Residents of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, one of the largest apartment complexes in the city, will soon have access to the most advanced broadband technology available, under an agreement announced Monday, March 24th by Verizon and Tishman Speyer, the complex's owner and manager.

Verizon FiOS Internet service is now available in seven buildings in the 110-building complex, and more buildings will be provisioned for service in the weeks and months ahead. FiOS delivers Internet access with maximum downstream connection speed of up to 50 Mbps on the nation's most advanced digital, all-fiber-optic network. At 50 Mbps, downloading a 1.2 GB, or 90-minute, standard-definition movie takes approximately 3.2 minutes. Upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps make modern video and file-sharing a snap over the nation's only large-scale fiber-optics network that extends all the way to customers' homes or small and medium-sized businesses. Using a 20 Mbps upstream broadband connection, a person could upload a 250 megabyte file or a 3,500 page document in about 90 seconds, compared with about 47 minutes over a 768 kilobits per second upstream connection.

Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are located on 80 acres stretching from First Avenue to Avenue C, between 14th and 23rd streets, in Manhattan and contain 11,232 apartments.

According to Tishman Speyer, bringing FiOS Internet service to the complex reflects the company's desire to seamlessly build upon the historic charm and amenities of the properties by providing appealing, cutting-edge services.

Recent upgrades at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village include a state-of-the-art fitness center; shuttle service to the financial district and midtown; digital signage displays in all lobbies; and video intercoms. The community also contains acres of landscaped green space; seven staffed playgrounds; eight recreation areas; and Stuyvesant Oval, a common space that serves as an idyllic venue for numerous cultural events throughout the year. Together, Tishman Speyer and Verizon will host a concert series featuring an array of exciting artists and a range of additional eclectic events, starting later this year.

The plans for FiOS at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village reflect the competitive advantage Verizon's fiber-to-the-premises network offers developers in marketing their properties.

Verizon's FiOS Internet service in New York offers download speeds of up to 10, 20 and 50 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps, the fastest upload speed available in the market. Verizon is constructing its all-fiber-optic network in parts of 17 states. Currently, Verizon offers FiOS Internet service in many parts of the five boroughs of New York as well as other communities throughout the state.

FiOS TV service is available in parts of Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties, and on parts of Long Island. Verizon intends to expand its video service offering in the state as it obtains video franchises in other markets.

FiOS Internet was named to the top five of PC World Magazine's 100 Best Products of 2007 - a roster of what the magazine called "the finest products and services of the past 12 months," selected "based on exemplary design, features, performance and innovation." Readers of PC World and Computerworld magazines recently ranked FiOS Internet No. 1, with top scores across the board in overall satisfaction, connection reliability, download and upload speeds, customer service, and technical support.

Additionally, Verizon is the only major telecom company whose network has earned the certification of the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes.

Customers waiting for Verizon FiOS Internet to become available can sign up for the month-to-month Verizon High Speed Internet service with a maximum downstream connection speed of up to 3 Mbps for $29.99 per month.