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Committee approves Verizon FiOS Philadelphia franchise agreement
A committee of the Philadelphia City Council has approved Verizon's plan to build a $1 billion FiOS network in the city; the full Council may approve the agreement in two weeks - assuming no other roadblocks appear.
Verizon's 15-year franchise agreement with the city of Philadelphia requires Verizon to cover the whole city with FiOS within seven years. The committee amended the agreement to give Philly's mayor more power to enforce minority contracting conditions. Verizon has committed to make $6.7 million in public access payments over the life of the contract.
Thursday's hearing was the third since early December before the Philadelphia City Council, and there has been heavy lobbying by cable-incumbent and home-town business Comcast against the FiOS agreement. Verizon fired back over the past month with newspaper and radio ads to try to pressure lawmakers to bring "cable choice" to the city.
Both Verizon and Comcast likely want to play nicer in the future, given the arrival of the Obama administration and new scrutiny over broadband issues.
For more:
- AP report via York Daily Record.
- Philly Metro article on Verizon's PR campaign in the City of Brotherly Love
- Philly.com blogs on the City Council's move.
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Comments
Posted by FU Comcast | July 14, 2009 - 3:29pm
Still not here yet and I'm right in Parkwood. I'm tired of Comcast. Seems they try to add something new to my bill every month to jack it up. Three different months this year there were things added to my bill that I didn't ask for like a wiring protection plan last month. They added HBO to my account without me asking when the inauguration was on and HBO was free for about a week back in January. They also added Cinemax to my account last month without me asking. I'm done with them. Hurry up with the FIOS!
Posted by Anonymous | June 29, 2009 - 1:26am
YEA!!!!!!! i hope your right about it coming to parkwood first i want that badly and my mom said she'd get it to
Bonus
she don't have to pay for it so where getting the best of the best of FiOS because she works at home the company will pay for it WOOT!
Posted by Anonymous | March 10, 2009 - 1:20pm
the greater Northeast will be getting it first, most likely the Parkwood areas as they are adjacent to Bensalem which already has the services.
Posted by Anonymous | February 24, 2009 - 11:04pm
Does anybody know what areas of Philly will be installed first with Fios. Please somebody must know I called Verizon and they won't say. I am sick and tired of comcrap. I have been waiting for years
Signed,
Desperate
Posted by Anonymous | February 6, 2009 - 12:34pm
i just think comcast sux all together. if verizon was a PIMP and comcast a HOE... Verizon is going to smack them up and bust a load on comcast's face.
Posted by Anonymous | February 6, 2009 - 12:33pm
the prison system is government and a city run system. as long as the 2 both agree on allowing verizon to run the fiberoptic lines to that location, there could possibly be a different way of calling/contacting somone via phone in the prisons. im sure with verizons top notch services, there shouldn't be a problem.
Posted by Anonymous | February 3, 2009 - 1:16pm
with vios can my son call collect from prison. Unlike comcast we have tot go through globel tec
which cost an arm and a leg. we are unable to keep in contact with our son in prison with comcast so if you can make it so we can speak with our son we will galdy switch over.
from philly
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