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Verizon announced Thursday that it has concluded the testing phase for its FiOS TV service and will begin to roll out the programming option to customers in additional cities across the United States.
“FiOS TV will connect with customers because it offers them choice, value and simplicity,” Bob Ingalls, president of Verizon Communications Inc.s Retail Markets Group, said in a statement.
“It will get even better as we add programming and interactive services. Our employees and customers helped us to improve the service during trials this summer, and well continue to upgrade based on what we learn,” he said.
FiOS TV, which will be broadcast in digital format and delivered via Verizons multi-billion-dollar FTTP (fiber-to-the-premises) network, was designed to successfully go up against the providers that currently dominate the TV market, according to a recent news release.
“Were the only telecom company to bring fiber-optic cables to your home, which gives us huge capacity to offer great broadband services,” said Mark Marchand, director of Media Relations at Verizon.
“This particular network architecture also allows us to offer video over broadband, a service that directly competes with cable and satellite providers,” Marchand said.
The service is currently available in Texas (where testing recently commenced), and, upon government approval for video franchising, will be extended to other cities in Florida, Virginia and California.
By the end of 2005, Verizon expects its super-high-speed FTTP technology to be available to over 3 million homes and businesses in parts of 15 states, according to Marchand.
FiOS TV offers viewers at least 180 audio and video channels (20 in high-def), with a lineup that includes all of the channels available through cable or satellite providers and is consistent across the system, the company said.