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Verizon Delivers New Video Services Choice for Indiana Consumers; Company Now Offers FiOS TV in 12 States

Posted on: Tuesday, 17 July 2007, 12:02 CDT

FORT WAYNE, Ind., July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers in 122,000 Indiana households in Fort Wayne, New Haven and Huntertown will immediately reap the benefits of video choice as Verizon today introduces its industry-leading FiOS television service here.

The launch of FiOS TV makes a broad range of programming choices and superior picture quality available to thousands of Hoosiers who already enjoy FiOS voice and Internet service, which delivers crystal-clear sound and fast, reliable Internet connections.

"Verizon FiOS data and television services deliver jaw-dropping speed, incredible picture-and-sound clarity and innovative new services from a brand people know and trust," said Mike Millegan, Verizon's senior vice president and general manager for the Midwest. "Thousands of consumers in the area are signing up every month for our voice and high-speed Internet services, and we know there are thousands more who are ready to leave their cable TV provider and jump on the growing FiOS bandwagon."

With the launch of FiOS TV in Indiana to nearly 350,000 potential television viewers, Verizon now offers its video service in 12 states. Last month, Verizon announced that it had nearly half a million FiOS TV subscribers and 1 million FiOS Internet subscribers. At the end of the first quarter, the company offered TV service to more than 3 million households.

In Indiana, a new streamlined video franchising law was signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels in March 2006. Verizon's TV franchise was issued by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission last December.

"This is great news for consumers, who've waited a very long time for true competition and a superior choice of television service for the home," said Gale Given, Verizon Great Lakes region president. "Thanks to the state's streamlined video franchising law, Verizon is able to accelerate deployment of its FiOS TV service and offer consumers the highest-value video offer in the market."

State and local officials commended Verizon for its FiOS effort in the Fort Wayne market.

"Innovation and investment assist Fort Wayne in retaining and gaining jobs and building a better city," said Fort Wayne Mayor Graham Richard. "We appreciate Verizon's commitment to providing FiOS and FiOS television services in our community. Being a technology leader makes Fort Wayne more competitive in attracting new businesses in the global economy."

Said New Haven Mayor Terry McDonald: "In New Haven, our investment in the community's infrastructure is vastly improved by the addition of Verizon's FiOS project. Having the most advanced telecommunications services available improves our ability to retain businesses, to attract new jobs to the city, and to improve the quality of life in our community."

Network Reliability, Competitive Pricing Spur FiOS Growth

Verizon, the first company to connect homes and businesses directly to fiber optics on a widespread scale, offers its FiOS voice and Internet service in more than 1,700 cities in parts of 16 states. FiOS TV is the only TV service delivered over the nation's most advanced all-fiber network directly connecting to millions of individual homes and businesses.

To date, Verizon has deployed more than 9 million feet of fiber in its fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network in the Fort Wayne area and hired nearly 300 fulltime employees during the past two years.

Fort Wayne area residents who are FiOS TV-eligible now have the option to trim their monthly bills by bundling FiOS TV service, FiOS Internet service and the Verizon Freedom Essentials unlimited calling plan, all for as low as $104.99 a month when ordering a two-year plan. A la carte and one-year plans are also available.

FiOS TV Service Highlights

FiOS TV offers a better-quality picture, more high-definition and on- demand programs, and more reliable service at competitive prices than its competitors offer.

Service highlights include: -- FiOS TV Premier, the lead offer, delivers more than 200 all-digital channels for $42.99 per month. -- A total of 21 high-definition channels in Indiana with extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound. -- A library of more than 8,600 on-demand titles. -- The choice of three set-top boxes: standard definition for $4.99 per month; high definition, which includes HD channels, for $9.99 per month; a dual-tuner, HD-capable digital video recorder for $12.99 per month. -- Channels grouped by genres such as entertainment, sports, news, shopping, movies and family, making it easy for audiences to find their favorite programming. -- A colorful new interactive media guide that makes it easy to search TV listings, Verizon's video-on-demand library and the customer's DVR recordings. -- The option of Home Media 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, a new feature that 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.

FiOS TV features entertainment in a variety of languages in addition to its English-language programming. Spanish-speaking viewers can choose La Conexion, a package of 140 popular English and Spanish-language channels for $32.99 per month, or a Spanish-language package for $11.99 per month. Verizon also offers 14 international premium channels in languages such as Chinese, French, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese.

Verizon's network brings the power and capacity of fiber optics directly into people's homes and has industry-leading quality and reliability. It also delivers Internet download speeds ranging from 5 Mbps to 30 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds ranging up to 10 Mbps, as well as high-quality voice service.*

*NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Consumers can visit http://www.verizonfios.com/ or call 1-800-483-4000 to find out if FiOS TV is available at their home.

Verizon Communications Inc. , headquartered in New 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 60.7 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 has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit http://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 http://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.

Verizon

CONTACT: Bruce Childs, +1-317-631-7182 (o), +1-317-903-7137 (cell),bruce.b.childs@verizon.com, or Bill Kula, APR, +1-972-718-6924 (o),+1-214-789-1644 (cell), william.kula@verizon.com, both of Verizon

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/http://www.verizonfios.com/http://www.verizon.com/news

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html

Source: PRNewswire

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