UPDATE ON VERIZON FIOS CABLE TELEVISION
Verizon maintains a fiber-optic system on the telephone poles along major arteries throughout the town and a fully functioning system capable of delivering FIOS Internet and cable TV in the Goldens Bridge area. In fact, many Goldens Bridge residents are able to subscribe to FIOS Internet now.
Verizon does not need the Town's permission to provide Internet or telephone services in Lewisboro, but would need to enter a Franchise Agreement in order to provide cable TV services (generally wired video and audio channels presented in a linear fashion).
Verizon began negotiating a Franchise Agreement with Lewisboro a decade ago in a process strictly regulated by federal and state law.. At the time Verizon concluded agreements with several neighboring towns, but suspended negotiations in Lewisboro in order to address infrastructure changes needed to meet certain requirements of federal and state regulations, most especially, providing service for the KL school district for multiple towns (Lewisboro and portions of the Katonah, Pound Ridge and North Salem).
During this period, for unrelated financial reasons, Verizon as a corporate decision, suspended negotiating any new agreements in the State. In part because of business financial issues and also because in cities and towns where they were competing for subscribers they were unable to reach the market penetration they had hoped for. From time to time since then, members of the Cable Advisory Committee have reached out to Verizon unsuccessfully to see if it were possible to re-open negotiations.
As the future of TV makes clear, each year more and more people migrate from old-fashioned "linear" channel service to à la cart downloads of video content. This would appear to make it less and less likely that they will invest in cable television service again. Instead, it is likely that they will offer a FIOS video download service exempt from Town regulation sometime in the future.
Optimum (Altice USA, formerly Cablevision) 1 (914) 378 8900
Verizon.1 (877).262.8943
NYS Public Service: 1 (518) 474-7080