Banning residents are a major step closer to having more choice for their cable television services, thanks to a City Council vote July 25 in favor of allowing With the unanimous vote of the Board of Selectmen Monday night (July 24), Ipswich became the 12th community in Massachusetts to grant a video TV franchise to Verizon.

"Reaching a dozen communities in Massachusetts with FiOS TV in less than a year is a significant milestone for us," said Donna Cupelo, Verizon region president for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. "It means that we will be able to reach nearly 90,000 households with the most advanced TV network in the country. Consumers are demanding choice in their cable TV providers, and Verizon is giving it to them."

The company currently offers FiOS TV in Burlington, Lynnfield, North Reading, Reading, Winchester and Woburn in Massachusetts, as well as other locations in New York, California, Texas, Florida, Maryland and Virginia. Over the past several weeks, Verizon also was granted franchises in Hamilton, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Wakefield and Wenham, and will begin offering consumers FiOS TV in those communities in the very near future.

"We applaud the local officials in these first 12 towns for moving to the forefront of communities nationwide where consumers will be able to choose their cable provider as easily as they choose their phone company," said Cupelo. "Competition drives innovation, value and service quality, and it puts the consumer in control."

Verizon is currently in negotiations with more than 50 other communities in Massachusetts to obtain additional franchises. For more information on the Verizon franchise process in the state, log onto www.verizon.com/ma.

Verizon research indicates 87 percent of Massachusetts residents favor more competition and choice for video services. Independent studies have shown that competition in the video market brings enormous benefits to consumers in the form of reduced prices, better packages and improved service.

The 12 franchise agreements contain provisions for the network's future growth; financial support and capacity for educational and government access channels; cable service to government buildings; and other important benefits to each town, including insurance, indemnification and enforcement protections.

"Verizon will compete aggressively for subscribers in these 12 communities with our FiOS services, which are fueled by our lightning-fast fiber-optic network," Cupelo said.

Verizon is the first company to offer such a communications network, connecting homes and businesses directly to fiber optics on a widespread scale.