Verizon Communications Inc. added more than 66,000 Massachusetts subscribers to its fiber-optic television service last year, pushing past cable provider RCN Corp. but still trailing far behind Comcast Corp.'s 1.66 million customers.
More than 78,000 customers subscribed to Verizon's fiber optic, or FiOS, TV service in 61 Massachusetts communities at the end of 2007, according to a filing with the state Department of Telecommunications and Cable. The filing contained estimates, to be finalized in March, of each cable provider's subscriber base.
The company also said yesterday it would make FiOS TV service available in the towns of Wayland and Norfolk.
Nationwide, Verizon said in its latest earnings report that it had 943,000 subscribers to FiOS TV service in 13 states in 2007.
While the gains are big for Verizon, which reported to the state that it had only 12,000 FiOS TV customers in Massachusetts at the end of 2006, it is nowhere near the state's dominant cable company, Comcast. Comcast stayed steady, with 1.66 million Bay State customers at the end of 2007.
"In a highly competitive marketplace, Comcast continues to be the leader as we deliver consumers the best value and the most innovative suite of products," spokeswoman Shawn Feddeman wrote in an e-mail.
RCN Corp., which last year said it would expand its presence in Massachusetts by expanding service into Dorchester and Milton, reported losing nearly 5,000 cable TV subscribers - dropping to less than 64,000 in Massachusetts.
According to the data, RCN lost customers in every community it serves except Boston - including places where it now competes with Comcast and Verizon.
"This was not unexpected - most of the losses came in places where FiOS has entered," said Ed O'Hara, vice president and treasurer of RCN, who added that the company will begin to offer service in Milton this month, as planned. "Going forward, we're looking to do things to retain that customer base."
Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com.
