Verizon Fios Won't Be Coming To Wayne Anytime Soon

WAYNE, NJ - Verizon has once again declined to bring its cable TV and high-speed internet services to Wayne, according to township officials.

Despite more than a dozen requests in recent years from the township, the telecommunications company told officials it has no plans to expand its Fios network, leaving the township’s 18,000 homes with one option for cable television service: Optimum.

However, Mayor Christopher Vergano said residents aren’t happy with Optimum and his office has fielded complaints that “their service is terrible, their rates are extremely high and they have a monopoly on Wayne.”

The feedback has prompted the mayor to contact other providers annually about coming to Wayne. During the Feb. 5 township council meeting, Vergano shared Verizon's response to his most recent request.

“Verizon does not currently plan to expand its Fios TV service footprint in Wayne Township,” Vergano read. “The company remains focused on continuing to meet its franchise operations and delivering competitive services and enhanced consumer choice within the areas where the service is available.

Vergano said officials "have absolutely nothing to do with why FIOS is not coming to Wayne" and have "have tried repeatedly."

Fios is available in nine states and has more than 10 million combined video and internet subscribers, according to a Verizon operating report. Its service is centered in several large metropolitan areas, such as New York City and Washington, D.C.

Last year, Wayne Township Council passed a resolution asking the state to review the 2006 Cable TV Act to see if it could find a way to get Verizon to perform more fiber upgrades in New Jersey.

In 2006,then Gov. John Corzine got Verizon to commit to wiring 70 communities across the state, but Wayne was not among them.

The telecommunications company said it would expand its fiber network to all county seats, as well as areas with more than 7,111 residents per square mile. In Passaic County, those towns were Haledon, Passaic, Paterson and Prospect Park.

NorthJersey.com reported last year that Verizon expanded its service to those “must-build towns,” as well as portions of 302 other municipalities. But the company’s expansion “dropped considerably” between 2010 and 2013, adding only three new towns to the network.

Following October 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, Verizon stopped installing in urban areas of the state, the newspaper reported.

A representative from Verizon could not be reached for comment early Wednesday afternoon.