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Cable Choice Comes to Stafford County, Va., as Verizon Launches FiOS TV

Verizon FiOS TV is available now to approximately 4,500 homes and businesses in parts of the followingStafford County neighborhoods: Belmont Hills, Clearview Heights, County Corner, Cox, England Run, Falmouth Heights, Grafton Village, Graninger, Hamlin Hills, Hickory Ridge, Huntington Hills, Jefferson Place, Locust Knoll, Lynnwood, Manors at England Run, Mount Pleasant, North Ridge, Old Forge, Ridge Point, Rivercrest, Southgate, Spring Valley, Stratford Place andWoodlawn.

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.

"Our FiOS Internet and TV services have been an extraordinary hit with consumers inVirginia, and more residents are joining the FiOS family each day," said Robert W. Woltz Jr., president of Verizon Virginia. "Verizon is winning customers by providing the best, most reliable network available at a competitive price for voice, data and video services - all backed by the best employees in the business and a name consumers can trust."

Stafford Countians join residents ofFredericksburg,Prince William and Spotsylvania counties who have joined the FiOS family. Verizon also offers FiOS services in much of the northern Virginia, Richmond andHampton Roads areas.

Stafford County residents who are FiOS TV-eligible can trim their monthly bills by bundling FiOS TV service, FiOS Internet service and the Verizon Freedom Essentials unlimited calling plan. They also can add a Verizon Wireless calling plan for a Grand Slam of communications and entertainment services.

In addition, new residential customers who subscribe to FiOS TV by Oct. 4 will receive their choice of a year's free use of either a high-definition (HD) digital video recorder (DVR) or an HD Home Media DVR. Verizon is also offering new FiOS TV customers, or existing customers who upgrade to a bundled package, one free month of HBO and Cinemax, which includes the latest hit movies, documentaries and original programming from more than 25 premium channels and access to hundreds of titles on video on demand (VOD). New customers who take advantage of this offer will save between $200 and $260 the first year, depending upon the DVR customers choose.

Stafford County consumers can check online at www.verizon.com/fios for more information or to request that Verizon contact them when FiOS services become available. 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/virginia.

Small and medium-sized businesses interested in business-grade FiOS services can visit www.verizon.com/bizfiostv to see online rebate offers of up to $409 depending on the services selected or call 877-FiOS BIZ (877-346-7249) for more information.

                          FiOS TV Service Highlights

    FiOS TV service highlights include:

-- More than 400 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 29 high-definition channels in theWashington, D.C., market, with extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound. The company will add more HD channels to the local lineup soon, and plans to expand its lineup to offer all available major HD programming by year-end.

-- An industry-leading library of more than 11,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles each month, 70 percent of which are free. In addition, the VOD library includes an increasing number of HD titles, and Verizon plans to offer 1,000 HD VOD titles per month by year-end.

-- An easy-to-use interactive media guide that integrates HD programming, on-demand content and the digital video recorder along with broadcast television into a seamless user experience.

-- Set-top boxes ranging from a standard-definition box to the Home Media DVR, featuring a multi-room DVR that enables up to three simultaneous viewings of recorded programs without requiring customers to set up a complex home network or buy extra equipment. The recorder is bundled with Media Manager, which lets customers easily access photos and music from their personal computer and play them on their entertainment center where they look and sound the best.

-- FiOS TV Widgets, a free interactive feature that provides local weather and traffic information.

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.

Sports fans in the local market can also receive a host of sports channels - including Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, several ESPN channels and the NFL Network - at no extra charge.

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. This network also delivers Internet 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.

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, including one inHampton, Va.

FiOS Internet Highlights

Verizon's 50/20 FiOS Internet connection is the fastest available to U.S. 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 reader 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 megabyte (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 gigabyte (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.

FiOS Internet 50/20 Mbps service is available for $89.95 a month in Virginia with an annual service plan; the 20/20 Mbps service is available for $64.99 a month with an annual service plan. FiOS Internet service is also available as part of a discounted bundle of multiple Verizon services.

* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered inNew 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 69 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 228,600 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon