Manassas Signs Up Cable Competitors

Comcast, Verizon Agreements Include Customer Service Provisions

Cable TV competition is coming to Manassas.

The Manassas City Council unanimously approved agreements Monday with Comcast and Verizon. "Anyone who wanted to could have put in a bid," Manassas City Manager Lawrence D. Hughes said. "As of now we just have two, which is 100 percent more than we had before. I think the competition will serve to strengthen both companies' customer service."

Hughes said the new franchise agreements include provisions for customer service, partially because of numerous complaints filed against Comcast last year.

"Comcast worked very closely with the Manassas franchise authority to create an agreement that we feel is fair to both Comcast and our customers," Comcast spokeswoman Jaye Linnen said. "From a competitive standpoint, we are very confident in our network, and in the products and services we deliver today throughout Northern Virginia."

Comcast has served Manassas since 1986, and Verizon has offered local phone service for about two decades and Internet for one, representatives said.

Both companies will offer upgraded Internet and phone service. Verizon is also offering fiber-optic, or FiOS, networking, which the company is rolling out across Northern Virginia, company spokesman Harry Mitchell said.

Under the state franchise agreement, Verizon spokeswoman Catherine Hogan-Lewis said, the company has begun installing cable. The company will alert residents and will restore yards and driveways that are disrupted, she said.

Hogan-Lewis said Verizon plans to finish the work within three years.