TV Choice and Competition Near for Residents of Four New York Communities

Rockland,Westchester and Long Island Municipalities Approve Video Franchises for Verizon

NEW YORK, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents of fourNew York communities are a major step closer to having a real choice for their cable television service, thanks to newly approved agreements authorizing Verizon to offer its FiOS TV service, delivered over the most advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes.

The villages ofPomona inRockland County,Lindenhurst inSuffolk County and Hewlett Bay Park inNassau County, and theTown of Yorktown inWestchester County all recently granted video franchises to Verizon, paving the way for video choice in these communities.

The latest approvals bring to 138 the total number ofNew York municipalities that have granted video franchises for Verizon.

"This is great news for residents of these four communities, who now will have a new choice for their video entertainment," said Andres Irlando, Verizon senior vice president for theNew York region.

"Consumers inPomona,Lindenhurst, Hewlett Bay Park andYorktown will be able to choose their cable provider as easily as they choose their phone company. Competition like this drives innovation and value and puts the consumer in control, and we will compete aggressively for customers in these areas," he said.

As with all local franchise approvals inNew York, the agreements between Verizon and the four communities are subject to review by theNew York State Public Service Commission.

Verizon's FiOS TV is a formidable competitor to cable and satellite, offering a broad collection of all-digital programming, up to 100 high-definition (HD) channels in theNew York market and access to more than 11,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles, 70 percent of which are free. The VOD library also includes an increasing number of HD titles, and Verizon plans to have 1,000 HD VOD titles per month by year-end.

Verizon's fiber network 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. In addition to FiOS TV, Verizon's fiber 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 service.*

Pomona,Lindenhurst, Hewlett Bay Park andYorktown join a growing list ofNew York communities that are paving the way for competition and choice in the television market. In addition to these four communities, Verizon has been granted video franchises in the following municipalities:

City of New York

Long Island

Amityville,Massapequa Park,Cedarhurst,Laurel Hollow,Lynbrook,Mineola,East Hills,East Rockaway,Farmingdale,Valley Stream,Freeport,Williston Park,New Hyde Park,Sands Point,Bayville,Old Field,Floral Park,South Floral Park,Garden City,Nissequogue,Northport, Poquott,East Williston, Head of the Harbor,Mill Neck,Stewart Manor,Centre Island,Lawrence,Malverne, Manorhaven,Huntington Bay, The Branch,Oyster Bay Cove,Flower Hill,Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kensington,Kings Point,Lake Success,Munsey Park,North Hills,Plandome,Plandome Heights,Plandome Manor,Rockville Centre,Roslyn, Roslyn Estates,Roslyn Harbor, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Thomaston,Bellerose,Lloyd Harbor, Baxter Estates, Hempstead Cove Neck andBrightwaters; and the towns ofNorth Hempstead,Huntington,Smithtown,Hempstead,Oyster Bay,Islip andBabylon.

Westchester County

Ardsley,Dobbs Ferry,Tarrytown,Irvington, Greenburgh,Eastchester,Mount Kisco,Elmsford,Port Chester,Tuckahoe,White Plains,Rye Brook, North Castle,Mount Vernon,Mount Pleasant,Yonkers,Scarsdale,Bronxville,New Rochelle,Cortlandt,Peekskill,Buchanan,Rye,Larchmont, theVillage of Mamaroneck, theTown of Mamaroneck, New Castle, Pelham Manor,Sleepy Hollow,Briarcliff Manor, theTown of Ossining and theVillage of Ossining.

Rockland County

Nyack,South Nyack,Upper Nyack, Grandview-on-Hudson, Clarkstown, Orangetown,Piermont,Airmont, theTown of Haverstraw,West Haverstraw,Chestnut Ridge, Ramapo,Spring Valley,Stony Point, theVillage of Haverstraw,Suffern,Hillburn, Wesley Hills,Montebello and New Hempstead.

Dutchess County

Wappinger,Wappingers Falls andVillage of Fishkill

Orange County

Town of Newburgh andCity of Newburgh

Erie County

Amherst,Blasdell,Village of Hamburg,Town of Hamburg,West Seneca,Tonawanda,Village of Orchard Park,Town of Orchard Park andKenmore.

Putnam County

Kent

* 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.

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.

SOURCE Verizon

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