Verizon FiOS TV set for Capital Region rollout

[Skaggs]

FiOS set for region rollout
Introduction of Verizon cable TV service expected to ignite price war with Time Warner
By Larry Rulison, Times Union Business writer
Published 12:01 a.m., Friday, March 25, 2011

COLONIE -- Verizon's FiOS TV has finally arrived in the Capital Region.

Beginning Friday, viewers in the villages of Colonie and Scotia and in the towns of Bethlehem and Guilderland will be able to select a cable TV service other than Time Warner Cable.

Verizon is holding a news conference Friday at the Verizon Wireless store at 1770 Central Ave. to introduce the service.

The rollout of FiOS TV has been years in the making. It is expected to create a price war in the Capital Region for bundled telecommunications services, including Internet and phone in addition to TV.

For instance, Time Warner's current special offer for bundled TV, Internet and phone service is $99 a month for new customers.

But Verizon's offer for similar service is $89.99 a month when purchased online for a limited time.

Verizon has also negotiated a cable TV franchise agreement with the city of Schenectady, although it must still be approved by the state Public Service Commission. A deal has also been hammered out with the town of Colonie, and a public hearing and possible town board vote on the contract were expected to be held Thursday night. That deal also needs PSC approval.

Of course, not everyone in places like Bethlehem and Guilderland will be able to get FiOS TV right way. The company says it has been building the necessary fiber-optic network as quickly as it can in the towns and villages where it has negotiated TV deals. The contracts typically require Verizon to reach nearly all of the residents within several years.

"All these franchise agreements have so-called build-out commitments," said Verizon spokesman John Bonomo.
The announcement is being held at the Verizon Wireless store, Bonomo said, because Verizon is increasingly connecting FiOS TV to wireless devices such as cell phones and laptops. For instance, Verizon has a service called Flex View in which movies from FiOS TV are available on smart phones.

"There's a lot of integration that is going on," Bonomo said.
Verizon's FiOS packages vary in price depending on the TV package and Internet speed. For instance, the top tier FiOS package of TV, phone and Internet costs $119, but that has an Internet package with Internet download speeds of 35 megabits per second, more than double the standard FiOS Internet speeds.
Reach Larry Rulison at 454-5504 or at [e-mail].

[Skaggs]

Verizon FiOS TV Debuts in Capital District
Verizon Launches New Era of Television Entertainment in Parts of 4 Communities

Introductory Monthly Bundle Price of $99.99 Gives Consumers Even More Reason to Switch to Verizon FiOS TV, Internet and Voice Services

Press Release Source: Verizon On Friday March 25, 2011, 10:30 am

ALBANY, N.Y., March 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The age of TV competition has arrived in the Capital District.

Verizon begins offering FiOS TV service in parts of four communities in the region on Friday (March 25), bringing consumers and businesses an all-fiber-optic connection that provides more channels, more HD, more video on demand and faster Internet speeds than old-fashioned cable TV.

With the introduction of FiOS TV in the suburban Albany area, Verizon is offering its revolutionary FiOS triple play of TV, Internet and voice services to homes and businesses in parts of the towns of Bethlehem and Guilderland, and the villages of Colonie and Scotia.

Verizon expects to expand that availability as additional franchise agreements are approved. A franchise agreement from the city of Schenectady is currently being reviewed by the New York Public Service Commission, and a franchise awarded to Verizon Thursday night (March 24) by the Town of Colonie is now awaiting review by the commission.

Verizon delivers FiOS TV over the nation's largest digital, all-fiber network, offering more than 535 total channels in New York – including more than 130 high-definition (HD) channels in the Capital District market, more HD channels than the region's current monopoly cable provider, Time Warner.

"Consumers and small businesses in these communities at long last have a better choice for TV," said Tracey Edwards, Verizon president and general manager for Verizon's upstate New York region. "We've had great success in many other parts of the state. Now it's time to bring FiOS TV to this part of northeastern New York and provide customers in the region a choice that is truly different from the cable TV company.

"Our advanced 100 percent fiber-optic network was built for HD. With all-fiber connections running straight to their homes, viewers get both high-definition and standard TV that is eye-popping. And with Flex View and FiOS TV Online, we're offering more interactivity with more content on more screens," Edwards said.

Where FiOS TV is available, consumers now have the option to bundle FiOS TV service, FiOS Internet Service and the FiOS Digital Voice unlimited calling plan for as little as $99.99 a month for the first year.

Customers interested in FiOS TV can visit www.Verizon.com/FiOS or call 1-888-Get FiOS (438-3467) for more information.

FiOS is also available to small businesses, which can take advantage of the Solutions Bundle with FiOS TV, Internet and Unlimited Nationwide Calling, also at $99.99.* Included in the small-business bundle are Verizon websites powered by Intuit free for six months; free Google Apps for Verizon; Verizon Internet Security Suite and Online Backup; and discounts to nationally known brands like Office Depot, FedEx and more.

Business customers can learn more about business-grade FiOS services at smallbusiness.Verizon.com, or by calling 1-877-344-8896 for more information.

FiOS, Fiber Benefits Region

Jim Gerace, Verizon president for the New York region, said: "There are significant economic development and consumer benefits in Verizon's rollout of FiOS TV to these New York communities. Verizon has spent in excess of $1 billion in wireline network infrastructure across New York each year since 1995. This kind of investment and community involvement is in our DNA. We know that to be at the top of our industry – and we are – we need to invest in our network and in our customers and communities.

"Verizon's FiOS initiative, on top of a fully deployed fiber backbone network in the state, gives New York an advanced telecommunications network that enables widespread economic development, and leads to further job creation in industries benefiting from state-of-the-art broadband technology."

FiOS TV Service Highlights

FiOS TV customers receive many added benefits that are included in their service at no additional cost. For example, FiOS TV includes 19,000 monthly video-on-demand titles (70 percent of which are free), including 3,300 in HD, and next-generation interactive services including an advanced interactive media guide; social networking, news and entertainment widgets from Twitter, Facebook and more; DVR management via broadband or cell phone; and more.

In addition, FiOS TV customers have online access to thousands of movie titles and TV shows through Verizon's Flex View and FiOS TV Online services. Flex View allows FiOS TV customers to rent or purchase movie titles and watch them on their TV, online and on a growing number of mobile devices including smartphones and tablets. FiOS TV Online offers online access to a variety of programming from HBO, Cinemax, EPIX, TBS, TNT, truTV, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and MTV as well as live streaming from CNN and ESPN.

FiOS TV also offers a multi-room DVR that allows customers to view, record, pause and rewind programming on up to three TVs in the home at the same time. New multi-room DVR boxes the company is providing have 500 gigabytes of hard-drive capacity, with the ability to store more than three times more programming than the previous DVR offered with FiOS and approximately 60 hours of HD-specific programming.

Customers can access their FiOS TV DVRs remotely from a PC or select mobile devices with the FiOS TV Mobile Remote app, and change channels; manage parental controls; and pause, rewind and fast forward or record a TV show. All FiOS TV customers also have access to Media Manager, which lets them access personal videos, photos and music from their home computer on their TV.

FiOS TV is delivered over Verizon's all-fiber-optic network, which brings the power and capacity of fiber optics directly into people's homes and has industry-leading quality and reliability. Fiber delivers amazingly sharp pictures and sound, and has the capacity to transmit a wide array of high-definition programming that is so clear and intense it seems to leap from the TV screen. This network also offers FiOS Internet Service, which delivers downstream speeds of up to 150 Mbps (megabits per second) and upstream speeds of up to 35 Mbps, as well as high-quality voice services.

Free Verizon Wi-Fi access at thousands of locations across the U.S. is available for FiOS Internet customers with up-to-20 Mbps or faster packages. Free Wi-Fi hot spot locations include hotels, airports, restaurants, coffee shops, retailers and other public locations across the U.S. For a list of hot spot locations, visit www.verizon.com/hotspots.

The value of FiOS TV extends to installation and customer support. Specially trained Verizon technicians will install the service and acquaint subscribers with FiOS TV features and services. Verizon provides 24/7 technical assistance by phone from its Fiber Solutions Centers.

FiOS services have received accolades from leading consumer and technical publications and organizations including J.D. Power and Associates, the American Customer Satisfaction Index and PCmag.com.

(More information about FiOS TV and fiber optics is available in Verizon's online News Center at www.verizon.com/news.)

* -- Through July 16, 2011

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 94.1 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 194,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

[Skaggs]

Opening shots in cable war


Alfred C. Vasso,Jr.,Verizon Northeast Region Group Marketing Manager, shows off some of the features of Fios service durng a press conference in Colonie March 25, 2011.( Michael P. Farrell/Times Union )

Verizon plans marketing, sales blitz as FiOS service debuts in Capital Region

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany Times Union
Saturday, March 26, 2011

COLONIE — Verizon introduced its FiOS TV service in the Capital Region on Friday amid plans to launch a massive sales and marketing campaign that will likely ignite a local cable war.

“Today is a great day, it’s a great day for the region,” said Sam Caldwell, Verizon’s vice president for external affairs. “Get ready, because you are going to be hearing quite a bit about FiOS. The stranglehold that the cable companies have enjoyed in the TV space is over.”

Verizon, which is offering a bundle of its TV, Internet and phone service for $99.99 a month — or $84.99 for online orders — is starting small in the Capital Region.

As of Friday, its fiber optic system reached just 23,000 households in the towns of Guilderland and Bethlehem along with the villages of Scotia and Colonie. Within a month or two, after it gets state approval, Verizon will be able to reach 61,000 households after it adds the city of Schenectady and the town of Colonie. The company doesn’t disclose the number of actual customers.

That’s many fewer homes than top competitor Time Warner Cable, which boasts 600,000 potential customers between the Capital Region and western Massachusetts.

Verizon has to move carefully because it is required by each municipality where it negotiates cable TV franchises to build out its system to most residents within five years. Together, the six communities that Verizon is targeting have nearly 94,000 households.

“It’s a lot of work to fill out those communities,” said Verizon spokesman John Bonomo, who added the company has no plans to expand to cities like Troy or Albany at least until the build-out is complete.

FiOS TV has several channels that are not available on Time Warner, including the popular NFL Network, and Verizon officials boasted that the picture quality is better than Time Warner’s.

Time Warner spokeswoman Lara Pritchard said Time Warner also uses fiber optic cables in its network. “There is no difference in what the end-using consumer experiences with Time Warner Cable versus FiOS relative to their fiber optic use versus ours,” Pritchard said.

She also said Time Warner generates a lot of its own local programming, including the 24-hour news channel YNN, and covers local college and high school sporting events.

Time Warner’s best deal for bundled service is also $99 a month, which is available to new customers.

Reach Larry Rulison at 454-5504 or [e-mail].


Detail of Verizon Fios service durng a press conference in Colonie March 25, 2011.( Michael P. Farrell/Times Union )

[mattbanks]

Is there any hope of FiOS coming to Saratoga?

[econ]

I am looking forward to Verizon Fios coming to Colonie. However, I am concerned about Verizon service. I currently have stores that use Verizon internet service.I have found Verizon to be very slow when a problem arises.I recently had a 2 day outage of internet service at one of my stores before it was corrected.This has occurred at my other stores also. And if you have a problem during the weekend, don't even bother calling.As a Time Warner customer at my residence I have never had such a problem. This is a factor I will consider when I have a choice between Verizon and Time Warner.

[Chris Miller]

Were your stores using FiOS or DSL? Our office uses a FiOS business connection and while we had issues getting it set up, we had 100% uptime for the last 2 years with it. Two days without Internet is a big deal. If you couldn't get them to come out, I would consider TWC Business service. Residential and business service are managed separately.

I've had FiOS at home since 2005 or 2006 and I have had only one time where I lost the connection (that I was aware of). That was about 3 weeks ago and apparently the ONT was being remotely updated. I had a service call and the service guy was out that afternoon. The Internet was only down for an hour or two, but I wanted it checked out anyways.

My biggest concern with moving from TWC to VZ was the level of service. TWC service was usually pretty prompt. On the other hand, they had to come out to my house too many times to address signal quality issues. I can't judge the quality of their service calls based on a single service, but only having one service call in 5+ years is significant. Verizon's Twitter presence is pretty good. I think TWC has more people manning the Twitter accounts, but I have had prompt responses from @verizonsupport for all of my questions.

[econ]

I have DSL.Unfortunately the plazas I am located have deals with Verizon that force me to use them.And yes it was a big deal operating for 2 days without internet service.The entire plaza was out.
I am happy to hear that you have few problems with Fios. You have answered a major concern of mine

[Chris Miller]

The DSL is different technology. The service level agreement that the plaza signed with VZ may have something to do with the two day downtime. Once you add a middle man to the equation, all bets are off.

At our office, our contract is with VZ. If something went wrong, we would escalate it immediately. Two days down under normal conditions is unacceptable.