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Verizon TV approved in Maryland

Marguerite Reardon Former senior reporter
Marguerite Reardon started as a CNET News reporter in 2004, covering cellphone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate and the consolidation of the phone companies.
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Marguerite Reardon

Verizon Communications' TV service will soon be coming to Maryland.

On Tuesday night, Howard County Council unanimously approved Verizon's video franchise application. Residents of Howard County will be the first in Maryland to have access to Verizon's new Fios TV service, which is delivered over a new fiber to the home network that Verizon is building throughout its territory.

Verizon has been installing fiber-optic cables in Columbia and parts of Ellicott City, two suburbs of Washington, D.C. in Maryland, since summer. Verizon said it expects to start offering service in Howard County by April with roughly 85 to 90 percent of the county covered within three years.

Comcast is the cable company serving this region.

Verizon has also won franchise agreements in Herndon, Va., another suburb of Washington, DC. And it's already providing TV service in Keller, Texas and Tempe Terrace, Florida.