US Telco Support > Verizon > Verizon Fiber Optics > Verizon Reaches Agreement with Montgomery County

Verizon Reaches Agreement with Montgomery County

»ga3.org/mdtv/montco.html

There’s good news regarding Verizon’s efforts to deliver FiOS TV to residents of Montgomery County.

Verizon and county officials have reached agreement on a 15-year cable franchise. The agreement must be approved by the County Council.

Verizon’s fiber network will pass about half the households in the county by the end of this year. If the council approves the agreement, Verizon plans to begin offering FiOS TV to these households by early next year. The agreement also includes an aggressive timetable for further deployment in the county. Verizon has already placed 29 million feet of fiber optic cable and created 600 new full-time positions to build and support the FiOS network in Montgomery County.

Verizon is eager to work with the council to bring this matter to conclusion so that Verizon can bring the many benefits of choice and competition to Montgomery County residents as quickly as possible.

To see the franchise agreement online, visit www.verizon.com/maryland or Montgomery County’s website.

Thank you for your support of Verizon’s effort to bring cable competition to Montgomery County.

Wow...a treasure trove of information. It looks like the county got all its ANALOG PEGs (and more?); no doubt at the expense of programming the more people would watch.

Rockville is included in the franchise agreement, but VZ won't work there due to the right-of-way fees, and the franchise contains an exception such that it could never happen if VZ can't reach agreement with Rockville re: ROW fees.

And Gaithersburg is the big void in the middle of the map (Exhibit B, separate PDF)...

Wrong about Gaithersburg. Their PEG is on the list of 13. I forgot that the county negotiates on their behalf. But what is up with the bullseye "Contiguous Service Area"? Looks like Gaithersburg designated a "ring" that must be 100% served before or at the time Verizon offers service anywhere else in the area. (?)

RKVLMDMR (Montrose Road) is middle. I guess it's time to update the map. Looks like SLSPMDSS and CHCHMDBE are in the "middle" area too.

reply to bbarrett

reply to cbrain
Direct negations took over a year and went nowhere. Litigation took what ... 2.5 months? It would seem future applicants for Montgomery County franchises should start with the federal court.

reply to cbrain
Verizon's announcement is out. »newscenter.verizon.com/press-rel···-on.html

reply to cbrain
Thanks for the "heads up"!!

I've been loving my FiOS though I've been rather silent since I got it.. Work has been kicking my butt of late.

reply to JohnA
Thanks, but the link seems not to function correctly
--
---Barney

Works for me.

Doesn't work for me either.

Works for me.

Maybe it only works for people who aren't yet on FiOS?

reply to cbrain
Any idea of how long it will take MC Council to approve the agreement???

Any other hurdles to Verizon providing service after MC Council approves???

And How long after that might Verizon offer service??

It depends on where you are.

According to the agreement as it is, Verizon will provide service to a "significant" portion of the initial service area within 1 year of the contract's effective date. (I'm guessing that means everyone with a density of 30 or more homes per mile). As far as I know, all the COs listed in blue on the 2nd map I posted are already lit, so the only reason I could see for Verizon to stagger the availability would be due to personel and equipment on hand. It would surly be chaos if they opened it up to that entire area all at once. But the agreement would allow them to take up to a year to offer service in the initial area.

I posted the requirements for the middle areas above. * notices the specific mention of RKVLMDMR (aka Montrose) * I'd guess Silver Spring will get lit within two years of the effective date. Since we have protection from Verizon and their upgrade in Rockville, I'm guessing we'll never get it. Maybe it's time to hunt down the offices of the Rockville DTS and stage a protest.

reply to BarneyBadAss
This link will work just as well for those of us on FiOS (it's a PDF version of the press release): »www22.verizon.com/about/communit···inal.pdf

reply to cbrain
We live in Potomac near Tuckerman Lane (fairly high density -- 1/4 acre lots). Our neighborhood has been served by FIOS internet for more than a year. Are we likely to be in the initial service area? How do I find out which CO serves us? Could it be the one at the intersection of Bradley and 7 Locks? What's the code for that CO?

rosh400 , the clli code for the Bradley CO is BTHSMDBD. If you have phone service from Verizon, and the exchange is one of these, then BTHSMDBD is your CO:
Serves: 301-365 301-299 301-469 301-765 301-767 301-983

Since you already have FiOS internet, then I'd say you're in the initial area for sure.

All,

I encourage everyone to write to the MOCO Council and tell them to approve the franchise sooner rather than later. If you have time you can also go to their next Town Hall Meeting on 9/20 in Damascus to express your desires/concerns, etc..

»www.montgomerycountymd.gov/conte···scus.pdf

Just in case anyone forgot the council's contact info:

county.council _at_ montgomerycountymd.gov
100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850
(240) 777-7900 (voice)
(240) 777-7914 (TTY for hearing impaired)
(240) 777-7888 (fax)

Details for specific Councilmembers are here:
»www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltm···tact.asp

Are you going to the town hall meeting, achilleX4 ?