WARWICK – Verizon Communications has been granted final approval by the R.I. Division of Public Utilities and Carriers to begin offering television service via its fiber-optic network in Service Area 6.

The area includes Warwick, West Warwick, East Greenwich, Coventry, West Greenwich, Exeter and North Kingstown.

“When we launch FiOS TV next month, it’s going to knock the socks off consumers,” said Donna Cupelo, Verizon’s regional president for Rhode Island and Massachusetts, citing picture quality, the analog and HD channel lineup and the on-demand offerings. “It’s a service that leapfrogs the competition. … We’re excited to get started.”

Verizon, which has been building an all-fiber-optic network to deliver telephone, Internet and video services, began seeking approval for the launch 16 months ago.

In March, it filed an application with the DPUC to begin offering FiOS TV to roughly 158,000 households in Service Areas 2, 3 and 8, which include Charlestown, Cranston, Foster, Hopkinton, Johnston, Narragansett, North Providence, Providence, Richmond, Scituate, South Kingstown and Westerly.

The company already has been granted FiOS TV franchises in 47 Massachusetts communities and in portions of California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is a New York-based Dow 30 company that delivers broadband and other communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers through its Verizon Wireless and Verizon Wireline divisions. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.