Verizon today divulged additional locations where it will build fiber-to-the-premises networks. Business and residential customers in 25 New York communities in Westchester and Rockland Counties will be among the first to be served by Verizon's planned FTTP networks, which will be capable of supporting advanced TV services, high-speed Internet access and voice.
The specific Westchester County communities include Ardsley, Bronxville, Dobbs Ferry, Eastchester, Elmsford, Greenburgh, Harrison, Hastings, Irvington, Larchmont, Mamaroneck (Town and Village), Port Chester, Rye, Rye Brook, Scarsdale, Tarrytown, Tuckahoe and White Plains. The Rockland County communities include Clarkstown, Grand View on Hudson, Orangetown, Piermont, Nyack, South Nyack and Upper Nyack.
Verizon began building its FTTP network last year in parts of California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. The company yesterday also announced plans to construct its FTTP network in parts of Rhode Island. The RBOC's first FTTP market was Keller, Texas.
Verizon today said it will seek a franchise agreement from the local authority before offering a cable-TV-type service in a selected community.
Verizon has earmarked $800 million to build a fiber network to 1 million homes and businesses in 2004, and this year it plans to build fiber to 2 million additional homes and businesses.
SBC Communications Inc., the second largest local phone company, also is preparing to offer video services but it is taking a different approach. SBC has announced plans to reach 18 million homes with an IP network extending to neighborhoods not homes – by the end of 2007 at a cost of $4 billion. That figure excludes an estimated $1 billion in capital expenses to activate customers.
"One of the keys to Verizon's success over the past decade has been our willingness to make bold moves, even when they cost big money," Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said this fall at the United States Telecom Association annual convention in Las Vegas.
