After a Monday night vote by the Laurel City Council, Verizon has securedanother cable franchise agreement in Maryland, authorizing the company to offer its fiber-optic-powered FiOS TV to area residents.
“Competition drives innovation, value and service quality, and we will compete aggressively for business in Laurel with our FiOS services,” said William R. Roberts, president of Verizon Maryland. “We hope to bring these benefits to more Maryland consumers by reaching similar agreements with other municipalities.”
Verizon hopes to begin offering its services to the more than 36,000 potential customers in the area by late August. The company already offers video services in Howard County and Bowie and is in the process of laying fiber-optic cables in Anne Arundel, Prince George?s and Montgomery counties in hopes of securing cable franchises in those jurisdictions. It has also reached an agreement with the Baltimore County Council to lay fiber-optic cable throughout the county and plans to seek a franchise agreement once its network is in place.
Jim Gordon, a spokesman for Verizon competitor Comcast, said the company is not threatened by the added competition. “This additional franchise will be the fourth video provider in the marketplace,” said Gordon. “Comcast offers voice, video and data products that are fully featured and available to all customers today ? something our competitors are not able to offer.”
Under the 15-year agreement, Verizon will be able to offer services to residents of the city. Additionally, the agreement requires the company to pay the community franchise fees based on the company?s gross revenues on cable services.
FiOS TV is designed to go head-to-head with cable and satellite services, offering a collection of all-digital programming with more than 350 total channels, almost 24 high-definition channels and video on demand. Verizon launched its FiOS TV last September in Texas. It currently offers services in parts of California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Virginia.
