FITCHBURG, Mass., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers and small businesses in five more Massachusetts communities now have more choice in cable TV providers as Verizon continues to make FiOS TV - the ultimate home-entertainment experience with a broad range of programming choices and superior picture quality -- available to additional locations throughout the state.

The five latest communities are Billerica, Fitchburg, Milford, North Attleborough and Westford. They are among 104 Massachusetts communities (see list below) where the company's new television service is or will soon be offered. 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.

FiOS TV now offers more than 600 total channels in Massachusetts- including 123 HD channels, more than any local cable TV company, including Comcast.

"FiOS TV gives consumers in these communities an outstanding alternative for their video entertainment with superior picture-and-sound quality, and innovative, interactive features that cable can't match," said Donna Cupelo, Verizon region president for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. "Customers in these communities who liked what FiOS did for their Internet connection will love what it does for their TV. We've harnessed the vast capacity of our advanced fiber-optic network to deliver a revolutionary, new entertainment experience giving customers the best choice for TV."

Massachusetts 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, for as little as $79.99 a month. They also can add a Verizon Wireless calling plan for a Grand Slam of communications and entertainment services.

Residents in Billerica, Fitchburg, Milford, North Attleborough and Westford 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).

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 600 all-digital channels in Massachusetts 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 123 HD channels available for Massachusetts customers, with
        extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.
    --  An industry-leading library of more than 18,000 video-on-demand (VOD)
        titles each month, 70 percent of which are free. In addition, the VOD
        library includes 2,400 HD titles per month.
    --  An innovative interactive media guide (IMG) that gives customers a rich,
        personalized television experience with content from TV listings, VOD
        catalogs and the digital video recorder (DVR), as well as personal music
        and photos from a home network.  Among the features of the IMG are:

        --  Multi-Room DVR - Verizon's Home Media DVR allows customers to stream
            recorded HD and standard-definition (SD) programs to up to six other
            TV sets throughout the home.  This includes the ability to watch
            three separately recorded shows on three TV sets at the same time,
            plus pause recorded programming in one room and continue watching in
            another.
        --  Media Manager - This feature lets FiOS DVR customers access personal
            photos, videos, music and slide shows from their home computers and
            play them on their TVs.  Subscribers also can search for and enjoy
            online videos from blip.tv, Dailymotion and Veoh on their TV
            screens.
        --  Remote DVR management - FiOS TV subscribers can remotely control
            their DVRs online, and via any cell phone with a data plan.
            Subscribers can use the service to remotely review, change or add
            recording requests; delete recorded programs; browse and search TV
            and video-on-demand listings; set parental controls; and more.
        --  Widgets - Customers have one-touch, on-demand access to personalized
            information such as traffic reports, daily local and national news
            headlines, fantasy sports, daily national sports headlines, and
            daily horoscopes, as well as interactive social TV applications from
            Twitter and Facebook, all while still enjoying their TV programming.
            Additional widgets include:

            --  ESPN Fantasy Football - FiOS TV customers who are registered
                users of ESPN Fantasy Football will have instant on-screen
                access to personalized NFL statistics, including rosters, box
                scores, scoring leaders and player information.
            --  Pro Football Widget - One-stop access to NFL stats and the NFL
                RedZone channel, giving customers who subscribe to the channel
                the ability to set on-screen alerts for whenever a team is
                moving inside its opponent's 20-yard line.  The alerts, once set
                up, pop up at the bottom of the TV screen while subscribers are
                watching any channel.
            --  KODAK Widget - This widget gives registered KODAK Gallery users
                instant on-screen access to photos and slideshows that they have
                stored on Kodak's online digital photo service.
            --  Weatherbug Widget - Provides instant access to real-time,
                personalized weather information and forecasts.  Subscribers can
                customize weather reports by any zip code, pull up hourly or
                seven-day forecasts, and view radar weather imagery to see how
                local conditions are developing.
        --  Free casual games - With the remote control, customers can access
            chess, solitaire, sudoku and wordplay.
        --  "What's Hot on FiOS TV" - Features information on the most-popular
            programs currently being broadcast in the region and the most
            popular VOD titles.
        --  Dual Pause and Play - Allows customers to pause live programming,
            change channels, and then return to the paused program and pick up
            where they left off.
        --  Channel sorting options - Customers can create two separate lists of
            favorite channels for family members.  Customers also can filter
            channels in the guide by genre, for instances where a customer only
            may want to see HD content, international channels or kids
            programming, among others.

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.

Verizon's fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network, the largest of its kind in the country, is currently under construction in more than half the states where the company offers landline communications services. The network 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. It 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 Fiber Solutions Centers in Providence, R.I., and other cities.

[In Massachusetts, FiOS TV is available in Abington, Acton, Andover, Arlington, Ashland, Bedford, Bellingham, Belmont, Billerica, Boxborough, Boxford, Braintree, Burlington, Canton, Danvers, Dedham, Dover, Dunstable, Easton, Fitchburg, Framingham, Franklin, Georgetown, Grafton, Groton, Hamilton, Hanover, Hingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Hull, Ipswich, Kingston, Lakeville, Lawrence, Leominster, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Mansfield, Marion, Marlborough, Marblehead, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Maynard, Medfield, Medway, Melrose, Mendon, Methuen, Middleborough, Middleton, Milford, Millbury, Nahant, Natick, Needham, Newton, Norfolk, North Andover, North Attleborough , North Reading, Northborough, Norwood, Norwell, Plymouth, Reading, Rochester, Rockland, Rowley, Sherborn, Southborough, Stoneham, Stoughton, Stow, Sudbury, Sutton, Swampscott, Taunton, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Walpole, Waltham, Wareham, Wayland, Wellesley, Wenham, West Newbury, Westborough, Westford, Weston, Westwood, Wilmington, Winchester, Wrentham and Woburn, and will soon be available in Chelmsford.]

(More information about FiOS TV and fiber optics is available in Verizon's online News Center at www.verizon.com/news.)

* NOTE: Actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Verizon Communications Inc. , headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com/news.

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CONTACT: Phil Santoro, +1-617-743-4760, philip.g.santoro@verizon.com