Verizon makes its pitch to Philadelphia city council

Verizon made the case for its FiOS TV service Dec. 3 to the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Public Property and Public Works, telling the body that it’s ready to bring the service to more than 600,000 households throughout the city.

The company said it is prepared to make a significant investment in the city and plans to offer competitive cable service to all of Philadelphia within seven years of the effective date of a cable franchise being considered by the council.

Verizon plans to bring fiber optics directly to every Philadelphian's home — something no other company has done. If the city council grants the company a video franchise, Verizon said it will:

  • Deploy its fiber-to-the-premises network throughout the entire city within seven years of the franchise ordinance's effective date. The network will deliver the FiOS TV line-up of about 500 channels, including more than 100 HD channels, and its VOD library.
  • Pay franchise fees equivalent to 5 percent of gross revenues on cable TV service.
  • Pay $2 million to the city for a technology and education fund.
  • Pay $9.2 million in grants to support the city's public, education and government access channels.
  • Provide up to 15 all-digital public, educational and governmental access channels for use by the city or its public access corporation over the life of the agreement.

For more information, visit www.verizon.com.