Verizon Communications Inc., the No. 1 local phone company, kicked off its long-distance promotions for residential and business customers in Delaware beginning today.
There are 334,000 residential and business customers in Delaware, where the long-distance market is valued at $201 million, said Verizon spokeswoman Catherine Lewis. Verizon hopes to capture 20 percent market share the first year, a milestone the phone company has reached in other states, Lewis said.
The New York-based behemoth is the fourth largest long-distance company serving more than nine million customers across the country. Last month Verizon gained federal approval to provide long-distance services in Delaware and New Hampshire, marking 10 states in the Northeast where the telecom titan has received the green light to provide long-distance.
A long-distance application to provide service in Virginia is pending before the Federal Communications Commission. Verizon also plans to file applications later this year to provide long-distance in Maryland, West Virginia and Washington D.C.
The company has authority to provide long-distance in 46 states, representing 83 percent of the local phone lines it serves across the country. Verizon has wired operations in 30 states in addition to Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Verizon must show state and federal regulators its local network is open to competition before it can receive approval to provide long-distance services within its local territory.
