Verizon has announced today that it is launching its FiOS Gigabit Connection across parts of New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Richmond, Va., Hampton Roads, Va., Boston, Providence and Washington, D.C. The term “gigabit” may seem a bit misleading to the more technology-versed since a gigabit is actually closer to 1,024 Mbps. However, Verizon says speeds with its FiOS Gigabit Connection will dwarf its previous offering – FiOS Instant Internet – by around 200 Mbps. In fact, the new Gigabit Connection is actually the result of enhancements the company has made to that previous offering, according to the press release. The company made improvements in the firmware and the use of diagnostics tools on that previous offering and the new gigabit service is able to get up to a respectable 940 Mbps on the download side and 880 Mbps on the upload end. FiOS Instant Internet was advertised as having the capability to provide 750 Mbps for both upload and download. The new service will also reach at least a million more homes than that previous service, with an estimated 8 million residences reached. That’s including the addition of the new Washington D.C. and Providence markets.
As to costs, a customer can expect to pay $69.99 per month for FiOS Gigabit Connection as a stand-alone service. Consumers will also be able to get the latest high-speed connection from Verizon as a bundle. When bought online, the inclusion of FiOS Custom TV and phone services takes the cost up by $10 per month for the first year and $20 per month for the second. A two-year agreement is required to get those prices and the announcement from the company did not include a cost outside of a contract. Unfortunately, that likely means that a two-year contract is necessary to receive the fiber-to-home service.
The announcement of Verizon’s newest FiOS-based service comes at a time when the company appears to have solid customer loyalty but isn’t necessarily doing as well as it could be on the wireless front. The company’s 2017 Q1 report seems to indicate that Verizon is leaning more heavily on wireline connections to offset the costs associated with expanding its wireless business. That, of course, includes both its implementation of next-generation 5G technologies and competitive measures to retain customers and grow its wireless user base. The company also recently faced a lawsuit from New York after it failed to deliver on a promise regarding its FiOS network. Although that case is not brought up in this latest announcement, it could have some bearing on the company’s latest decisions regarding its wired internet business.