ALLENTOWN, Pa., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents of Pennsylvania's Queen City now have a superior choice for television entertainment delivered over a superior all-fiber optic network - FiOS TV from Verizon.

"Consumers in Allentown now have a better alternative for TV," said Mary Yarbrough, vice president of marketing and sales operations for Verizon's Mid-Atlantic region. "Our advanced fiber-optic network was built for HD and super-fast, two-way Internet speeds, giving consumers a choice that is truly different from their current cable TV providers."

Verizon is initially offering its award-winning FiOS TV service to more than 3,100 households in parts of Allentown, bringing consumers here a wide array of programming, 128 high-definition (HD) channels, and more video on demand (VOD) and faster Internet speeds than old-fashioned cable TV.

Where FiOS TV is available, consumers now can bundle FiOS TV service, FiOS Internet Service and the Verizon Freedom Essentials unlimited calling plan, for as little as $79.99 a month* for the first six months. Consumers also can combine Verizon Wireless service, Freedom Essentials, FiOS TV and FiOS Internet services into money-saving quad-play bundles that cable companies can't offer.

Verizon's FiOS TV was ranked highest in the East Region in the J.D. Power and Associates "2009 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Survey" for the second consecutive year. In the television study, FiOS outperformed all competitors measured in overall satisfaction and three factors: performance and reliability, cost of service, and offers and promotions. Verizon's consumer broadband services also outperform all their competitors when it comes to overall customers satisfaction in the East, according to the J.D. Power and Associates "2009 Internet Service Provider (ISP) Residential Customer Satisfaction Study"(SM) released Oct. 28.

Customers interested in FiOS TV can visit www.verizon.com/fiostv or call 1-888-GET FiOS (888-438-3467) for more information.

FiOS is also available to small and medium-sized businesses. Business customers can learn more about business-grade FiOS services at www.verizon.com/bizfiostv, or by calling 877-FiOS BIZ (877-346-7249).

FiOS TV Service Highlights

FiOS TV service highlights include:

    --  More than 600 all-digital channels in Allentown grouped by genres such
        as entertainment, sports, news, marketplace, music, movies and family,
        making it easy for audiences to find their favorite programming.
    --  A total of 128 HD channels available in Allentown, with extraordinary
        clarity and theater-quality sound.
    --  An industry-leading library of more than 18,000 video-on-demand (VOD)
        titles each month, 70 percent of which are free. In addition, the VOD
        library includes more than 2,400 HD titles per month.
    --  An innovative interactive media guide (IMG) that provides
        next-generation, personalized interactive services, along with content
        from TV listings, VOD catalogs and the digital video recorder (DVR), as
        well as personal music, videos and photos from a home network.  Among
        the features of the IMG are:
        --  Multi-Room DVR - Use one DVR to record HD and SD programs on up to
            six other TV sets throughout the home.  This includes the ability to
            watch three separately recorded shows on three TV sets at the same
            time, plus pause recorded programming in one room and continue
            watching in another.
        --  Media Manager - This feature lets FiOS DVR customers access personal
            photos, videos, music and slide shows from their home computers and
            play them on their TVs.  Customers who subscribe to Media Manager
            also can search for and enjoy on their TV screens online videos from
            blip.tv, Dailymotion and Veoh.
        --  Remote DVR management - Subscribers can remotely control their DVRs
            online, and via any cell phone with a data plan.  Customers can use
            the service to remotely review, change or add recording requests;
            delete recorded programs; browse and search TV and VOD listings; set
            parental controls; and more.
        --  Widgets - Customers have one-touch, on-demand access to personalized
            information such as local traffic reports, daily local and national
            news headlines, fantasy sports, daily national sports headlines, and
            daily horoscopes, as well as interactive social TV applications from
            Twitter and Facebook, all while still enjoying their TV programming.
            Additional widgets include:
            --  ESPN Fantasy Football - FiOS TV customers who are registered
                users of ESPN Fantasy Football will have instant on-screen
                access to personalized NFL statistics, including rosters, box
                scores, scoring leaders and player information.
            --  Pro Football Widget - One-stop access to NFL stats and the NFL
                RedZone channel, giving customers who subscribe to the channel
                the ability to set on-screen alerts for whenever a team is
                moving inside its opponent's 20-yard line.  The alerts, once set
                up, pop up at the bottom of the TV screen while subscribers are
                watching any channel.
            --  KODAK Widget - This widget gives registered KODAK Gallery users
                instant on-screen access to photos and slideshows that they have
                stored on Kodak's online digital photo service.
            --  Weatherbug Widget - Provides instant access to real-time,
                personalized weather information and forecasts.  Users can
                customize weather reports by any ZIP code, pull up hourly or
                seven-day forecasts and view radar weather imagery to see how
                local conditions are developing.
        --  Free casual games - With the remote control and an HD set-top box,
            customers can access chess, solitaire, sudoku and wordplay.
        --  What's Hot on FiOS TV - Features information on the most-popular
            programs currently being broadcast in the region and the most
            popular VOD titles.
        --  Dual Pause and Play - Allows customers to pause live programming,
            change channels, and then return to the paused program and pick up
            where they left off.

        --  Channel sorting options - Customers can create two separate lists of
            favorite channels for family members.  Customers also can filter
            channels in the guide by genre, for instances where a customer may
            only want to see HD content, international channels or kids
            programming, among others.

Programming choices for Hispanic, African-American, Asian, Russian and other multicultural audiences are available, making FiOS TV an outlet for emerging and independent networks to showcase their diverse programming.

FiOS TV is delivered over Verizon's all-fiber-optic network, which brings the power and capacity of fiber optics directly into people's homes and has industry-leading quality and reliability. Fiber 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. This network also offers FiOS Internet Service, which delivers downstream speeds of up to 50 Mbps** (megabits per second) and upstream speeds of up to 20 Mbps, as well as high-quality voice services.

Free Verizon Wi-Fi access at thousands of locations across the U.S. is available for FiOS Internet customers with up to 20 Mbps-or-faster packages.*** Free Wi-Fi hot-spot locations include hotels, airports, restaurants, coffee shops, retailers and other public locations across the U.S. For a list of hot-spot locations, visit www.verizon.com/hotspots.

The value of FiOS TV extends to installation and customer support. Specially trained Verizon technicians will install the service for up to three existing TV outlets and acquaint subscribers with FiOS TV features and services. Verizon provides 24 x 7 technical assistance by phone from its Fiber Solutions Centers.

Verizon FiOS customers also have access to the Verizon In-Home Agent, a free application that gives them valuable tools to set up services, configure Wi-Fi links, set up and manage voice mail, auto-fix video problems, and trouble-shoot and correct Internet issues - all with the simple click of a mouse.

In April, the Allentown City Council approved a bill authorizing Verizon to offer its FiOS TV to city residents. As part of the cable franchise agreement, Verizon will make FiOS TV available throughout the city within eight years.

FiOS TV currently is available to nearly 300 communities in southeastern, south-central and western Pennsylvania, as well as parts of 13 other states.

(More information about FiOS TV and fiber optics is available in Verizon's online News Center at www.verizon.com/news.)

* Plus applicable taxes and fees.

** Internet speeds refer to the connection speed between the user's location and Verizon's central office. Actual surfing speeds will vary based on many factors and be lower than connection speed.

*** Verizon Wi-Fi available with select packages and in designated locations only. Software limitations and other terms apply.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon