Verizon Continues FiOS Roll

New rollouts for Verizon Communications Inc.’s FiOS fiber-to-the-home service are coming in almost daily, and the latest in the string is a new TV franchise in Florida and an expanded network buildout reaching Guilderland, N.Y.

In Florida, the Bradenton City Council approved a 15-year video-franchise agreement paving the way for Verizon’s FiOS TV service, which will compete with cable-TV service offered by Comcast Corp.

The west-central Florida community of 54,000 residents joins a list of FiOS TV franchises in the Sunshine State, including Manatee County, Temple Terrace and Hillsborough County.

Residents in the south part of Manatee County can order FiOS TV now, and Verizon expects to roll out the TV service in Bradenton sometime this year once construction on the fiber-optic network there is complete.

In exchange for the franchise, Verizon will supply financial support for government-access channels, including a $25,000 commitment to pay for television equipment to support the channels.

Meanwhile, Verizon has extended its FiOS network build in New York to cover the community of Guilderland in Albany County. The telco said it has plans to reach 120 communities in New York state with the network, including the fellow Albany County communities of Colonie and Bethlehem.

There is no exact timeline for when the network construction will be complete, but Verizon expects the work to be done this year, according to a spokesman.

Once the network is complete, Verizon plans to start with high-speed-Internet service in those communities, then seek franchise agreements to offer FiOS TV service.