Verizon bringing FiOS to Belmont

The town of Belmont is the 19th municipality in Massachusetts to strike a deal allowing Verizon Communications Inc. to offer its new fiber optic subscription television service there.

Belmont granted Verizon a cable-TV franchise, a deal that spells out the terms under which a provider like Verizon can pipe its video signals into homes in cities and towns. Franchise agreements are required by law for cable providers, though they exempt satellite services like Dish Network and DirecTV, and they often include provisions for technology funding for schools plus regular cash payments.

Verizon now plans to aggressively market FiOS to the estimated 10,000 homes in Belmont.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)