Verizon to debut TV service in Keller, TX

It's finally happening. Verizon Communications will debut its long anticipated TV service this week.

The company will announce on Thursday that Keller, Texas will be the first town to offer its TV service, which runs over its FiOS fiber network. The company will hold a press conference on Thursday morning to describe the service and for the first time demonstrate it publicly. Keller was the first place that Verizon offered its FiOS broadband service last fall.

The website Broadband Reports published reports earlier this month about the trials in Keller, and it detailed pricing for the service. According to the post, Keller residents will pay about $12.95 for the basic service, which includes 15 to 35 channels and $39.95 for 160 channels. Add-on sports and movie packages can be added for $5.95 and $11.95 respectively.

Verizon scored a huge win earlier this summer when Texas passed a law that granted new TV service providers a statewide franchise. Without this, Verizon would have had to go to every city and town in the state to get permission to offer its service.

Obtaining local franchise agreements is the biggest hurdle Verizon faces in rolling out its service in other states, since the process as it stands today in most states significantly slows deployment. Other than the big win in Texas, Verizon has only secured a handful of agreements in California, Virginia and Florida. But more are on the way, and the company is lobbying state legilatures, as well as, the feds to make further changes in the law.