Today's Top Stories Subscribers to Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS service will soon have another speed option available to them: a 500/100 Mbps speed tier starting at $310 a month.  | | Verizon updated its speed comparison chart. Enlarge | Initially available "in parts of every FiOS market," residential subscribers can get the new tier as part of either a double-play bundle for $309.99, or a triple-play bundle for $329.99 as part of a two-year agreement, according to a Verizon press release. Business subscribers can access the 500 Mbps tier as a standalone service only, for $369.99 per month with a two-year agreement. It's also available on a no-contract, month-to-month basis, although that price was not specified. "Ten years ago, when we began designing the FiOS network, we said it would be futureproof," said Fowler Abercrombie, manager for product development at Verizon, in a video introducing the new speed tier. "Fast forward to today: FiOS is uniquely capable of fulfilling that promise. …We also knew that our homes would become connected homes, and our offices would become digital command centers." Last summer, Verizon increased its FiOS speeds to a maximum of 300/65 Mbps. Its Quantum speed tiers include 50/25 Mbps, 75/35 Mbps and 150/65 Mbps. However, subscribers opting for the top two tiers had to swap out their existing BPON optical network terminals for GPON ONTs--something that existing customers who want to leap from 50 or 75 Mbps to 500 Mbps will most likely have to do as well. Despite the insistence of some ISPs that consumers don't need high Internet download speeds, a few major providers capitulated to demand last summer following Verizon's Quantum launch. Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) quickly announced its own 305 Mbps, Ethernet-based offering via its Xfinity service, and Charter (Nasdaq: CHTR) reportedly was working on a 300 Mbps speed tier. Verizon is certainly tapping into consumer excitement around faster download speeds. The intense interest in Google Fiber's (Nasdaq: GOOG) 1 Gbps network buildouts in Kansas City, Provo, and Austin has caught the attention of major ISPs like AT&T (NYSE: T), which tried to steal some of Google's thunder in Austin on the day of that launch by announcing it would--someday, probably--offer a 1 Gbps service in the city. For more:
- Verizon has this news release
- see this Verizon blog post
- DSL Reports has this story Related articles:
Verizon unveils FiOS 300 Mbps data speed tier, doubles existing tiers
Verizon unveils prices for its new FiOS Quantum FTTP service lineup
Comcast counters Verizon's Quantum FiOS offering with 305 Mbps tier
Charter working on 300 Mbps speed tier to stay apace with Comcast and Verizon Read more about: 500 Mbps, Verizon
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AT&T (NYSE: T) is opening two new retail locations in Miami and hiring 235 employees for locations between Key West and Vero Beach, the carrier announced Monday. More than half of the openings are newly created jobs. Around 40 of those new positions were created specifically to staff the new Miami locations. The carrier has been on a hiring spree in Florida since April, when it announced it would hire 650 employees, primarily in its call center and network organizations. Nearly 350 are newly created positions. Florida is also a growth area for AT&T's RBOC brother. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has been bulking up its FiOS staff in the state, primarily in the Tampa area, where it announced in late June that it would add 100 customer representatives. Marshall Criser, III, AT&T Florida's president, credited the state's majority-Republican legislature and governor for creating a "climate for investment" in the company's announcement. "The investment we're making in our wireless and wired networks is essential to spurring Florida's economy and creating jobs," he said. "In our wireless world, mobile and broadband networks create economic opportunities for health care, manufacturing, education, transportation and public safety, and virtually every other economic section." That corporate-friendly environment hasn't seemed to extend to everyone. AT&T and Verizon's upward growth in Florida sits in stark contrast to cable MSO Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), which reportedly is laying off employees at its OMGFAST subsidiary in South Florida. The wireless broadband provider delivers 50 Mbps Internet access to customers via a MVDDS (multichannel video and data distribution service) using microwave transmitters installed on rooftops and towers. Positions will be posted on AT&T's job site "as they become available." For more:
- see the release Related articles:
AT&T to hire more than 75 U-verse employees in Arkansas
Cablevision reportedly lays off employees at OMGFAST unit
AT&T to hire 500 employees in Louisiana to support wireline, wireless services
Verizon on hiring track in Tampa, adding 100 FiOS customer reps Read more about: AT&T
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Americans who want competitive video services are getting their wish--for the most part--according to the FCC's 15th Report to Congress on the status of video programming competition. Specifically, the report said that telephone MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors) represented about 8.4 percent of the total subscriber universe in 2011 and that that universe expanded from 100.8 million to 101 million households between year-end 2010 and June 2012. At the end of June 2012, the report continued, AT&T (NYSE: T) U-verse and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) FiOS counted 8.6 million subscribers. The gains came at the expense of cable operators, who saw their share of MVPD subscribers fall from 59.3 percent of all MVPD video subscribers at the end of 2011 to 55.7 percent at the end of June 2012. The report broke down the subscriber penetration differences between 2010 and 2011, noting that in 2010, there were 132 million homes with access to at least the two DBS MVPDs. Approximately 128.8 million homes had access to two satellite providers and one cable operator, but no telco TV provider and about 42.9 million homes had access to at least four MVPDs including cable, satellite and a telco, the report said. In 2011, 132.5 million homes were assumed to have access to at least the two DBS MVPDs; 130.7 million homes had access to at least three MVPDs (cable and satellite); and 46.8 million had access to at least four MVPDs, the report concluded. The 185-page document fulfills a statutory mandate that the FCC report annually to Congress on competition in the market for delivery of video programming. "When you step back from the blizzard of facts and figures, the report's principal lesson is simple--and profound. Today, more Americans have more choices when it comes to video programming than ever before," Commissioner Ajit Pai said in prepared statements accompanying the report's release. While hailing most of the report's information as good news, Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn focused on a darker statistic. "Nearly three out of 10 rural Americans do not have access to high-speed Internet that is sufficient to receive online video distributors' services," she pointed out in her prepared remarks, adding her "hope that these consumers are not forgotten as these services become more popular and offer more extensive programming." Online, or over-the-top (OTT) video were also cited in the report, drawing the attention of Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who pointed out that "we view 40 minutes of Internet video each week" and that is "bound to grow now that more than a third of all households have a television connected to the Internet--often through a gaming device." Even so, the report did step back to the basics and conclude that over-the-air broadcast television continues to hold its own. About 11.1 million households rely exclusively on over-the-air broadcast television, which Clyburn described as "one of the most affordable sources of entertainment and news." The report placed the MVPD group into "1,141 cable MVPDs, two DBS MVPDs, two large telephone MVPDs and many smaller telephone MVPDs" noting that "each MVPD has its own business model and competitive strategy (but) there are some similarities within types of MVPDs." For more:
- the FCC issued this press release
- and this report Related articles:
Infonetics: Worldwide IPTV providers gaining on competition
AT&T to FCC: don't call us a cable operator
CenturyLink broadband, IPTV business up even as legacy wireline declines Read more about: video competition, FCC
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Google Fiber (Nasdaq: GOOG) has finalized its deal to acquire iProvo, the fiber network owned by the city of Provo, Utah. The deal pits Google against landline incumbent CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) and cable MSO Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA). Google announced April 17 that it planned to purchase the iProvo network for $1. At the time, Google said it planned to upgrade the existing network to 1 Gbps technology and complete network construction so all homes in the city can get access to the service. In addition to the 1 Gbps service, it also plans to offer a free 5 Mbps service to the 115,000 residents on the existing Provo network who pay a $30 activation fee. Provo joins Kansas City, Kan., and Austin, Texas, as the third city to offer Google Fiber to its residents. Not surprisingly, Google faced some opposition to its acquisition of iProvo, primarily from CenturyLink. Shortly after Google announced its plan to acquire iProvo, CenturyLink sent a letter to the Provo City Council protesting the deal. Interestingly, CenturyLink's current DSL-based service offers broadband speeds between 1.5 Mbps and 40 Mbps, depending on how far the customer resides from the central office. In addition, customers have to abide by usage caps. Meanwhile, Google Fiber promises speeds of 1 Gbps. For more:
- see this letter from the Provo Mayor John Curtis
- and this Multichannel News article Related articles:
Does Google Fiber's iProvo move spell doom for open access?
CenturyLink protests Google Fiber's move into Provo
Google's iProvo purchase draws fire from Utah-based XMission
Google Fiber goes to Provo on the cheap
Google Fiber to buy iProvo network, upgrade Utah city to 1 Gbps
Google Fiber to take on Comcast in Provo, Utah Read more about: Acquisition, Comcast
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IP transit provider Hurricane Electric has established a fifth point of presence in New York City at Telx's 111 8th Ave. data center. The new PoP will give Telx customers at that location a number of IPv6 and IPv4 connectivity options that reduce latency and router hops across global IP networks. "Hurricane Electric is thrilled to complete its fifth PoP in New York and continue its longstanding partnership with Telx," said Mike Leber, president of Hurricane Electric, in a news release. "This new PoP strengthens Hurricane Electric's commitment to New York and the entire Tri-State area, and will provide increased bandwidth and global network connectivity options for customers in Telx's 111 8 Ave data center." The provider also maintains PoPs in Equinix and Telehouse facilities in New York City. In the past year alone, Hurricane Electric has established PoPs in Copenhagen, Madrid, Milan and Vienna. In the United States, it established PoPs at the Phoenix NAP, at the C7 data center in Salt Lake City, at Neutral Path Communications in Rochester, Minn., and at DataCenter.BZ in Columbus, Ohio. The provider said it is connected to more than 60 exchange points, enabling it to exchange traffic directly with more than 2,900 networks. The number of new PoPs Hurricane Electric has added to its portfolio isn't surprising considering the rapid changes in the IP transit and Layer 2 transport market segments. The provider has the largest IPv6 backbone in the world (by the number of networks connected) and continues to increase its ability to interface with various types of networks. In April, the provider purchased 100G wavelength services on three of Zayo Group's new 100G routes. For more:
- see the release Special Report: World IPv6 Launch results: What effect did the event have on the Internet? Related articles:
Telx opens third New York City data center
Hurricane Electric establishes new PoP in Copenhagen
Hurricane Electric establishes new PoP in Spain; BT cable facilities in Oldham damaged by thieves
Hurricane Electric adds PoPs in Milano and Vienna
Hurricane Electric establishes PoP at DataCenter.BZ's Columbus, Ohio data center Read more about: Zayo, New York City
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Quality programming should be part of the pay-TV discussion
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