Verizon FiOS TV OK'd In 2 More Mass. Towns

Boards of selectmen in two more Massachusetts communities granted cable-TV franchises to Verizon Monday night (Oct. 30), paving the way for video choice for an estimated12,000 more Bay State households.

The franchises, granted in Lexington and Tyngsborough, bring to 25 thetotal number of Massachusetts communities where Verizon's FiOS TV is orwill soon be available.

"We are thrilled to be able to bring FiOS TV to residents in Lexingtonand Tyngsborough," says Donna Cupelo, Verizon region president forMassachusetts and Rhode Island. "Since the launch of FiOS TV inMassachusetts earlier this year, we are continuing our efforts to meet theconsumer demand for cable TV choice."

FiOS TV is the company's new fiber-optic television service, deliveredover the only all-digital, fiber network that is being made available, on a mass scale, to millions of individual homes and businesses. It offers abetter quality picture, more high definition and on-demand programs, andmore reliable service at competitive prices.

The company currently offers FiOS TV in Acton, Andover, Belmont,Boxborough, Boxford, Burlington, Hamilton, Hopkinton, Ipswich, Lincoln,Lynnfield, Nahant, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Wakefield,Wenham, Winchester and Woburn, as well as other locations in New York,California, Texas, Florida, Maryland and Virginia. Verizon also has TVfranchises in the Massachusetts communities of Marion, Mattapoisett andRochester.

"As a result of these new franchises, consumers will be able to choosetheir cable provider as easily as they choose their phone company," says Cupelo. "Competition drives innovation, value and service quality, and itputs the consumer in control."

Verizon says it is currently in negotiations with some 30 other communities inMassachusetts to obtain additional franchises. For more information on theVerizon franchise process in the state, log onto http://www.verizon.com/ma.

Verizon research indicates 87 percent of Massachusetts residents favormore competition and choice for video services. Independent studies haveshown that competition in the video market brings enormous benefits toconsumers in the form of reduced prices, better packages and improvedservice.

The franchise agreements with Lexington and Tyngsborough contain provisions for the network's future growth; financial support and capacity for educational and government access channels; cable service to governmentbuildings; and other important benefits to each town, including insurance, indemnification and enforcement protections.