Big announcement by Verizon! (FiOS)

[IcEWoLF]

Verizon Extends Groundbreaking 50/20 Mbps FiOS Internet Service to Entire FiOS Footprint

Verizon President and COO Denny Strigl Announces Groundbreaking 50/20 and 20/20 Mbps FiOS Internet Services Will Be Available to More Than 10 Million Homes and Small Businesses
June 18, 2008

Media Contact: Cliff Lee, 518-396-1095
Bobbi Henson, 972-718-2225
LAS VEGAS - Beginning next week, Verizon will make available to more than 10 million homes and businesses the nation's fastest consumer broadband connections, with download speeds up to 50 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds up to 20 Mbps.
In remarks prepared for delivery today at the NXTcomm conference here, Verizon President and Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl announced that the company is expanding its industry-leading FiOS Internet connections of 50/20, 20/20, 20/5 and 10/2 Mbps across all of Verizon's FiOS Internet service footprint in 16 states.
Only Verizon delivers ultra-high-speed broadband straight to customers' homes over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. Although the network already reaches 10 million homes and business, it will reach more than 18 million by 2010.
"The Verizon network is delivering broadband speeds that are unmatched by any competitor," Strigl said. "As our customers shoot and send their own photos and movies, work at home more often, and expand their home networks, they love the faster speeds FiOS delivers."
Verizon had already offered the 50/20 Mbps and 20/20 Mbps services in its FiOS markets in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. The company is now expanding those offerings to new Verizon FiOS customers in parts of California, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington, replacing existing offerings of 30/15 Mbps and 15/15 Mbps services, respectively.
The mid-tier connection speed in those markets for new customers is being increased from 15/2 Mbps to 20/5 Mbps, and the basic service tier is being increased from 5/2 Mbps to 10/2 Mbps. Existing FiOS Internet customers who are interested in the new speed options can call Verizon for information about the new plans.
Strigl said in his remarks, "The appetite for bandwidth shows no signs of slowing down. Neither will we. We've already had successful trials of the 100-megabit home, which will be a reality faster than anybody thinks."
[NOTE: To view customer impressions of FiOS 50 Mbps Internet service, go to http://verizon.wieck.com.]
Verizon's 50/20 FiOS Internet connection is the fastest available to U.S. consumers, and the company's 20/20 symmetrical service is the first of its kind commercially available to U.S. consumers on a mass scale. Pioneering a new category of broadband for the American consumer, Verizon's symmetrical FiOS provides the ultra-fast, two-way speeds crucial for such burgeoning online activities as video conferencing, social networking and super-fast uploading of electronic photo albums or home videos, as well as multi-player gaming and online work collaboration.
At 50 Mbps, downloading a 5 GB (gigabyte) file, such as a 112-minute, high-definition movie purchased online, takes approximately 13.3 minutes, while a 50 MB (megabyte), or 60-minute, Web video takes 8 seconds, and a 5 MB MP3 music file takes less than eight-tenths of a second.
Using a 20 Mbps upstream broadband connection, a consumer could upload a 250 megabyte (MB) file of 200 photos in about 90 seconds, instead of the roughly 47 minutes it takes over a 768 kilobit-per-second (Kbps) upstream connection. A 500 MB file, such as 400 digital photos or a medical imaging data file, can be uploaded in less than four minutes, compared with about 90 minutes over a 768 Kbps connection. A 3 gigabyte (GB) file, such as a one-hour family video shot with a high-definition video camera, can be uploaded in around 20 minutes, compared with more than nine hours with 768 Kbps upstream.
FiOS Internet 50/20 Mbps service is available in New York and Virginia for $89.95 and elsewhere for $139.95 a month with an annual service plan. The 20/20 Mbps FiOS Internet service is available in all FiOS markets for $64.99 a month with an annual service plan. FiOS Internet service is also available as part of a discounted bundle of multiple Verizon services. More information is available at www.verizon.com/fios or by calling 888-GET-FiOS (888-438-3467).
In May 2004 Verizon became the first large U.S. company to launch mass-scale deployment of fiber-optic connections all the way to customers' homes. In addition to offering the fastest broadband speeds available in the United States today, Verizon also became the first major telecom company to utilize a hybrid RF (radio frequency) overlay and IP (Internet protocol) approach to deliver a robust video service to consumers. This provides a highly competitive alternative to services offered by incumbent cable TV companies.
At the end of the first quarter 2008, 1.8 million Verizon customers received their broadband service over Verizon's all-fiber network, and more than 1.2 million customers had subscribed to FiOS TV.
* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary based on factors including computer configuration and network/Internet congestion.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 67 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employed a diverse workforce of approximately 232,000 as of the end of the first quarter 2008 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

This is huge, Once FiOS is here I will be saying goodbye to AT&T and Charter.

 

[SatinKzo]

Can anyone show me the sites out there that will allow me to actually use the full feature speeds Fios is offering? I rarely find a site that lets me download much over 1meg speeds. Sure I would welcome some increased uploads over my current 1.5meg, but what sites allow uses to up load at 20meg?

 

[AllieVi]

Can anyone show me the sites out there that will allow me to actually use the full feature speeds Fios is offering? I rarely find a site that lets me download much over 1meg speeds. Sure I would welcome some increased uploads over my current 1.5meg, but what sites allow uses to up load at 20meg?

I have FiOS at the 5/2 level, and some sites do download at the 5 Mb/s speed (typically downloads from software providers). I don’t sense that I ever get uploads at 2Mb/s, though.

Like you say, there’s little incentive to go for the highest rates until destination computers can keep up with it. I imagine sites that download movies will want to install the necessary hardware to make the experience more acceptable.

 

[SatinKzo]

Wow, what sites are giving you those download speeds? Microsoft is the best one I ever get fast downloads from, but usually just over 1meg.

The only way I see me needing all that bandwidth at a home is when my kids really get into computers and with 5 or so PC's running stuff simultaneously then the extra room would be nice. But right now with 10/1.5 fro Uverse, we can stream netflix, run bittorrent downloads, browse heavy bandwidth pages, online game, and surf the web while uploading hundreds of pictures to our developer site and not run into any issues or slowdowns. The only part that gets affected is the upload right now and it is minimal.

 

[Juan]

Can anyone show me the sites out there that will allow me to actually use the full feature speeds Fios is offering? I rarely find a site that lets me download much over 1meg speeds. Sure I would welcome some increased uploads over my current 1.5meg, but what sites allow uses to up load at 20meg?

yes speedtest.verizon.net

a couple others are speakeasy.net

and the best one out there

http://ciseweb100.cise-nsf.gov:7123/

 

[Hemi 6.1]

This is just Internet, Correct?
Not Fios TV?

 

[navychop]

Step on me, Verizon, PLEASE! I'd love to be in your Fios footprint! Thankfully, they're digging up yards just a few blocks away. Maybe I'll see them within a year.

 

[SatinKzo]

yes speedtest.verizon.net

a couple others are speakeasy.net

and the best one out there

http://ciseweb100.cise-nsf.gov:7123/

Juan, I meant sites that are not speedtests. I don't care to run speedtests all day just to use my max speeds.

 

[IcEWoLF]

I am very annoyed that Verizon is only expanding slowly in the East coast, they aren't coming west at all.
Its been years now, and the company itself is slow.
Look at U-Verse, they are expanding very fast no problem.
If Verizon takes another 10 years to come to the west coast, the whole purpose of FiOS will fail.

 

[rad]

I am very annoyed that Verizon is only expanding slowly in the East coast, they aren't coming west at all.
Its been years now, and the company itself is slow.
Look at U-Verse, they are expanding very fast no problem.
If Verizon takes another 10 years to come to the west coast, the whole purpose of FiOS will fail.

What parts of the west are you talking about? They are putting FIOS up in parts of their service area in Texas. You have UVerse which means you're in AT&T terratory then chance are very slim that Verizon would overbuild your location for FIOS.

 

[Juan]

I am very annoyed that Verizon is only expanding slowly in the East coast, they aren't coming west at all.
Its been years now, and the company itself is slow.
Look at U-Verse, they are expanding very fast no problem.
If Verizon takes another 10 years to come to the west coast, the whole purpose of FiOS will fail.

huh where do u live?? They are in california and texas and select states in between

 

[IcEWoLF]

I doubt it be by the states, probably by the towns..
I am in Reno,Nevada.

 

[JAG72]

I doubt it be by the states, probably by the towns..
I am in Reno,Nevada.

If you are in a AT&T area I would not hold your breath in ever seeing Verizon offering FIOS.

 

[IcEWoLF]

If you are in a AT&T area I would not hold your breath in ever seeing Verizon offering FIOS.

Isn't AT&T everywhere?

 

[navychop]

You may be thinking of the old AT&T Long Distance. AT&T is the ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) for certain geographic areas, as is Verizon and some others. In other words, AT&T is the local phone company. It is very rare for there to be more than one local phone company. But there are other "phone companies" such as Cavalier, a CLEC, that repackage and resell services.

It is quite unlikely that Verizon would offer Fios, i.e., phone service, to places not in their geographic area, where they are the ILEC.

 

[IcEWoLF]

You may be thinking of the old AT&T Long Distance. AT&T is the ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) for certain geographic areas, as is Verizon and some others. In other words, AT&T is the local phone company. It is very rare for there to be more than one local phone company. But there are other "phone companies" such as Cavalier, a CLEC, that repackage and resell services.

It is quite unlikely that Verizon would offer Fios, i.e., phone service, to places not in their geographic area, where they are the ILEC.

Before AT&T there was Nevada Bell and then SBC and now the new AT&T.
Crap, I'll be stuck with AT&T for life until Charter comes up with DSIOC 3.0

 

[JAG72]

Isn't AT&T everywhere?

Ditto what Navy said.

 

[AllieVi]

Wow, what sites are giving you those download speeds? Microsoft is the best one I ever get fast downloads from, but usually just over 1meg. …

Microsoft almost always transfers to me at 5 Mb/s.

When you see the download speed in the box, don’t forget to make a speed adjustment. The numbers provided are megabytes per second, not megabits. My downloads will show something like 640 MB/s – I multiply that number by 8 bits-per-byte to get the speed (5120 Mb/s in that case).

 

[JAG72]

Before AT&T there was Nevada Bell and then SBC and now the new AT&T.

Those are basically the same company. Nevada Bell was bought (or merged) by SBC which then merged with AT&T.

 

[Juan]

You may be thinking of the old AT&T Long Distance. AT&T is the ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) for certain geographic areas, as is Verizon and some others. In other words, AT&T is the local phone company. It is very rare for there to be more than one local phone company. But there are other "phone companies" such as Cavalier, a CLEC, that repackage and resell services.

It is quite unlikely that Verizon would offer Fios, i.e., phone service, to places not in their geographic area, where they are the ILEC.

They are in a couple places in Cali and New Jersey