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Verizon, Temple Terrace reach deal on TV service

Contractors are still installing fiber optic lines, so it may be next year before residents can receive the TV signals.

By LOUIS HAU
Published May 19, 2005

Verizon Communications has reached a 15-year franchise agreement with the city of Temple Terrace, giving the phone company the right to launch a pay-TV service in the Hillsborough County municipality.

The agreement marks a small but decisive step forward in the company's plans to add cable-TV channels to its menu of telecommunications services to compete against cable companies such as Bright House Networks.

The Temple Terrace City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve the franchise agreement, making it the sixth municipality in the country to reach such a pact with Verizon.

But city residents will probably have to wait until early next year before they can sign up for Verizon TV. Contractors working on behalf of the phone company are still installing the fiber-optic lines that will deliver TV signals to customers. The company expects to have about 90 percent of the Temple Terrace fiber network completed by the end of the year, company spokesman Bob Elek said.

Verizon will begin selling enhanced Internet broadband services in parts of Temple Terrace in July or August, Elek said. The company's TV service is expected to be launched first in north Texas by the end of the summer, with other markets, including those in Florida, expected to follow in the first quarter of 2006, he said.

The Temple Terrace agreement is the first for Verizon in Florida. It requires the company to pay the city a $25,000 grant for its educational and government channel, as well as $10,000 for an institutional computer network to link schools, libraries and other public entities.

The agreement does not include information on pricing or anticipated channel offerings, but Verizon has reached commitments in recent months with content providers such as Starz Entertainment Group, NBC Universal Cable, Showtime Networks and other providers.

Temple Terrace also is in talks with Bright House to renew its franchise agreement. The talks are expected to be concluded this summer, City Manager Kim Leinbach said.

Verizon is negotiating franchise agreements with other Florida municipalities and counties and has made the most progress with Manatee County, the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County, Elek said.

"It's all going a little bit slower than we'd prefer, but we're hoping to make progress on that pretty soon," he said.

Louis Hau can be reached at hau@sptimes.com or 813 226-3404.

[Last modified May 19, 2005, 00:43:18]