FOX 5 Money: FiOS Coming to D.C.

More choices, more competition. That's the promise held inside a bundle of thin, silvery wires known as Verizon's FiOS network.

After two years of negotiations, the D.C. Office of Cable Television and Verizon reached an agreement to bring the fiber optic cable, internet and phone service to all parts of the District.

It's a big deal to Anacostia residents. This often underserved and overlooked corner of the city will be the first hooked up-- by the end of this year.

"This area is the last to get anything, so it's a big, big change," said Alan Scott, as he watched Mayor Adrian Fenty's dog and pony show pull up to the 1600 block of 19th Street SE.

The mayor, city leaders, and Verizon DC's President Bill Roberts stood at a podium in front of a freshly mulched curbside and touted the benefits of FiOS.

"This partnership with Verizon illustrates the Districts commitment to ensuring D.C. residents have expanded options when it comes to cable television services. We look forward to bringing FiOS to all District neighborhoods in the near future," said Fenty.

The installation will be mostly above ground in the initial service area. The first three-year plan includes parts of the Barry Farm, Brightwood, Columbia Heights, Crestwood, Fort Stanton, Friendship Heights, Historic Anacostia, Petworth, Shepherd Park, Sheridan, Tenleytown, Van Ness and Woodley Park neighborhoods.

In six years, service will come to parts of Adams Morgan, Benning Heights, Buzzard Point, Deanwood, Dupont Circle, Eastland Gardens, Ft. McNair, Lincoln Heights, Logan Circle, Shaw, and the Southwest Waterfront.

Verizon will have to cover the rest of the city within nine years.

"We're going to have clarity, we're going to have choice, we're going to have competition" announced Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh. She said the Council was able to reduce the full rollout timeframe from 15 years to nine.

"The negotiations were very intense and there was a hard bargain," added Eric Richardson, Director of the DC Office of Cable Television.

In the franchise agreement, Verizon will make Educational and Government Access Channels available free of charge to carry video programming as directed by the District.

Verizon will also provide free cable service to at least 80 municipal buildings and community centers. Like its competitors, Comcast and RCN, the company agreed to pay 5 percent of its gross revenue to the city. But unlike the other two, Verizon is also paying a $200,000 "Franchise Award Fee" to the city, which it is allowed to recover from subscribers.

Leon Stitt, Alan Scott and his brother Juan Scott looked on with interest as the mayor and his counterparts donned Verizon hard hats and performed some ceremonial fiber optic cable connections that had set up across a folding table.

They didn't care much for the show and tell, but do hope the promise of increased competition pans out.

"I would hope that it would compete with the prices that are going on with the cable now" said Stitt.

"Maybe it will encourage people who don't have a computer to get one," mused Juan Scott.

All three said most people in the neighborhood do pay a decent amount of money to be connected, and welcome the subscriber offers they hope will follow all the work trucks.