Verizon Stops Selling DSL in Fiber Markets, Eyes More FiOS Price Hikes
Verizon Stops Selling DSL in Fiber FiOS Markets
Verizon Stops Selling DSL in Fiber Markets, Eyes More FiOS Price Hikes
According to Verizon Communications CFO, Fran Shammo, Verizon will be aiming to improve its wire-line unit’s profitability by no longer selling Verizon DSL over copper in areas where FiOS is available and hiking the price of FiOS bundles in the next two quarters.
In the first quarter of 2012, Verizon added 193,000 FiOS Internet and 180,000 TV subscribers but it also lost 89,000 DSL subscribers and 440,000 voice connections. Shammo supported Verizon’s plans to migrate from copper to fiber in FiOS markets as a way of providing long term benefits in operating costs. He said that in the long term it is better to take most of these customers from Verizon’s copper network to FiOS network. The benefit would be a decrease in the repairs and maintenance over time and an increase in the upselling capacity as these customers are included in the FiOS network and then in the linear TV product offered by Verizon. In the trials conducted by Verizon last year where it had migrated customers from copper to fiber, the company is beginning to see a 30% sale upgrade on those customers.
Bill Kula, Verizon’s spokesman said that for customers who are price sensitive and want to manage their monthly broadband expenses in FiOS only areas, the company offers a 3 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up FiOS Internet for $39.99 per month on a one year contract standalone basis.
On the other hand Verizon is raising the lease fees for FiOS TV DVRs by 6% in the New York metro area from $15.99 to $16.99 per month and the set top box rates by 17% to $6.99 monthly.
Shammo added that during the next two quarters Verizon would hike prices of several FiOS packages and rebundle certain packages to make them more profitable depending on the tier consumers pick.
At&t recently also started switching all of their At&t DSL customers to their fiber optic U-Verse product. We wrote about this in a earlier ISP 1 blog post. At&t Forcing DSL Customers To U-Verse – http://isp1.us/blog/att-forcing-dsl-customers-to-u-verse/
The very active At&t post has dozens of comments from former At&t DSL customers.
Categories: At&t, DSL, Fiber Optic, FiOS, U-Verse, Verizon Tags: AT&T U-Verse, DSL, fiber optic Internet, Verizon FiOS
Optical Delusion? Fiber Booms Again, Despite Bust
Optical Fiber Booms Again
Optical Delusion? Fiber Booms Again, Despite Bust
According to the research firm CRU group around 19 million miles of optical fiber were installed last year in the US, the most since the Internet bubble burst in 2000. Corning Inc, a leading maker of optical fiber has sold record volumes in the past year and has told customers it cannot guarantee that their orders would be filled.
These are still early days but some experts are calling this as a new boom for the fiber optics industry which has been through a rough patch till late. The demand has risen primarily due to exploding Internet video traffic, requests from the finance sector for faster trading connections and increasing mobile phone use which needs to be tied to land line networks. The 2009 economic stimulus package had set aside $7.2 billion for telecom projects also helped.
Some skeptics have cautioned whether there is enough demand to build more. On one hand trading firms are ready to pay more for faster connections and on the other hand some worry that new government regulations regarding high frequency trading could shrink the market. Skeptics also query how high mobile traffic would materialize given the huge cost involved in delivering wireless data.
Cisco systems predict that mobile data traffic will almost double by the year 2015. But Andrew Odlyzko, a math professor at the University of Minnesota who had warned almost a decade ago about slower Internet growth than expected, says the predictions about skyrocketing mobile traffic are overly optimistic. He is of the opinion that mobile bandwidth is expensive to increase. Each cell phone data connection runs through a phone company’s cell phone tower into a landline telecom network.
Although there is a buzz in the fiber Internet industry, some companies are not overly excited as they are wary of the 2001 collapse which wiped out millions of dollars in stock value.
At&t U-Verse Fiber Internet
Verizon FiOS Fiber Internet
Categories: At&t, Fiber Optic, FiOS, Internet News, U-Verse, Verizon Tags: AT&T U-Verse, fiber optic Internet, Verizon FiOS
TV Coming to Xbox via Verizon FiOS Internet
Verizon FiOS Internet
TV Coming to Xbox via Verizon FiOS Internet
Microsoft and Xbox are teaming together to offer television to Xbox LIVE subscribers. Verizon FiOS Internet and TV access will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers. Customers will be able to watch a variety of live television channels straight from their game console. Another cool feature is that customers will be able to integrate their TV experience using the Xbox 360 Kinect.
Starting next month there will be an application on the Xbox dashboard where customers can select TV and stream 26 live channels straight to their TV from their console. There is no need for a cable box or any other hardware. In order for the service to be available customers must be subscribed to both Verizon FiOS Television and Internet.
According to StopTheCap!, Verizon is offering a discount.
“New customers who sign up online for FiOS TV service can take advantage of a special offer that includes triple-play service with FiOS TV, FiOS 35/35 Mbps Internet service and Verizon voice service, starting at $89.99 a month. In addition, the offer includes a 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership and the “Xbox Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary” game. The discounted offer is available through Jan. 21.”
The actual full price cost for this service as well as usage limits have not yet been released, but we are looking forward to finding out more from Verizon on this feature sometime later this month.
Categories: FiOS, Verizon Tags: Verizon FiOS, Xbox
New Verizon FiOS Deals for September
Verizon FiOS Deals
New Verizon FiOS Deals for September.
As of September 11, 2011 Verizon is beginning to offer some very competitive and money saving deals on it’s FiOS Internet.
Two of the major deals that are available to the public as of today are the FiOS Triple Play Deal, and the FiOS Double Play Deal.
Both have no term agreements or contracts. These packages are meant to appeal to those who want to try Verizon’s services without dealing with complicated contracts and commitment.
Verizon’s FiOS Triple Play Deal:
The Triple Play Deal includes Verizon FiOS Television, Internet, and Phone. The price? Only $89.99 per month for 2 years with no contract. A free wireless router is included if you order online and there are no activation fees.
Verizon’s FiOS Double Play Deal:
With home phones becoming obsolete and most companies forcing a phone line into the “bundle” package, it was about time someone came out with a deal for only cable and internet. Verizon is really stepping up to the plate with their Double Play Deal, which includes TV and Internet for $74.99 per month for the first year.
Both deals are available as of 9/11/11 and extend throughout mid November. FiOS is fairly new, but quickly expanding so be aware that there are some neighborhoods that have yet to gain access to it. Verizon also offers many Wireless Internet Plans for those who are always on the go.
Categories: FiOS, Internet News, Verizon Tags: Verizon FiOS
Comcast Usage Caps Ruining Families?
Comcast Usage Caps
Comcast Usage Caps Ruining Families?
Jrodefeld and his family have been loyal Comcast customers for over seven years. The family was recently told that if they exceed their 250 GB usage cap once more than they will be suspended from Internet service for a whole year.
Comcast claims Jrodefeld and many of their other subscribers are “Internet Abusers” for exceeding the usage limits the company has put in place. Jrodefeld and other families claim that they shouldn’t have to monitor their Internet usage for fear of being “cut off” when they are paying good money to receive the services.
According to Jrodefeld
“In my house there are five people with five computers, several smartphones, a Playstation 3 and AppleTV all connected to the Internet through a wireless router. Several of us are tech minded people who need to be able to send and receive large amounts of data through our network and publish material on the Internet.
Not only that, but I have (legally) downloaded films through places like iTunes and downloaded games and software in the same manner. I create digital content (web pages, animation, other content) and publish it on the Internet. Not only that, but I send this content to friends and colleagues through web hosting sites like Netload. I download games and watch streaming Netflix through my Playstation 3.
I think it is absolutely beyond belief that Comcast can offer the speeds that they do, with the evolving demands of the Internet and modern digital demands that people have, and think that 250 GB is sufficient for even the moderately tech savvy user. This data cap is absolutely horrible and is an insult to my family and an abomination given how much money we have given to Comcast over the last several years for their service, amounting in the thousands of dollars. Not to mention that we signed up with the idea of getting an “always on”, unlimited service.”
Comcast claims that most of their users stay far under 10 GB each month. There is no demographic user breakdown for what the “average” customer’s household is like. Jrodefeld and other unhappy customers feel that “it is ridiculous to put our families into this one size fits all Internet experience”.
While Comcast Cable hasn’t yet found a solution to the problem experienced by Jrodefeld many customers are switching to business plans to avoid the consequences of exceeding usage limits.
Verizon FiOS seems to be the best alternative for families in Jrodefeld’s situation because the company offers unlimited Internet service.
Categories: Cable Internet, Comcast, FiOS, Internet News Tags: Comcast, Usage Caps, Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS Internet Towers
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS Towers
Neighbors and historians alike have been furious at Verizon recently due to the unexpected and unannounced installation of 20 foot black fiberglass poles in the beautiful, Victorian style neighborhood of Flatbush, Brooklyn. According to Flatbush residents, no one was aware of who implemented the poles or what their purpose was.
It turns out that these poles are soon to hold boxes for Verizon’s FiOS home service. Apparently AT&T has also recently been looked down upon in certain American neighborhoods for their installation of visually unappealing 6 foot tall metal boxes in front of homes and on street corners for their ATT UVerse service. Verizon was trying to be considerate by “hiding” these fiberglass monoliths in areas with high volumes of greenery.
According to John J. Bonomo, Verizon’s director of media relations, “the poles provide an interface between underground cables and above-ground wires that thread through backyards”. Bonomo recognized the way AT&T does it attracts vandals and graffiti. Verizon’s solution tries to hide the unsightly boxes in the canopy of neighborhood trees, to varying degrees of success. It also prevents anyone other than Spiderman from stealing equipment inside.
Bonomo claims that Verizon got the go ahead from The Department of National Transportation. They must have overlooked the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which works on keeping historic American neighborhoods preserved. Neighborhoods like Flatbush. There has been talk that the commission will soon make some sort of agreement with Verizon.
Citizens of Brooklyn have made it clear that they are very excited that Verizon is now offering FiOS in their city, especially because they will be able to compete with Cablevision, but they do not feel that installing random huge black poles in its most historic and architecturally beautiful community is the way to go about it.
New York Broadband
Categories: FiOS, Internet News, Verizon Tags: Flatbush, Verizon FiOS
