Verizon FiOS

Verizon FiOS is a service offered by Verizon Communications that provides high speed internet, digital TV, and telephone service over a single fiber optic cable. The term “FiOS” stands for “Fiber Optic Service”.

The idea behind FiOS and fiber deployments in general is the ability to serve multiple advanced services through a single connection. In the case of Verizon FiOS, a single fiber optic cable can provide up to 50Mbps internet service, over 320 digital TV channels including 115+ HD channels plus 15,000+ titles available on demand, and voice service with lots of calling features. While both FiOS internet and FiOS TV can be ordered as a standalone product, Verizon provides significant discounts to customers that bundle services.

FiOS Availability

Verizon FiOS is currently available in parts of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Washington DC. In total, Verizon FiOS is availble to 11 million premises within those states as of July 2009. This equates to about 34 percent of the households in Verizon’s wireline network footprint. Verizon has plans to keep FiOS deployment on a fast track with deployment reaching over 17 million homes by the end of 2010.

In a deal announced May 13th, 2009, Frontier Communications will acquire all of Verizon’s local wireline operations in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin, and some rural parts of California bordering Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. This means that current Verizon customers in those states will see very little if any future FiOS deployment. Instead Verizon wants to focus on it’s core FiOS areas. By the end of 2010, with the sale to Frontier complete, Verizon expects to have FiOS available to about 70% of its total network footprint.

Within the states that Verizon plans to continue FiOS deployments, it can be very difficult to know when FiOS will be available at your residence or business. One tell-tale sign is lots of digging in your neighborhood followed by frequent sightings of Verizon trucks. Once an neighborhood appears to be complete in may be weeks or months before the system actually accepts an order for your address. The only way to know is to try your address on Verizon’s service availability form.

For the most part Verizon FiOS will only be available where Verizon is the current local phone company (incumbent local exchange carrier). In general, any given area will have only one incumbent local phone company. If that’s not Verizon, you probably won’t see Verizon FiOS anytime soon.

Physical deployment of the FiOS network means laying fiber down every street that is to get coverage. FiOS TV service must get approval from local and/or state regulators before it can be offered for sale. Multi-dwelling units require custom installations and agreements with property owners before FiOS can be deployed.

FiOS Technology

Verizon FiOS is the first major deployment of Fiber To The Premises (FTTP) in the United States. FTTP is a network architecture where an optical fiber is terminated at or outside the customer’s premises. The significance of a major FTTP deployment like Verizon FiOS is the fact that it replaces an aging copper network that in some cases has been used for over a hundred years. An all-new fiber network will enable consumers to go way beyond the limitations of copper.

FiOS uses a passive optical network (PON) to distribute service. Initial FiOS installation used BPON transfer mode where a single fiber optical cable is capable of 155 Mbps upstream, and 622 Mbps downstream. All current FiOS deployments use GPON, which provides increased bandwidth limits of 1.2Gbps upstream and 2.4Gbps downstream. In addition to the data bandwidth, the same fiber also carries 870 MHz of bandwidth for RF Video (TV channels).

Starting at a local Verizon central office, a single fiber optic cable is run to a fiber distribution hub at the neighborhood level where it can be split for up to 32 subscribers. When a consumer orders FiOS service, a fiber optic cable is run to their premises and terminated at an Optical Network Terminal (ONT). There are few different ONT’s being used by Verizon for FiOS installations. The most common is the 1600 series ONT manufactured by Tellabs. These ONT’s provides a RJ45 Ethernet jack for data traffic, a coaxial terminal for TV signal distribution, and up to four telephone ports for voice.

fios internet

FiOS Internet

With FiOS, Verizon is able to offer internet connections with much more bandwidth than is typically possible with DSL service or cable broadband. For most areas where FiOS is available, consumer’s can choose from three tiers. Verizon FiOS Internet plans and pricing are provided as follows:

15/5 Mbps (download up to 15Mbps, upload up to 5Mbps), starting at $44.99/mo
25/15 Mbps (download up to 25Mbps, upload up to 15Mbps), starting at $64.99/mo
50/20 Mbps (download up to 50Mbps, upload up to 20Mbps), starting at $139.95/mo

For certain markets in the northeast, including New York City, Long Island and other New York City suburbs, the package speeds are higher with the entry-level package at 25Mbps down/15Mbps up, and the mid-tier plan at 35Mbps down, and 20Mbps up. This regional variation allows Verizon to be more competitive with the cable providers in those areas.

These are the national price levels. Some areas actually have lower pricing. Installation is free with a one year contract and $89.99 without a contract. Currently, all FiOS Internet installations include a Verizon branded wireless-G router at no extra charge. This device is used for both FiOS Internet and FiOS TV. For the tech savy consumers, alternative router installations are possible.

Like most internet service providers, Verizon FiOS Internet includes numerous features at no extra cost. These include 24/7 tech support, personal web space, and multiple email accounts (up to nine). Additional specialized features are available for an additional cost. These include Verizon Internet Security Suite, Verizon Games on Demand, and Movies on Demand with Starz® Play.

In recent months, the internet speed competition has started to heat up. While Verizon claims to have the capacity to deliver 400 Mbps to a single home, the fastest tier available at this time is only 50 Mbps. This is probably due to marketing strategies and consumer demand. In April 2009, Cablevision introduced a 101 Mbps internet service plan for $99.95/mo to go one up on FiOS in the state of New York. However, Cablevision’s fine print reveals there is a $300 activation fee for that plan. Faster plans from Verizon FiOS are definitely in the works, but only time will tell when they’ll go public.

As of July 2009, Verizon is including Verizon Wi-Fi with many of its home internet plans. For FiOS, the mid-tier and faster internet plans include Verizon Wi-Fi at no additional cost. Verizon WiFi is a nationwide network of wireless hot spots. You can get free internet for your wireless-enabled laptop or netbook at thousands of locations including hotels, airports, restaurants, and coffee shops.
fios tv

FiOS TV

Verizon first introduced FiOS TV service in the fall of 2005. Since then, the service has grown to include over 320 digital channels, and over 100 HD channels. The FiOS TV plans and pricing are as follows:

FiOS TV Extreme HD, starting at $57.99/mo
- over 320 channels including 65+ HD channels and growing
- commercial free music with 47 Music Choice channels and 48 Urge Radio channels
- access to On Demand with over 15,000 titles
- national and regional sports channels
FiOS TV Essentials, starting at $47.99/mo
- over 250 channels including 14 HD channels
- commercial free music with 47 Music Choice channels and 48 Urge Radio channels
- access to On Demand with over 15,000 titles
FiOS TV La Conexion, starting at $39.99/mo
- over 140 channels including 5 HD channels
- more than 25 of the hottest Spanish-language channels
- more than 35 of the most popular English channels
- local channels like Telemundo, Univision and Telefutura
FiOS TV Local, starting at $12.99/mo
- local channels such as ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox
- community and educational programming

Channel lineups vary slightly by area, and you can see the channel lineup available in your area, with the lookup tool on Verizon’s site: FiOS TV Channel Lineup. Verizon FiOS TV is one of the leaders when it comes to HD channel offerings. The following table shows the 124 HD channels available in New York City as of August 2009.

A&E HD	HBO Family HD East	Science Channel HD
ABC – WABC HD	HBO Family HD West	Showtime 2 HD East
ABC Family HD	HBO HD East	Showtime 2 HD West
ABC Live Well	HBO HD West	Showtime Extreme HD East
Action Max HD East	HBO Latino HD East	Showtime Extreme HD West
Action Max HD West	HBO Latino HD West	Showtime HDTV East
Animal Planet HD	HBO Signature HD	Showtime HDTV West
At Max HD	HBO Signature HD West	Showtime Showcase HD East
Big Ten Network HD	HBO Zone HD East	Showtime Showcase HD West
bio: The Biography Channel HD	HBO Zone HD West	Smithsonian Channel HD
Bravo HD	HD Net	Speed HD
Cars.TV	HD Net Movies	Spike TV HD
CBS – WCBS HD	HD PPV Events	SportsNet NY HD
Cinemax HD East	HD Theater	Starz Comedy HD
Cinemax HD West	HGTV HD	Starz Edge HD
CMT HD	History Channel HD	Starz HDTV
CNBC HD+	HSN HD	Starz Kids & Family HD
CNN HD	Lifetime HD	SyFy HD
Comedy Central HD	Lifetime Movie Network HD	TBS HD
Comedy.TV	MAV TV HD	Tennis Channel HD
CW – WPIX HD	MGM HD	The Movie Channel HD
Discovery Channel HD	MLB Extra Innings/NHL Center Ice	The Movie Channel HD West
Disney Channel HD	MLB Network HD	The Movie Channel Xtra HD
Disney XD HD	More Max HD East	The Movie Channel Xtra HD West
Encore HD	More Max HD West	The Weather Channel HD
ES.TV	MTV HD	Thriller Max HD East
ESPN HD	My – WWOR HD	Thriller Max HD West
ESPN U HD	MyDestination.TV	TLC HD
ESPN2 HD	National Geographic Channel HD	TNT HDTV
ESPNews HD	NBC – WNBC HD	Travel Channel HD
Five Star Max HD	NFL Network HD	Universal HD
Food Network HD	NHL Network HD	USA HD
FOX – WNYW HD	Nickelodeon HD	Versus HD
Fox Business Network HD	Outdoor Channel HD	VH1 HD
Fox News HD	OuterMax HD	Wealth TV HDTV
FX HD	Palladia HD	WGN America HD
Golf Channel HD	PBS – WNET HD	WMAX HD
Hallmark Movie Channel HD	Pets.TV	WNJN HD
HBO 2 HD East	Planet Green HD	WNJU Telemundo HD
HBO 2 HD West	QVC HD	World Fishing Network HD
HBO Comedy HD	Recipe.TV	YES HD
HBO Comedy HD West

Since FiOS TV uses a unique blend of technology, specialized equipment is required to access the full channel lineup and additional features. TV’s that have a built-in QAM tuner can access the local channels and music channels without any additional equipment. All other TV’s will need a set top box or CableCard from Verizon. Verizon charges a monthly fee to lease each set top box. The equipment options and pricing are as follows:

Standard Definition set top box, $5.99/mo
- access channels in standard definition
- exclusive Interactive Media Guide
- access to On Demand content
- access to FiOS Widgets
High Definition set top box, $9.99/mo
- access channels in standard and high definition
- exclusive Interactive Media Guide
- access to On Demand content
- access to FiOS Widgets
HD DVR set top box, $15.99/mo
- access channels in standard and high definition
- exclusive Interactive Media Guide
- access to On Demand content
- access to FiOS Widgets
- pause and rewind live TV
- record up to 80 hours of SD programming and/or 20 hours of HD programming
- record up to 2 shows simultaneously
Home Media DVR set top box, $19.99/mo
- same features as HD DVR
- access recorded shows from any set top box in the house
- pause a program in one room and continue viewing it in another
- access photos and music stored on your computer
Digital Adapter, $3.99/mo
- access channels in standard definition
CableCard, $3.99/mo
- access channels in standard and high definition
- for use with CableCard Ready televisions or TiVo
- single-stream and multi-stream cards available

The HD capable set top boxes have both an HDMI and component video outputs. The DVR set top boxes have USB, IEEE 1394 (firewire) ports, and some have an E-SATA port, however external hard drives are not currently supported, so recording capacity is limited to the built-in 160GB hard drive. For reasons that may have to do with pressure from the television networks, the recording capacity on the FiOS DVR has not seen an upgrade since inception.

The Home Media DVR can comminucate with multiple other set top boxes without any additional wiring. This allows any set top box in the home to access recorded content on a single DVR. Up to three different recordings can be played back on different TV’s at the same time from one Home Media DVR. Standard definition set top boxes are limited to recordings that were recorded from an SD channel. In other words an HD recording can not be downscaled for playback on a standard definition set top box.

Premium channels are available for an additional cost. Those packages and pricing are as follows:

HBO, $15.99/mo
- 14 HBO channels including HBO Family and HBO Latino
- 14 additional HD channels of HBO
- HBO On Demand included
Movie package, $14.99/mo
- 45 Premium Channels including SHOWTIME®, STARZ®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL®, ENCORE®, FLIX®, IFC™ and SUNDANCE®
- Includes Premium HD channels and On Demand channels
Cinemax, $11.99/mo
- 12 Cinemax channels
- 12 additional HD channels of Cinemax
- Cinemax on Demand included
Spanish Language, $11.99/mo
- 27 popular channels including Univision and Galavision
WWE, $9.99/mo
Karaoke, $7.99/mo
HBO and Movie Package, $25.00/mo
HBO and Cinemax, $21.99/mo
HBO, Cinemax, and Movie Package, $30.00
MLB Extra Innings, $199.00/season
MLS Direct Kick, $64.00/season
NHL Center Ice, $79.00/season
Setanta Sports, $14.99/mo
International Channels, individually priced

In addition to programming, FiOS TV offers some exclusive features like the Interactive Media Guide. This is the graphical user interface provided with the service. It is an on screen programming guide that displays programming information and channel logos in a polished user friendly display. It also accesses your recorded shows, the On Demand library, an interactive search, and it allows you to customize different settings such as parental controls. Within the Interactive Media Guide, you can also setup FiOS Widgets. FiOS Widgets provide one-click access to horoscopes, weather forecasts, traffic information, and stock quotes. The What’s Hot widget displays the most watched programs in your area in real time.

Recent additions to the FiOS TV Widgets include Facebook and Twitter widgets, which allow FiOS TV users to view and update their Facebook or Twitter accounts, view photos on Facebook, and watch Twitter updates about a TV show as you’re watching the show. Through the FiOS TV Widget Bazaar and a FiOS TV SDK, Verizon is planning to open up FiOS TV Widget development to third parties in the very near future.

Through Verizon’s FiOS TV Central website, you can remotely manage your FiOS DVR and set shows to record. The service allows customers to remotely review, change or add scheduled recordings, delete recorded programs, browse and search TV and video on demand listings, and set parental controls. The mobile version of the site brings this capability to most web-enabled phones. The remote DVR management service is available to all FiOS TV DVR users at no extra charge.
fios phone

FiOS Phone Service (Digital Voice)

FiOS Digital Voice phone service is a new level of voice service developed exclusively for the FiOS network. It is currently available in limited areas in the northeast. There are plans to roll out the service nationwide wherever FiOS is available, but a timetable is not known. Technically FiOS Digital Voice is a VOIP (Voice Over IP) service, but will likely provide a much more reliable connection and higher quality of service than what is traditionally expected from VOIP service. It will also include tons of features like caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, and voicemail. FiOS Digital Voice is a big deal because its essentially set to replace Verizon’s current voice systems which have been in use for decades. It will offer more features and will be priced lower than current landline service.

Installation

Installation of FiOS can be a lengthy process. Most users report an installation time of 4-8 hours depending on the skill of the technician and the on-site conditions. Often a subcontractor for Verizon will come out before the scheduled FiOS installation to bury the fiber optic cable on your property. It won’t be connected however, until the Verizon technician arrives on your scheduled day.

First the technician will mount a Optical Network Terminal (ONT) on your home. This is usually done near the existing phone demarkation point, which is usually outside. Next the technician will install a battery backup unit (BBU). The easiest location for this unit is directly inside from the ONT. The BBU will need to plug-in to an existing electrical outlet in your home. The necessity of a battery backup is probably the lone disadvantage to using fiber optics in place of copper wiring. The battery backup unit is designed to provide phone service for up to 8 hours during a power outage.

Next up is inside wiring. If your home has existing cat5 cable or rg6 coaxial cable, the technician will make use of it. The router is usually setup next to your main computer and will require either a cat5 or rg6 cable wired back to the ONT. The Verizon branded wireless-G router is likely to be either an Actiontec MI424WR or a Westell UltraLine Series3 9100EM. By default the routers are enabled for wireless using WEP security and the security key is printed on a sticker on the router. For increased security, it’s a good idea to change the security to WPA2 with a new passkey.

Just like any other cable or satellite installer, the Verizon technician will use whatever he can of your existing coaxial wiring for connecting all TV’s in the house. If you’ve asked for a TV to be hooked up where there is no existing wiring, the technician will charge $54.99 for this service. Otherwise installation is free for up to three TV’s with existing wiring.

Once everything is wired up, the technician will spend the rest of the time setting up and activating your equipment. Every set top box must be working correctly before he’s on his way.

Installation of FiOS in multi-dwelling buildings like apartments can be a bit more complex. Luckily there are newer and smaller ONT’s designed to ease installations like these. The new ONT’s are about the size of a home router and are for indoor use, unlike the standard ONT that is usually mounted on the outside of a home. Verizon has two options for the smaller ONT’s: the Alcatel-Lucent I-21 1M-K indoor ONT, and the Motorola ONT 1000 GTI indoor ONT.