Verizon Goes Fiber

OK, this is way cool if they go through with it. Verizon Commuunications announced they will run FTTP (Fiber To The Premises, sometimes called FTTH for Fiber To The Home) for a million customers by the end of this year. The program, called Verizon FIOS, is described in this press release.

Pricing will be amazing if they do this as promised, sending 15Mbps/2Mbps (downstream and upstream) to customers for $44.95 as part of a bundled service or $49.95 standalone. They promise a 30Mbps option but don’t yet have pricing.

How? They don’t say, but fiber cabling made of high-grade plastic may have dropped in price to be close to coax or telelphone wire now. Connectors have also dropped in price, and the technology to connect wires has been to the point a cigarette lighter can be used to fuse fiber to connector for several years.

Will Verizon make a million high speed connections before the end of the year? I doubt, but I wish them well. This should spur on other vendors to make the investment in their networks to support fiber to the premises.

And I hope they come to my house tomorrow.