Mayor Urges Verizon to Bring FiOS Service to Peabody

Peabody has seen Verizon bring its all-fiber FiOS network to surrounding communities, as well as to other Massachusetts cities with demographics similar to it.

However, Peabody residents have become increasingly frustrated that Comcast remains their only major option for high-speed internet and cable television service.

Mayor Ted Bettencourt said that his office has fielded thousands of calls, emails, and letters in the past year asking that Verizon FiOS expand to Peabody.

Bettencourt recently sent a letter to Verizon officials urging them to consider bringing its FiOS service to Peabody.

“FiOS is currently available in 113 communities in Massachusetts, including municipalities surrounding Peabody such as Andover, Danvers, Ipswich, Lynn, Marblehead, Middleton, North Andover, Swampscott, and Topsfield,” Bettencourt wrote. “Major urban cities that are similar to Peabody including Framingham, Malden, Melrose, and Newton also benefit from FiOS.”

In the letter, Bettencourt points to many of the reasons Verizon should bring FiOS to Peabody, touting the city as home to a thriving business community which employs thousands of local residents.

“To help continue Peabody’s economic expansion and to improve overall quality of life for its residents, we need a world-class communications infrastructure,” Bettencourt wrote. “Businesses benefit from truly high speed connections to suppliers and customers.”

The mayor said his administration is ready to work with Verizon to expedite the process and move forward with bringing an all-fiber FiOS service to Peabody.