Verizon to offer local TV service

STAFFORD — A phone company will now offer home television service in Stafford thanks to a unanimous vote by the county board.

Verizon Communications plans to introduce their FiOS television and Internet services to Stafford residents within the year. The service will operate on fiber optic lines, which the company markets as being superior to networks of competitors like Comcast.

Under the 15-year-franchise agreement approved by the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, the service will be offered first to residents in Falmouth and the Courthouse area, according to a press release from Verizon. The company said the competition created by its new product will give customers more options.
When the new fiber-optic utility lines laid throughout the county, Verizon will now have the ability to offer new and existing customers telephone, Internet and television services bundled on one bill. Comcast currently offers all three services in the county.

"I don't think I would bundle my services," said Karen Rose of Aquia. "What would happen if one of them went out, then they all would go out?"

Rose just moved to the area from New York, and said she has yet to set up television service in her home. Her daughter, Marie Elisabeth Rose, said she would bundle her services because she liked having all of her charges on one bill. She just started college at The University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.

Verizon said they do not have problems convincing an older generation of the convenience of bundling their services, but try to tell them it is more convenient.

"A customer does not have to order all three. Of course, the more a customer bundles, the greater the savings. Our top-notch service reps can help a customer satisfy their individual communications, broadband and entertainment needs," said Harry Mitchell, spokesman for Verizon Virginia.

Stafford joins the ranks of other Northern Virginia localities that have allowed the company to offer its FiOS service. Neighboring Prince William County and the City of Fredericksburg also have the service.

Verizon said the service would offer up to 400 channels of programming, with 28 channels being offered in high definition. FiOS will also include more than 10,000 video-on-demand titles each month, multicultural programming and the option of a multi-room digital video recorder. Verizon said it would begin offering its bundled service of TV, Internet and phone for about $105 per month, with a one-year-agreement. The multi-room DVR would cost an additional $18 per month.

If subscribers do not want the DVR, the company said it would charge a standard equipment rental fee of $6.