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West End Allentown gets FiOS cable first: Verizon offers service to more than 3,000 city households, with plans to add 8,000 more.
Nov 05, 2009 (The Morning Call - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Verizon made its FiOS cable service available to more than 3,000 West End Allentown households on Wednesday morning -- the first area in the city to receive the paid-television service.
FiOS is a fiber-optic system that industry experts say has forced traditional cable companies to alter their systems to stay competitive. Verizon, which unveiled the plans at its headquarters in center city Allentown, touts itself as separate from cable companies with its high-definition television channels, video-on-demand features and high-speed Internet.
Officials did not detail the exact streets to receive the service in the West End, but said a total of as many as 8,000 households -- all of which will be in the western section -- will have FiOS service available to them by the end of the year.
Verizon officials estimated an additional 13,000 city households will be offered FiOS in 2010, but exact areas have not been finalized.
Mary Yarbrough, vice president of marketing and sales operations for Verizon's Mid-Atlantic region, said Verizon workers were deployed to west Allentown neighborhoods Wednesday to let residents know the FiOS service is available in their area. Mailings and other alerts also will be sent to residents, she added.
Verizon officials said they chose the city's western section first for a "variety of factors," including demographics, density and the existing DSL infrastructure in the area.
In April, the company said it was going to roll out FiOS in center city first, then other areas and parts of the West End last.
Verizon spokesman Lee J. Gierczynski said the company determined it made more sense to do the West End first.
"They look at all these factors for where they are going to deploy FiOS because they are looking for the quickest way to get a critical mass of customers so we can start selling FiOS to as many people as possible," said Lee J. Gierczynski, a Verizon spokesman.
Verizon officials said it chose Allentown -- the first area in the Lehigh Valley to receive FiOS -- because of its infrastructure and DSL service lines.
Officials said no other local municipalities were immediately planned for FiOS.
Earlier this year, Allentown City Council approved a 10-year agreement with Verizon that requires the company to make FiOS available to all city households within eight years.
City leaders have said FiOS will make the paid-TV market in Allentown more competitive and result in savings for consumers.
Allentown's paid-television options already include RCN Corp. and Service Electric Cable TV and Communications, in addition to satellite television companies like DirecTV and Dish Network.
Cable companies across the nation have been scaling back analog cable service to free up resources to offer options like additional high-definition channels and video-on-demand features.
The arrival of FiOS in Allentown comes amid a campaign between RCN and Service Electric to add as many as 100 high-definition channels for customers. FiOS Industry experts have said FiOS has forced cable companies to make adjustments to stay competitive. is offering 128 HD channels in Allentown, Yarbrough said.
"Customers in Allentown now have a better alternative for TV," she said. "Our advanced fiber-optic network was built for HD and super-fast, two-way Internet speeds, giving customers a choice that is truly different from their current cable TV providers."
Verizon workers illustrated some FiOS features during Wednesday's news conference, including a digital recorder that can be viewed in multiple rooms and interactive options that allow users to link to traffic updates and access social networks like Facebook and Twitter from a remote control.
Both RCN and Service Electric have said they welcome competition from FiOS and are confident they will maintain their customer base.
tyrone.richardson@mcall.com
610-820-6779
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