Verizon Rolls FiOS TV Into R.I.

Verizon Communications launched FiOS TV in Rhode Island, taking on incumbent cable provider Cox Communications in a battle for “Little Rhody.”

In the nation’s smallest state by area, the telco is initially making the service available to about 80,000 homes in seven communities. The launch makes the service now available to more than 3 million households in 11 states, according to Verizon.

In Rhode Island, FiOS TV is being offered in Coventry, East Greenwich, Exeter, North Kingstown, Warwick, West Greenwich and West Warwick (what Verizon calls “service area 6”). To date, Verizon said it has deployed more than 7 million feet of fiber in its fiber-to-the-home network in Rhode Island.

Later this year, Verizon plans to offer FiOS TV to another 158,000 households in Rhode Island's service areas 2, 3 and 8, which cover Charlestown, Cranston, Foster, Hopkinton, Johnston, Narragansett, North Providence, Providence, Richmond, Scituate, South Kingstown and Westerly.