Highlights
Verizon's FiOS TV Premier package delivers more than 200 all-digitalchannels for $42.99 per month. All Tampa Bay-area customers have access to29 high-definition (HD) channels and more than 8,600 on-demand titles, 60percent of which are free. Verizon offers three set-top boxes: standarddefinition for $4.99 per month; high definition, which includes HDchannels, for $9.99 per month; and a dual-tuner, HD-capable digital videorecorder for $12.99 per month.
Verizon also offers innovative features not available from otherproviders, such as Home Media DVR (digital video recorder) and FiOS TVWidgets. Home Media DVR, at $19.99 per month, has a multi-room DVR featureenabling up to three simultaneous viewings of recorded programs withoutrequiring customers to set up a complex home network or buy extraequipment. Customers also can access photos and music on their PCs and playthem on their TV.
FiOS TV Widgets is a free interactive feature that provides viewerswith local weather and traffic information while they're watching theirfavorite shows.
Currently, Verizon is also offering triple- and double-play bundlesbuilt around its FiOS service. The lineup for Verizon FiOS bundles inFlorida is:
Triple play
-- 10/2 Mbps (megabits per second) FiOS Internet service, FiOS TV Premier, Freedom Essentials voice and one set-top box - $99.99 per month.
Double plays
-- 10/5 Mbps FiOS Internet service and Freedom Essentials voice - $64.99 per month.
-- FiOS TV Premier plus one set-top box and Freedom Essentials voice - $69.99 per month. (All prices are for two-year contracts.)
"Our all-fiber-optic network delivers a superior customer experiencetoday and has an abundance of bandwidth for the exciting services we'lloffer in the future," said Ferrell. "We also believe our bundled servicesoffer both a great price and great value right now."
Verizon, providing FiOS services on the nation's most advanced digitalall-fiber optic network, will bring FiOS TV in 2007 and beyond toadditional communities in the six-county west central Florida area. Tospeed service availability, Verizon will amend its state-issued videofranchise as the network is expanded into cities and counties where thecompany currently does not have a video franchise.
In addition to Florida, Verizon currently offers FiOS TV in parts of California, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, NewYork, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.
Fiber delivers amazingly sharp pictures and sound and has the capacityto transmit a wide array of high-definition programming that is so clearand intense it seems to leap from the TV screen. It also delivers Internetdownload speeds of up to 50 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps as wellas high-quality voice service.*
The value of FiOS TV extends to the installation and customer support.Specially trained Verizon technicians will install the service and acquaintsubscribers with FiOS TV features and services. Verizon is waiving theinstallation fee for up to three existing TV outlets, and there is nocharge to install a needed optical network terminal at the subscriber'shome.
Charges for other installation services, such as additional outlets,may apply. Verizon provides 24 x 7 technical assistance by phone from itsspecialized Fiber Solutions Centers.
*NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ (http://studio.financialcontent.com/Engine?Account=prnewswire&PageName=QUOTE&Ticker=VZ)), headquartered in New York, is aleader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wirelesscommunication innovations to mass market, business, government andwholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliablewireless network, serving more than 62 million customers nationwide.Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which deliversinnovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world,and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of convergedcommunications, information and entertainment services over the nation'smost advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverseworkforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidatedoperating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com (http://www.verizon.com/).
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speechesand biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and otherinformation are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web athttp://www.verizon.com/news (http://www.verizon.com/news). To receive news releases by e-mail, visit theNews Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.