Verizon begins FiOS TV service to central New York, goes head-to-head with Time Warner Cable

Verizon begins cable TV service in central NY

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Cable competition has come to central New York, where Verizon is now offering cable television service to customers in eight communities in the Syracuse area.

Seven of the communities are in Onondaga County, which had been the exclusive domain of Time Warner Cable. The other is in neighboring Cayuga County. The service is not yet available in Syracuse.

Verizon, which announced the television service Monday, already sells telephone and Internet services on a fiber optic network it began building in the region four years ago.

Industry experts say the competition probably won’t dramatically affect prices, but likely will benefit customers through better channel lineups, enhanced picture quality, improved on-demand selections, novel services and faster Internet speeds.