TV Choice and Competition Near for Residents of the Village of Amityville and Town...

TV Choice and Competition Near for Residents of the Village of Amityville and
Town of Kent, N.Y.

Communities Approve Video Franchises for Verizon

NEW YORK, July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents of the Long Island village of
Amityville and the Putnam County town of Kent 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 Amityville Village Board and the Kent Town Board recently granted video
franchises to Verizon, paving the way for video choice in these communities.

The new franchises bring to 126 the total number of New York municipalities
that have approved video franchises for Verizon.

"This is great news for residents of Amityville and Kent, who now will have a
new choice for their video entertainment," said Andres Irlando, Verizon senior
vice president for New York and Connecticut.

"Consumers in these communities 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 continue to
compete aggressively for business in these areas," he said.

As with all local franchise approvals in New York, the agreements between
Verizon and Amityville and Kent are subject to review by the New 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 the New York market and access to more than 10,000 on-demand
titles, 70 percent of which are free.

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.*

Amityville and Kent join a growing list of New York communities that are
paving the way for competition and choice in the television market. In
addition to these two, Verizon has been granted video franchises in the
following municipalities:
City of New York

Long Island
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 and Baxter Estates; and the towns of North
Hempstead, Huntington, Smithtown, Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Islip and Babylon.

Rockland County
Nyack, South Nyack, Upper Nyack, Grandview-on-Hudson, Clarkstown, Orangetown,
Piermont, Airmont, the Town of Haverstraw, West Haverstraw, Chestnut Ridge,
Ramapo, Spring Valley, Stony Point, the Village of Haverstraw, Suffern,
Hillburn, Wesley Hills and Montebello.

Dutchess County
Wappinger and Wappingers Falls

Orange County
Town of Newburgh

Erie County
Amherst, Blasdell, Village of Hamburg, Town of Hamburg, West Seneca,
Tonawanda, Village of Orchard Park and Town of Orchard Park.

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, the Village of
Mamaroneck, the Town of Mamaroneck, New Castle, Pelham Manor, Sleepy Hollow,
Briarcliff Manor, the Town of Ossining and the Village of Ossining.

* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), 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
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

John Bonomo of Verizon, +1-212-321-8033, john.j.bonomo@verizon.com