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FiOS About to Get Even Faster For Some Customers

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News Posted: Wed, Jun 18 2008 8:13 AM

Verizon FiOS customers tend to be the envy of the rest of us non-FiOS, broadband users. Well, the envy quotient is about to go up another notch, as Verizon announced that as of next week, its 50/20 and 20/20 Mbps services will be available "across all of Verizon's FiOS Internet service footprint in 16 states." 

"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."

Keep in mind that these speeds are actually theoretical or maximum-sustainable speeds, and that actual real-world speeds will be at least somewhat lower. Regardless, these are not only the fastest download speeds available to broadband consumers, but the fastest upload speeds as well. Upstream communications has long been where broadband providers have skimped, as the vast majority of Web traffic has historically been downstream data. With VoIP, video conferencing, video and photo uploading, and telecommuting tasks all becoming increasingly ubiquitous, increasing the upstream bandwidth is now a necessity.

Maximum upstream speeds of 2Mbps are common from cable providers, while maximum DSL upstream speeds tend to top out at 768Kbps. That said, Verizon FiOS customers often have to pay more than their cable or DSL counterparts to get these faster speeds.

"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."

Verizon customers who bundle their FiOS serive with other Verizon services are eligible for discounts. The same usually goes for cable and DSL customers who bundle their services together. As a point of comparison for the cost of unbundled services, here is a comparison of the different services and their costs for a particular region of New Jersey:

Verizon FiOS  Comcast High-Speed Internet (Cable) Verizon DSL
 $64.99/month $52.95/month $29.99/month
 20Mbps upstream 16Mbps upstream 3Mbps upstream
 20Mbps downstream 2Mbps downstream 768Kbps downstream

We can be envious of our FiOS-enabled friends until the cows come home, but at least we can crow that we're paying less our broadband connections. Some might call that sour grapes.



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SqUiD267 replied on Wed, Jun 18 2008 9:37 AM
I'm confused. So in MA Fios will be available in all parts of MA? I'd love them if they do that.

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Eric replied on Wed, Jun 18 2008 10:33 AM

lol, I guess I get to keep being jealous to the 10 and 15 pings of CSS players with Fios :D

 

 

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nelsoncp21 replied on Wed, Jun 18 2008 3:09 PM

 just because it says it's available in your state does not mean it isd available in your neighborhood. Maybe eventually it will be but many neighborhoods have not been cabled to support it yet. This is something that verizon has been trying to work on but it's no small task. Believe me, it's not cheap either. Installing the necassary cable in an average neighborhood probally costs over a million easy. I know my company makes a good bit installing a couple here or there but nothing on this scale.

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Eric replied on Wed, Jun 18 2008 3:23 PM

 Thats why I fear that it will never be available in my area.. where I live is very hilly and it would be a major pain to change all the cables. Also there isnt a high demand here because it is a mostly rural area.

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SqUiD267 replied on Wed, Jun 18 2008 8:05 PM
Dang! I have charter and is sooooo bad, on and off service but its the only high speed in my area.

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