Verizon announced it is rolling out a fiber-optic network – known as fiber to the premises, or FTTP -- to many customers in the Suffolk County communities of Huntington, Huntington Bay, Poquott, Lake Grove and Smithtown, as well as the Nassau County communities of Baxter Estates, Bayville, Centre Island, Cove Neck and Lynbrook.

The all-fiber network will deliver faster data speeds and crystal-clear voice and also has the capability to offer a full suite of video services, a competitive choice to existing cable television providers. The company will seek a franchise agreement before offering cable TV service in a selected community.



Today’s announcement brings to 39 the number of communities on Long Island identified by the company for deployment of its all-fiber network. The others are Cedarhurst, East Williston, Flower Hill, Garden City, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Hempstead, Hewlett Bay Park, Hewlett Harbor, Hewlett Neck, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Massapequa, Mineola, Munsey Park, North Hempstead, North Hills, Plandome, Plandome Heights, Plandome Manor, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Sands Point, Syosset, Thomason, Williston Park and Woodsburgh.

FTTP uses hair-thin strands of fiber and optical electronics to directly link homes and businesses to Verizon’s network. The state-of-the-art network upgrade will unleash a range of advanced communication services.

Verizon is building its FTTP network in half the states where it offers landline communications service. The states are California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia. To help build the network across the country, Verizon will hire between 3,000 and 5,000 new employees by the end of this year, including hundreds in New York.

Fiber offers tremendous advantages to network operators, in addition to new and superior services for customers. For example, fiber offers reliable service in stretches of wet weather that can affect copper-based networks.

Customer reaction to Verizon’s new fiber-based Internet access service, called FiOS (FYE’-ose), has been very positive, with broadband subscribers more than doubling in the company’s inaugural FiOS market of Keller, Texas, just outside Dallas/Fort Worth. Verizon will notify customers when FiOS is available locally.

For more information about Verizon FiOS, see our Verizon FiOS category or our article, "Have you caught the FiOS fever?"