Verizon To Upgrade FIOS To 300Mbps for $204.99 a Month
Subject: General Tech | June 3, 2012 - 04:23 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: verizon, pricing, Internet, fios, fiber, 300mbps
According to sources that talked with The Verge, Verizon is planning on offering faster internet services for its FIOS customers, but the new tiers are going to cost a pretty penny.
Verizon will be upgrading many of its FIOS internet speeds, and the changes are set to go into effect on June 17th. The base 15/5Mbps (download/upload) plan will cost $10 more than the current price of $54.99 at $64.99 a month. The current 25/25Mbps will be upgraded to 50/25 and will not see a price increase–it will continue to cost $74.99. The current 50/20Mbps plan will see a significant speed bump to 150/65Mbps, and it will cost $94.99 a month (no price increase). A new 75/35 speed plan will become available and it will cost $84.99 a month. Finally, the service that readers will be drooling over–the 300Mbps plan–will feature speeds of 300Mbps downloads and 65Mbps uploads. It will cost a hefty $204.99 a month, a price that The Verge notes is a mere $5 more than the 150/35 speed tier that it replaces.
In typical Comcast telco fashion, Verizon has managed to tack on up to three fees including a $5 per month fee for those without a contract, a $5 fee for those that do not subscribe to FIOS phone service, and a $100 fee to install equipment for those that want the upper two speed tiers. Fortunately (sort of...), users can avoid the $100 fee if they are new customers or already subscribe to the company’s 150Mbps tier. Also on the less-than-stellar news front, Verizon will not be upgrading plans for those on VDSL plans (in buildings where Verizon delivers fiber to the premises and uses copper from there to homes–think older apartment buildings). Even worse, VDSL customers will still be subject to the increased pricing although they cannot take advantage of the upgraded speeds.
| Single Family Home | VDSL 1 | VDSL 2 | 2 Year Contract | Month-to-Month Rate |
| 3/1 Mbps | 3/1 Mbps | 3/1 Mbps | $54.99 | $59.99 |
| 15/5 Mbps | 10/2 Mbps | 15/5 Mbps | $64.99 | $69.99 |
| 50/25 Mbps | 20/5 Mbps | 20/10 Mbps | $74.99 | $79.99 |
| 75/35 Mbps | 30/5 Mbps | 50/10 Mbps | $84.99 | $89.99 |
| 150/65 | n/a | n/a | $94.99 | $99.99 |
| 300/65 | n/a | n/a | $204.99 | $309.99 |
(Source: The Verge. The 150/65 plan doesn't seem like a bad deal actually, if only I had FIOS in my area!)
So this fiber internet upgrade announcement seems great at first does have a dark side. Some customers will be getting a great deal while others will be getting the short end of the stick. Here’s hoping that you are one of the lucky customers on the middle tiers who have FTTH that get a free speed upgrade! More information on the specifics of this upgrade should be coming later this month.
Verizon And Coinstar Backing New Subscription Redbox + Streaming Movie Service
Subject: General Tech | February 6, 2012 - 12:27 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: verizon, subscription service, redbox, movies
Netflix has stood at the top of the hill for quite a while now as the streaming and disc subscription service of choice despite the price hikes and Warner Brothers' stupidity in regards to the 56 day waiting period to get a DVD (although it takes only an hour to pirate...). They may have a new contender later this year; however, because, Verizon and Coinstar (the company behind Redbox) are teaming up to create a joint venture that will launch a new subscription service offering physical discs through the Redbox kiosks and streaming and download-able movies through Verizon.
The new joint venture will launch the product portfolio in the second half of 2012, according to Verizon. Further, the joint venture will be a limited liability company with Verizion holding a 65% stake and Coinstar holding a 35% stake. Neither company was willing to go into details on how much the subscription would cost or how exactly it would work at this time due to "competitive concerns." They did dole out a few small bits of information about the service, however.
Verizon's President of Consumer and Mass Business Markets Bob Mudge talked confidently about the new streaming service during a conference call to the press where he talked about putting Verizon's large Fiber to the Home (their FIOS service), DSL, and Wireless 4G LTE networks to work to deliver streaming services "to all consumers across the US" whenever they want and on the devices they want to use. Meanwhile, Coinstar will be using the thousands of Redbox kiosks in malls, grocery stores, Wal-Marts, Walgreens, and gas stations to deliver physical discs to consumers throughout the US. They are planning a single source, multi-platform, national product, and will be releasing more details as they get closer to the launch window.
It is certainly interesting, and the streaming subscription space could really use healthy competition and companies with enough weight to throw around to muscle the studios into entering the 21st century with increased streaming licenses and better contract deals. Redbox has recently revolted against Warner Brothers' 56 day waiting period in favor of obtaining the movies through other means, so the studios are not exactly friendly to renting discs much less streaming rights. Here's hoping that the new joint venture can become profitable and serve as further proof that providing a subscription service is a viable revenue stream to studios while being affordable to consumers. A commenter on another forum suggested that it would be a great idea for Verizon to incorporate the streaming service into its FIOS plans as a value add, which is a move that would certainly spread adoption and give the company a quick influx of users!
Do you think Verizon and Coinstar (Redbox) can take on Netflix?
Introduction, Design and Ergonomics
Droid. When the brand launched, this was a name that stood for something. While the iPhone enthralled consumers with a friendly, easy, but ostensibly restrictive experience, Droid retaliated with the motto “Droid Does.” It was all about superior functionality, and in that regard it was a success. Today we’ll be looking at the Droid Charge, a phone coming by way of Samsung.
The Droid Charge is the second 4G LTE phone to hit Verizon’s network, making it an obvious competitor to the HTC Thunderbolt (along with the recently released LG Revolution). Like the Thunderbolt, the Charge is a member of a breed of single-core flagship phone that is already in the process of becoming extinct. Let’s have a look at what else powers Samsung’s Droid.
Many buyers are too quick to dismiss phones based of hardware specs, however – the single core tells us little about the Charge’s performance as a phone. As the first Droid to come from Samsung’s stable, this is actually quite an interesting device. Will the brand remain meaningful on a device from this manufacturer? Or is it being diluted?
Keep reading our review of the Samsung Droid Charge for all the info!!
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