Competition and TV Choice on the Way tor Residents of Sherwood, Oregon

City Council Unanimously Approves Video Franchise for Verizon; 7,000 More Washington County Households Ready for FiOS TV.

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(SHERWOOD, Ore.) - Sherwood residents are a major step closer to having a real choice for their television services, thanks to a newly approved agreement authorizing Verizon to offer its FiOS TV service, delivered over the most advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes.

Following the approval of a video franchise for Verizon by the city of Wilsonville in neighboring Clackamas County Monday night, the Sherwood City Council unanimously approved a video franchise for the company Tuesday night (Sept. 18), paving the way for video competition and choice for local consumers.

The Sherwood City Council's approval will enable Verizon to offer FiOS TV to 7,000 more Washington County households, bringing to more than 170,000 the total number of households that will be able to obtain the service when the company launches it in the state later this year.

"People want the best service and price point for TV, and Verizon looks forward to providing Sherwood residents with an outstanding new choice that will forever change their TV viewing experience," said David Valdez, Verizon's Northwest region president. "Competition drives innovation, value and service quality, and Washington County consumers already are benefiting from our FiOS high-speed Internet and voice services."

Sherwood becomes the 11th Washington County community paving the way for competition and choice in the television market. In addition to Sherwood, Verizon has been granted video franchises by the Metropolitan Area Communications Commission (MACC) representing ten cities and Washington County.

Verizon, the first company to connect homes and businesses directly to fiber optics on a widespread national scale, offers its FiOS voice and Internet service in more than 1,800 cities in 16 states including Washington and Oregon, and provides its FiOS TV service in more than 500 cities in 12 states. Verizon's FiOS TV is a formidable competitor to cable and satellite, offering a broad collection of all-digital programming, more than 25 high- definition (HD) channels in most markets and access to more than 8,600 on- demand titles, 60 percent of which are free.

Verizon's fiber network 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. In addition to FiOS TV, Verizon's fiber network also delivers Internet download speeds of up to 30 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps, as well as high-quality voice service. It is reported that the actual throughput speeds will vary.

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Source: News release