The town of Oyster Bay brought its residents a major step closer to choice for their cable television services, thanks to the Town Board’s vote on May 9 to award a video franchise to Verizon for its FiOS TV service.

FiOS TV is Verizon’s state-of-the-art fiber optic television service, which will be delivered via the company’s new, fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network.

The town of Oyster Bay is the fourth Long Island community – and the seventh in the state – to grant a cable franchise to Verizon, following the village of Massapequa Park, the town of Hempstead and the village of Cedarhurst. The Rockland County villages of Nyack, South Nyack and Upper Nyack also granted Verizon cable franchises earlier this year. Customers in the town of Oyster Bay join this growing list of New York communities that are paving the way for competition and choice in the television market. As with all local franchise approvals in New York, the agreement between the town of Oyster Bay and Verizon is subject to review by the New York State Public Service Commission.

Verizon has also obtained video franchises for communities in California, Delaware, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, as well as a state-issued franchise in Texas, covering more than 1.3 million households.

"This is great news for residents of the town of Oyster Bay, who now will have more choice for their video entertainment," said Monica Azare, Verizon senior vice president for New York. "We applaud the Town Board and Supervisor John Venditto for their dedication to bringing choice and control to their residents. Competition drives innovation, value and service quality, and we will continue to compete aggressively for business on Long Island.

"We look forward to similarly successful negotiations with other towns and villages throughout New York State," said Azare.

Verizon launched FiOS TV Sept. 22, 2005, in Keller, Texas, unveiling a broad collection of all-digital programming with more than 350 channels, nearly two-dozen high-definition channels, video on demand and more.

FiOS TV is designed to be a formidable competitor to cable and satellite. 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 allows the company to offer consumers and businesses high-speed FiOS Internet service, which is currently available in many New York communities.

Verizon’s FTTP network, which is the largest of its kind in the country, has industry-leading quality and reliability. It is currently under construction in more than half of the states where the company offers landline communications services, including more than 150 New York communities.

Although the use of fiber optics is common for long-distance communications throughout the telecommunications industry, Verizon is the first major telecom company that is using it to directly connect homes and businesses to the network on a widespread scale.