Cable competition hits South Brunswick.
By: Joseph Harvie
Residents will get a second choice for a cable television provider.
Verizon is in the process of installing a fiber-optic system in town that will bring broadband Internet, phone and cable television to residents who opt for it, Verizon spokesman Rich Young said Tuesday, and areas where lines have been hung can sign up for the service now, he said.
Fiber optic systems, FiOS, uses pulses of light traveling on strands of glass fibers, instead of copper cables with lower bandwidth.
"The great thing about the announcement is that people have a cable choice now and competition has arrived in New Jersey," Mr. Young said. "Now, companies are competing for consumers, and the consumers will be the beneficiaries."
Mr. Young said Tuesday that the entire township is not hooked up to the fiber optic system yet, but Verizon workers will continue to work in the area and tie more streets and neighborhoods into the network. He said that the work is usually done street by street and development by development. There is no date set for when the entire town will be hooked into the network.
Prior to Verizon FiOS, residents were only able to get cable television through Comcast, because the township had a contract with the company to provide cable to residents.
Verizon was granted permission to begin providing cable television service after the state Board of Public Utilities approved its statewide franchise in December. Gov. Jon Corzine signed a new law in August that allowed companies to provide the service statewide. Previously companies needed to obtain permission one municipality at a time before providing the service.
Verizon FiOS is available in 168 municipalities so far, including parts of South Brunswick, Mr. Young said.
He said the biggest difference between FiOS and other cable providers is that it is the only one that brings fiber optics directly to a customer.
"The other companies might say that they are run on fiber optics," Mr. Young said. "But, they are only partially fiber. We’re the only ones certified to bring fiber optics right up to the home."
The service does include local programming, Mr. Young said. He said that the system offers 200 digital channels and 25 high-definition channels. In addition, FiOS also has an 8,600-movie library on-demand service where customers can rent movies, 60 percent of which are free, Mr. Young said. Verzion also offers several packages that would include phone, internet and cable television service all on one bill, Mr. Young said.
In addition, Verizon is also offering Widgets, which allows users to click on an icon on their television and get weather and traffic for their area, Mr. Young said.
Mr. Young said that people who want to know if they can get hooked into the FiOS network can go to the Web site www.verizon.com/FiOS and enter their phone number in the space provided, or call 1-877-4-FIOS-TV.

