Verizon is steps away from being able to offer its FiOS TV service in Comcast’s hometown of Philadelphia, thanks to the recent introduction of an ordinance to grant a franchise agreement between the city and the telco.
The Philadelphia City Council will now consider the ordinance and will subsequently vote on whether to approve it.
Verizon said that it plans to begin designing and upgrading its network in Philadelphia to all fiber optics. If the franchise is approved by year’s end, Verizon could begin offering its fiber-optic-based FiOS TV service in portions of the city within the first year.
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Verizon’s VOD Poster
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And as part of the 15-year agreement, Verizon would make FiOS TV available throughout the city within seven years of the franchise’s effective date. More specifically, Verizon would offer service to approximately one-third of Philadelphia residences within three years of the agreement’s effective date, and 70 percent within five years.
In early October, Verizon brokered a franchise agreement with the District of Columbia Office of Cable Television (OCT), but it still needs to pass a vote by the Council of the District of Columbia before it can offer its FiOS video service in the nation’s capital (story here).
The D.C. franchise agreement covers each of the District’s eight wards over the next six years. Subject to franchise approval by year’s end, Verizon said it expects to start offering its video service in D.C. in roughly one year. Verizon will also compete with Comcast’s video service in the Washington, D.C., area.
And in July, Verizon began installing its FiOS video service in parts of all five boroughs in New York City (story here). Specifically, the video service will be available in 108 neighborhoods across the city, and Verizon has boasted that the 100 high-definition (HD) channel lineup that it’s offering has more HD content than Cablevision and Time Warner Cable (TWC), New York City’s two cable operators.
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