DISQUS

Adam Thierer · 1 year ago

As I wrote about here a few years ago, I am lucky to live in one of the first neighborhoods that was ever wired for FIOS in Virginia and my experience so far has been great. And just last month Verizon boosted there basic tier broadband offering from 5/2 up to 10/2 at no extra charge. (I think I pay $42 per month for that entry level service). But you can get up 50/20 in my neighborhood if you want it and there's also a symmetrical 20/20 offering (I think that's like $60 bucks) for aggressive uploaders and aggressive online gamers. Pretty cool. But 10/2 is plenty for me right now the only thing I would need my bandwidth for is high-def movie downloads. Those big HD files can still take a few hours to download them on my Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. But I just order them overnight and they are on my hard drive in the morning.

Verizon's problem going forward is going to be uptake. There's just not enough people switching over from cable right now. VZ has made a huge gamble with this sort of fixed capital investment and a lot of folks on Wall Street are wondering if they can make the math work as cable works to improve its offerings and induce customers to stick with them. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Ryan Radia · 1 year ago

I still think Verizon has a real shot of prevailing in the long-run. Since fiber-optic cable can transmit a virtually limitless amount of data, Verizon has to use its comparatively high capacity to differentiate FiOS from cable. That means offering more HD channels, a wider selection of on-demand movies, and fatter Internet pipes. Even in Minneapolis, where Comcast has rolled out pre-cert DOCSIS 3.0 gear, cable's pricing isn't all that competitive with Verizon's 20/20 symmetrical FiOS for $64.99 a month.

DOCSIS 3.0, SDV, and all-digital television are merely delaying the inevitable capacity crunch. In a few years, when high-def IPTV takes off, cable's bandwidth woes will return with full force, and Verizon will start peeling away customers quickly while cable companies struggle with expensive upgrades.

Richard Bennett · 1 year ago

I don't know that there's an inevitable "bandwidth crunch" down the road somewhere; rather, there's an evident demand for more bandwidth and probably always will be. What seems to be happening in the neighborhoods is fiber moving closer and closer to the home, creeping like Kudzu until it's all the way there. This will probably take ten years, and in the meantime we'll have various forms of hybrid copper/fiber networks. Even for Verizon, as soon as the fiber hits your home, their ONT splices it onto coax cable with MoCA, as they're reluctant to re-wire the interior wiring in each home.

Berin Szoka · 1 year ago

Somehow, I doubt many of my neighbors in Shaw are as excited about this as I am. I also wouldn't underestimate the likelihood that the City will bleed Verizon dry. For example, can you imagine the outcry when Verizon starts rolling out FIOS in all the whitest parts of the City (where, one might safely assume, the uptake rates are likely to be highest)?

DC Cable Lover · 1 year ago

I'm excited about having the option of FIOS, but many, if not most, DC residents already have a choice between Comcast Cable and RCN Cable. That competition has provided me great rates. I currently have 20mbps internet service, unlimited local/long distance phone, and more than 300 cable channels including all the premium channels (and DVR plus free video on demand) for about $157.00 per month. It's really a pretty good deal.

DC Cable Hater · 1 year ago

The competition between Comcast and RCN is a joke. RCN has too many service interruptions and quality is horrible. Comcast has high prices and poor quality internet. That deal you point to is a limited time only deal. I have only one premium channel set and no phone, and pay the same price.

Gimme some FIOS