Verizon pushing FiOS internet to 50Mbps throughout US

With DOCSIS 3.0 (and the corresponding 50Mbps download speeds) being deploying in varying parts of America, Verizon understands what it's up against. Reportedly, the carrier is gearing up to push its 50Mbps FiOS internet -- which is currently only available in a few of its more favored states -- to its entire US footprint. Best of all, we're hearing that all 16 FiOS-enabled states could have access to the service as early as next week, and if you're anxious to sign up, just know that it'll run you $139.95 per month with an annual contract. Thankfully, Verizon is also planning to boost speeds in the basic and middle tiers as well, with the former going from 5Mbps to 10Mbps and the latter going from 15Mbps to 20Mbps. Yeah, we like where this is headed, but we've still got aways to go before we can even sniff Sigbritt Löthberg's connection.

[Via Reuters]

Update: Here's Verizon's official release.

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Jun 18th 2008 8:09AM]

2MBPS seems to be the mainstream in the uk. Sick of being ripped off.

[Silverfrog @ Jun 18th 2008 8:04AM]

Competition FTW!

[Flashpoint @ Jun 18th 2008 8:24AM]

I wrote about my FIOS installation here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_417871531652


I tested my line speed on Speakeasy and saw that it was easily 3 times faster downloading than Cable in my area.

I only have the basic package. If they push up to 50Mbps, I'm thinking the benefit will mostly be for FIOS TV cause computers themselves begin to bottleneck the data delivery. I use FIOS on Xbox 360, PS3 and my laptop. I haven't noticed a major difference in online gaming that hasn't been for the worst - it seems my games are laggier than when I used DSL. But the connection is more reliable and won't disconnect during storms.

[rock99rock @ Jun 18th 2008 10:56AM]

Yes, competition is great and all, until the damn isp blocks all newsgroup access.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080616-alt-blocked-verizon-blocks-access-to-whole-usenet-hierarchy.html

[Pete @ Jun 18th 2008 10:59AM]

This is great... I'm moving to a FiOS area and just ordered 15/2 last week for my new house! Now I'll be upgraded to 20/5 at no cost! HELL YES!!!! See ya later Charter!!!!!!

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jun 19th 2008 3:50AM]

@Flashpoint.

50 Mbps is hardly bottle neck material. My firewire port does 400 Mbps, my 1394 hard drive's bottle neck is the firewire interface it's self. Most modern computers can easily handle one gigabit internet speeds.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jun 19th 2008 3:51AM]

Heck, my USB thumb drive does more than 50Mbps!

[Brad @ Jun 19th 2008 3:15PM]

The 50Mps is the line speed. It is NOT your internet speed.

Verizon FiOS deployments are designed for triple play - voice, internet, and video (high def). Verizon uses MPEG4 High Def feeds, so you gotta figure they're slicing off about 10Mpbs for a single HD feed. They take another 6 out for voice and you've got a 34Mbps connection AT BEST, if the equipment isn't throttling your connection because it's been stuffed into outside plant retrofits that can't cool it enough, if your ISP is giving you unrestricted access, and if your house's internal wiring isn't screwing it up.

[From my Cube @ Jun 18th 2008 8:05AM]

please bring me FIOS so I can dump Time Warner Cable...please

[riggs @ Jun 18th 2008 11:31AM]

CO-SIGN!!!

[mirakutea @ Jun 18th 2008 8:11AM]

Umm I figure 8mbps is the mainstream in the UK, I live in the UK.. if you live near an exchange you can get 20mbit ADSL2+ at around $40/month.

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 18th 2008 12:05PM]

The problem with the assumption that broadband internet in the US is anywhere close to that of the UK or Japan ignores the fact that the US is nearly 4 times larger in landmass then both of them combined. Higher cabling costs, greater distances.

UK = 244,820 sq. km
Japan = 377,835 sq. km
US = 9,629,091sq. km
California = 411,015 sq. km

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 18th 2008 12:07PM]

oops ** 16 times bigger

[Logik @ Jun 18th 2008 9:26PM]

Most of the population in the U.S. lives in cities, about 80%, if I recall correctly. About 1/3 of the country is very thinly populated. Of those 80%, most of those cities are concentrated in the North Eastern seaboard and some spread along the coast. The other part part of the majority of the population lives in the South and Northern part of California, with medium-size towns and small rural towns in-between. Again, no excuse, as to why I can't get higher-quality, and affordable broadband service levels in L.A..

[mirakutea @ Jun 18th 2008 8:12AM]

If your looking for an ISP in the UK that dosn't throttle or interfere with bittorrent, try Be* or O2.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jun 18th 2008 8:13AM]

$139.95 should include digital cable as well.... quite a price for just internet

[Eddie @ Jun 18th 2008 8:30AM]

BUT ITS SO FAST!!

[Kamokazi @ Jun 18th 2008 8:35AM]

It's probably just internet. Their highest-tier FIOS has always been a pretty substantial jump over the middle tier.

[kjb434 @ Jun 18th 2008 9:01AM]

It's actually a great price for the speed they are giving you!

[aardWolf @ Jun 18th 2008 9:46AM]

Yes, now I can browse the web at 10 times the speed... or not...

[MadMike @ Jun 18th 2008 10:15AM]

No it's not a great price. Other countries have a lot higher speed for a lot less money.

It should be $35.00/month for 50Mbps.

[Ghen @ Jun 18th 2008 11:32AM]

Great for a business who's paying over 1k for a T3 dedicated line.

[Ivan @ Jun 18th 2008 8:17AM]

oh why oh why must i suffer here in Miami while other people get to play with real speeds!

[Marty K. @ Jun 18th 2008 9:24AM]

West Palm Beach feels your pain too.

[vypergts @ Jun 18th 2008 9:28AM]

Face it, you live where people go to die.

[Ivan @ Jun 18th 2008 9:40AM]

and they should have the right to blaze through the internet til their hearts decide to give!

[MadMike @ Jun 18th 2008 10:18AM]

Your suffering in Miami and West Palm Beach?!?!?! Well, I could see the Miami bit if your not Cuban. But still, you can always drive down to the Keys.

[Neoprimal @ Jun 18th 2008 7:49PM]

I feel this immense pain as well. Though perhaps moreso since I can't even get comcast cable internet in my community here in Pembroke Pines. I'm stuck on ATT DSL - yeeeeeaaachh.

[Chad @ Jun 18th 2008 8:17AM]

This is great and all but it just makes me even more pissed the don't service Chi-town.

[Jamar @ Jun 18th 2008 8:20AM]

Please tell me why they can't roll out 100Mbps to all subscribers like Japan has had for how long now...

[Big Al @ Jun 18th 2008 8:32AM]

Because Japan is a much smaller country and is easier/cost effective to wire.

Personally, I prefer Korea. We've got 100Mbps for about $30/month.

In my case, I decided to save $10/month and "settle" for 10Mbps. Though, I do admit the connection gets a little sluggish on Fri/Sat nights when Starcraft gamers log on.

(I also expect the internet here to slow to a crawl for a month after Starcraft 2 is released.)

[Brian @ Jun 19th 2008 12:24AM]

See, that's the thing. When we get "100Mbps" in the US, we actually SEE 100Mbps, pretty much the entire time.

It's easy to provide "100Mbps" service that's oversubscribed to all hell. Technically, at my university, we have "1000Mbps" service (gigabit ethernet). But of course you never see that except to internal servers (and Akamai servers, like Windows Update - we have a mirror on campus).

If your internet gets slow because of "Starcraft Gamers", clearly it's heavily oversubscribed and really can't take the load. That's how you offer a "lot" of bandwidth for cheap.

DOCSIS 2.0 (which Comcast is using right now) can handle 40Mbps. They could sell "40Mbps" connectivity tomorrow if they wanted to. The problem is that there isn't enough capacity to really support people using that kind of bandwidth.

So, yeah, wake me up when you can do 100Mbit/s downloading Ubuntu ISOs over BitTorrent. If you can, great. If you can't, then your "100Mbps" connection really isn't.

[a @ Jun 18th 2008 8:21AM]

Hooray, a speed increase...

I have fios 15 Mbps symmetrical (supposedly), and it seems like I never get these speeds... I know rates vary and depend on a lot of things, but I'd be happier just to get what I'm currently paying for.

You know what? Screw the bandwidth. I'd like less latency (I PLAY GAMEZ).

[Jonyah @ Jun 18th 2008 10:13AM]

Sorry to hear that a. I have the 15/2 plan and while I don't quite get the full upload rated, my download tests come in around 16. Downloading through rapidshare I actually get a full 2MB/s. I'm definitely not complaining and the increase is very welcomed. Upping my upload from 2 to 5 should definintely be noticeable. I also have no issues gaming and that includes the PS3, 360 and my computers. We have 9 machines in our house on the network and there's no issues with our FIOS. Thanks Verizon.

[Deeznuts @ Jun 18th 2008 8:25AM]

This is great now if that guy in the picture can just do that to my house, I'll be in buisness! lol......no but seriously Verizon needs to get to my town ASAP

[Eddie @ Jun 18th 2008 8:30AM]

It's a shame in the near future you'll be taxed on downloading content in addition to your $140 a month,"access" fee. Then on top of that you'll be billed for a bandwidth usage fee. Hello commercialized interwebs!!

[SimonCards2 @ Jun 18th 2008 8:34AM]

DUde, 50 MBPS is screaming. Sweet. That is much better than anything around here. Wow. www.iurlz.com/datools

[wako @ Jun 18th 2008 8:34AM]

I been wanting to switch to FIOS forever. Verizon has had their lines in my area ever since 2000, but Comcast has something different to say. They been running a monopoly in my area and now allowing Verizon to pick up any customers. :(


Fuck comcast!

[Noir @ Jun 18th 2008 9:54AM]

right on bro,

I hated dealing w/ those asshats back when Las Colinas had no competition in Texas.

Finally on the FIOS bandwagon, currently 15mbps and it has been bliss ever since

[Timmy @ Jun 18th 2008 8:37AM]

Here's a perfect chance to do an availability Roll call, respond to this post with the location (City, State) if you have FIOS.

[Distortedloop @ Jun 18th 2008 8:53AM]

Umm, no, that's a bad idea. Why choke up the comments with stupid "we get it here" posts? ;-)

Much more useful would be if someone could find and post a link to an actual service map that shows where FIOS is actually available across the country. Something along the lines of the cellphone coverage maps AT&T and Verizon offer up on their websites.

In my part of Los Angeles, Verizon is tight lipped about when FIOS is coming. Even in more affluent areas, where you'd think the market would be larger, they won't say when they're coming. But hey, they'll give me their crappy DSL service in the mean time. LOL. Hate Time Warner if you will, but around here it beats Verizon DSL.

[Liam @ Jun 18th 2008 8:54AM]

Save everyone the trouble

http://www.dslreports.com/gmaps/fios

[Peter @ Jun 18th 2008 8:58AM]

Just outside of Philadelphia, PA. Installed in April.

Currently 5/2 but may upgrade and add TV later this year. A coworker has the TV service and he said the quality is FAR superior to Comcast's HD service.

[arthur dent @ Jun 18th 2008 8:38AM]

$139.95 per month for internet? holy smokes. Thats a lot of money.

[jimmy @ Jun 18th 2008 12:02PM]

ever seen the bill for a T3 line? $140 for 50MBps is _NOTHING_

[Squid7085 @ Jun 18th 2008 8:38AM]

This would totally excite me if my area had Verizon. Currently AT&T only offers speeds up to like 4 Mbps, while the Cable company is giving me a steady 15 Mbps, not bad, but 50 sounds better.

[Julian @ Jun 18th 2008 8:43AM]

I'll stick with Optimum Online Boost. me thinks that 30 Mbps is good enough for gaming. Not that I'm home enough to justify paying for it but its nice to know its there when I want to noob some pwns at call of duty 4.

[computer.dude.28 @ Jun 18th 2008 8:46AM]

"being deploying in varying parts of America"

nice.

[The Aggie CEO @ Jun 18th 2008 8:51AM]

thats what I'm talking about......

but we dont have that here in NC........dammit all..........

not to mention I cant stand Contracts........they can have that.....wut if Time Warner or another competitor ups its speeds and I wanna switch??? damn that......

[Peter @ Jun 18th 2008 8:54AM]

FiOS is sweet. I have the 5/2 package and it feels A LOT faster than the 3.0 DSL I had.
Is this implying that they are going to upgrade me to 10 for the same price? That would be very nice.