Residents of the Chester County borough of South Coatesville and the townships of Upper Uwchlan and West Pikeland are a major step closer to having a real choice for their cable television services, thanks to recently approved agreements authorizing Verizon to offer its fiber-optic-powered FiOS TV in those communities.

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

With the latest approvals, a total of 30 municipalities in the counties of Chester, Montgomery, Bucks and Delaware have said yes to cable competition and awarded cable franchises to Verizon. Verizon will announce availability plans for FiOS TV in these communities later this year.

"The momentum to bring consumers long-overdue, much-needed choice and competition for cable TV is building in Pennsylvania," said William B. Petersen, president of Verizon Pennsylvania. "Verizon's FiOS TV offers an innovative, reliable and competitive alternative to the incumbent cable provider - powered by our lightning-fast fiber-optic network.

"We hope to bring innovation, reliability and value to more Pennsylvanians by reaching similar agreements with other communities."

Under the agreements, Verizon will be able to offer FiOS TV service to residents of South Coatesville, Upper Uwchlan and West Pikeland. In addition, the agreements require Verizon to pay the communities franchise fees based on the company's gross revenues on cable services in each community.

Verizon currently offers FiOS TV in parts of California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Virginia. The company will make FiOS TV available in Pennsylvania markets where it has negotiated franchise agreements with local authorities.