Verizon to spend $3 billion on upgrades, offerings

Verizon this week said it will spend $3 billion over the next two years to bring broadband networking to the mass market.

The investment will include two network expansions and the rollout of a service and product to help businesses and residences integrate and manage disparate communications devices and applications.

The new service, called iobi, is designed to utilize the carrier's wireline, wireless, data and IP networks to link a customer's various communication devices into a customized personal communications network.

It's intended to allow customers to manage phone calls, voice mail, calendars, address books and e-mail using wireline and wireless phones, computers, laptops and PDAs. For example, what someone sends as a voice message from a landline or cell phone can be received as an e-mail or text message on a PDA or laptop, or redirected to a different phone line. The service can locate customers and customize communications delivery based on preference or time of day, Verizon says.

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Verizon this week said it will spend $3 billion over the next two years to bring broadband networking to the mass market.

The investment will include two network expansions and the rollout of a service and product to help businesses and residences integrate and manage disparate communications devices and applications.

The new service, called iobi, is designed to utilize the carrier's wireline, wireless, data and IP networks to link a customer's various communication devices into a customized personal communications network.

It's intended to allow customers to manage phone calls, voice mail, calendars, address books and e-mail using wireline and wireless phones, computers, laptops and PDAs. For example, what someone sends as a voice message from a landline or cell phone can be received as an e-mail or text message on a PDA or laptop, or redirected to a different phone line. The service can locate customers and customize communications delivery based on preference or time of day, Verizon says.

Verizon will begin introducing iobi in later this year.

A new product called Verizon One combines a DSL modem and wireless router with a touch-screen computer and a cordless telephone, and is configured for the iobi service.

Customers can use Verizon One to call with one click from their address book or online directory assistance; view information from various news, weather or entertainment sources; scroll through Verizon SuperPages.com to look up and call phone numbers; leave text messages; manage calls; schedule call forwarding; and manage contact lists and calendars.

Verizon plans to introduce an initial version of Verizon One later this year.

The network expansions involve both Verizon's wireless and wireline networks. Verizon Wireless will expand its third-generation (3G) mobile data BroadbandAccess network nationwide over the next two years. In addition to its ongoing annual capital investment, Verizon will invest an additional $1 billion over the next two years to further deploy its Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) broadband technology.

BroadbandAccess is based on CDMA technology and boasts average user speeds of 300K bit/sec to 500K bit/sec. The service will be available to business and individual customers in portions of the Verizon Wireless network this summer, and in additional markets through 2005, the carrier says.

Verizon says it will also accelerate the evolution of its nationwide wireline network to packet-switching technology. Earlier this week, Verizon announced that it has selected Nortel to supply VoIP equipment for both local and long-distance applications.

Verizon says it will create the nation's largest converged IP network. In this effort, the carrier has invested $55 billion in its network infrastructure since 2000.