All this talk started when Verizon’s CEO indicated that he wanted to “make video the company’s core product for its fixed-line business.” The Wall Street Journal then kindly points out the obvious that the best way to do that is to scoop up a satellite company. DirecTV would be the logical choice over Dish Network as it’s better performing and has a larger subscriber base.

Of course DirecTV or Verizon haven’t indicated that this is currently in the works, but the WSJ does have a point. Verizon’s fiber optic service, FiOS, is almost universally loved for its fast Internet, wide range of high-def stations and modest price. However, it’s been slow to roll out to new markets because fiber optic cable has to be ran to each home, which is a timely and costly endeavor. Verizon probably doesn’t have any plans to scale back its FiOS expansion plans, but it will take the company a while to be a national player at the current rate. Buying DirecTV – or Dish Network – is the fastest way to the top.

Everyone but Peter Ha loves FiOS. It’s fast, relativity cheap, and not Comcast. But now the deal is a little sweeter thanks to a cool promotion.

Right now Verizon is letting you choose the deal. Either you can get three services – voice, data, & TV – for the price of two for six months, OR a Compaq Mini netbook, OR a Flip Ultra camcorder. Personally I think I would rather get the cheaper monthly price, but that netbook is tempting since the lower price is only for six months. I would totally do one of these deals if I had FiOS available. [via Dealnews]

Peter might not be able to pay his FiOS bill, but apparently a lot of folks can. The Verizon fiber optic service now has over 2.5 million subscribers. That puts Verizon above Bright House Networks, but of course way behind the gigantic 25+ million subscriber base of Comcast.

Still, that’s not that bad considering that Verizon first started rolling out the fiber only a few years and is still only available in some markets. Personally, I have not heard of anyone that has access to FiOS turning it down over another provider. Some people look up the availability every single day. Maybe it’s the fact that the prices are reasonable, the speeds above par, and there are new features occasionally like free hotspot access.

Are you a FiOS customer? Want free access to Wi-Fi hotspots across the country? Of course you do! Starting today Verizon is offering free hotpsot access to new FiOS customers with the 25/15 package Mbps package. Those, like me, who joined before the increase in speeds and have the 20/5 Mbps package are also privy to free Wi-Fi. HSI customers with 3Mbps or 7.1Mbps plans can also tap into Verizon’s network. Check here for available hotspots in your area.

That’s great and all, but I still haven’t been able to pay my FiOS bill. Can’t do it online or over the phone because Verizon’s customer service is only capable of transferring me to someone who can supposedly help me who then sends me to someone and so on. Verizon, I’m not paying my bill because you won’t let me. You haven’t even sent me a bill in the mail and I know I owe you money.

Update: if you qualify (or think you do), go to www.verizon.net and log in using your usual username and password. It’ll point you to the software you need.

Well, isn’t this a kick in the pants? If you’re wearing mine it is. Just last week I had Verizon’s FiOS installed in my new apartment and today they announce new offers for customers and upgraded speeds. In short, I’m pissed. Turns out that I got a better deal and rate when I signed up two weeks ago. Hooray!

The entry-level tier for Internet service was 10Mbps down and 2Mbps up and now it’s 15/5Mbps. The 20/5Mbps (what I have) has now been bumped up to 25/15Mbps. In NYC and LI, the entry-level service starts at 25/15 and the mid-tier speeds have bumped up to 35/20.

Running through August 15th, new customers who order the Triple Play bundle from Verizon will get vouchers for a free Compaq netbook (10.1-inch) or Flip Ultra.

New customers who sign up for a triple bundle that consists of FiOS Internet with a connection speed of 25/15 Mbps or higher, FiOS TV Extreme HD service and FiOS Essentials voice service will receive their choice of a free Compaq Mini netbook* valued at $299.99 (customer only pays shipping, handling and taxes) or a free Flip Ultra camcorder, valued at $149.99.

New customers who order a triple bundle that consists of FiOS Internet with a connection speed of 15/5 Mbps or higher, FiOS TV Essentials service and Freedom Essentials voice service will receive a free Flip Ultra camcorder, or they can opt to purchase a Compaq Mini netbook* for just $99.99.

Verizon FiOS

If you happen to live in one of Verizon’s FiOS coverage areas, you might be interested to know that at least one ISP is reselling the exact same internet service for almost $50 per month cheaper depending on the speed tier.

DSL Extreme, a California-based ISP, has introduced what it’s calling “Fiber Extreme” — not to be confused with organic cereal — at between $40, $55, and $100 per month for 10, 20, and 50Mbps download speeds, respectively, over Verizon’s FiOS network.

Current pricing for the 50Mbps package directly from Verizon weighs in at $145 per month with a one-year contract or $165 per month without a contract. Certain customers in New York and Virginia are able to get it for $90 per month from Verizon, according to Ars Technica, although it’s priced at $145+ in remaining areas such as California, Connecticut, Washington DC, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington.

The deal from DSL Extreme is an introductory, one-year price, although a company VP told Ars that after a year the prices would just go up by $5 per month. You’re also not able to get FiOS cable and phone service through most resellers, just internet service.

Still, that’s a pretty deep discount that exposes how much wiggle room Verizon has in its pricing and ought to make the switch to fiber even more enticing for those within the coverage areas.

High Speed Internet – Fiber Service [DSLExtreme.com via Ars Technica]

Game on! Cablevision, a cable company that serves the suburbs of New York City, and whose ISP, OptimumOnline, I use, recently announced that it will offer the fastest broadband in America starting next month. Speeds will top out at 101 megabits per second down, 15 megabits per second up. (That translates to around 12.6 megabytes per second down, 1.8 megabytes per second up. BitTorrent seeding just got a whole lot easier. I mean, what else would you use these speeds for?) But you know who’s not too pleased about this? Verizon, what’s with its competing FiOS service. In fact, Verizon is calling Cablevision’s plan a “parlor trick.” I do believe Verizon is stylin’ on Cablevision.

Right, so Verizon, in so many words, is calling Cablevision a bunch of punks. There’s a few bullet points it wants us to “consider,” like how FiOS has the capacity to deliver 400 megabits per second to a single home (and how it already offers 20 megabits per second upstream on all its FiOS connections). Fair enough, but just because every child has the potential to become president doesn’t mean he or she will. Capacity is one thing; what I can actually use is another.

Verizon then goes into the ol’ one bad apple can ruin the bunch song and dance. That is, one bandwidth fiend using Cablevision’s system can slow down the network for everyone else. “One estimate,” no doubt carried out by “We hate Cablevision, Inc.,” said that one person can sap 60 percent of a given neighborhood’s bandwidth. And that may well be, but Verizon is missing one key point: I can actually get Cablevision’s super service.

Look, I couldn’t give a toss about the stupid Cablevison vs. Verizon war. (These guys have been at each others’ throats for years now. It’s like a terrible, truly awful sitcom.) Verizon can hate on Cablevision’s service, with theoretical, “well your service doesn’t do this, while ours does that,” all it wants. The fact is, come next month, I’ll actually be using Cablevison’s new service; FiOS is still nowhere to be found.

So maybe Verizon should get its act together and offer FiOS to more areas. Maybe then I’ll evaluate both services rather than deal in hypotheticals. Till then, all I have access to is Cablevision.

And believe you me: Cablevision is no saint. I mean, look at this awful commercial and you’ll see what we have to put up with over here. It actually hurts my insides:

Of the 4.3 million iPhone subscribers that AT&T added to its books in 2008, about 40 percent of them were new customers. It’s that type of growth that has AT&T scrambling to retain its exclusivity arrangement with Apple, which is expected to expire next year. If that agreement were to expire, Apple would be free to take the iPhone to other wireless carriers, like T-Mobile or Verizon Wireless (though Apple would have to develop a CDMA version of the phone first to bring it to VZW).

Yeah, apparently it’s all part of AT&T’s grand scheme to remain relevant. With POTS drying up—AT&T has 77 million wireless customers to 30 million landline customers—the company is trying to expand into new and exciting ventures. It’s hard to call the iPhone anything but a success for AT&T, but it needs to look beyond the phone that Jobs built in order to fend off the likes of Verizon Wireless, what with its FIOS Internet and TV service that every teenager in America wants (in order to leave uTorrent running 24/7).

A small suggestion: improve call quality in New York City. Not to keep harping on this, but the call quality of even the cheapest VZW phone is much better than the iPhone in New York, not even counting the dropped calls and severed Internet connection. See this comedian’s book for more on the subject of why the iPhone can be pretty annoying in New York.

Photo: Flickr

It’s a pity that not everyone can get Verizon’s FiOS but for those in the service area, now might be a good time to look at the service. New customers can score either a free year of a HD DVR or HD Home Media DVR. Current subscribers can upgrade and get a free month of HBO and Cinemax; sucks that current customers always get shafted. The offer is good through October 4.

Sounds like a good deal to us if you’re a new customer.

Details

Which means most of that growth was again coming from its wireless arm: Verizon Wireless reported adding 1.5 million new customers during the second quarter, with the lowest record churn rate (or number of customers leaving for another carrier) of 1.12%. Verizon Wireless said its total revenues were up 11.8% from the same quarter last year, and that its average monthly reveneue per customer increased for the 9th consecutive quarter, coming in at $51.53, monthly data revenue was up 31.3%.

Verizon also said it successfully sold more FiOS services including 176,000 new FiOS TV customers, and 187,000 net new FiOS Internet customers.

Verizon Reports Double-Digit Earnings Growth, Strong Operating Cash Flows, Sales Gains in All Key Areas in 2Q

NEW YORK — Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) today reported continued strong results in the second quarter 2008. Verizon Wireless again led the industry in key metrics, while Verizon Wireline expanded penetration of FiOS services and continued to increase sales of strategic business services.

Verizon reported 66 cents in diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the second quarter 2008, compared with 58 cents per share in the second quarter 2007.

On an adjusted basis (non-GAAP), second-quarter 2008 earnings were 67 cents per share, a 15.5 percent increase compared with 58 cents per share in the second quarter 2007.

Adjusted earnings in the second quarter 2008 excluded $22 million after-tax, or 1 cent per share, for merger integration costs. Adjusted earnings in the second quarter 2007 also excluded 1 cent per share for merger integration costs.

Investments Delivering New Growth

“Verizon continued to grow in all key strategic areas in the second quarter, despite the economic headwinds,” said Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg. “Recent investments in wireless spectrum and in our FiOS network will help drive future growth opportunities. We expect additional opportunities for FiOS growth as we add major cities, such as New York .

“Our second quarter results were on track with our business plan, and top- and bottom-line growth remained solid,” he said. “We remain focused on steady improvements in revenue growth and productivity that will increase profitability and cash flows and create future opportunities to enhance shareholder returns.”

Revenue Growth, Margin Expansion and Strong Operating Cash Flows

Verizon’s total operating revenues grew to $24.1 billion in the second quarter 2008. This is a 3.7 percent increase compared with the second quarter 2007, or an increase of 4.9 percent when adjusted for the spinoff of the Wireline segment’s non-strategic local exchange and related business assets in Maine , New Hampshire and Vermont (non-GAAP). Total operating expenses increased 2.4 percent to $19.6 billion, comparing second quarter 2008 with second quarter 2007.

Verizon’s operating income grew 9.6 percent to $4.5 billion, compared with the second quarter 2007. Adjusted operating income (non-GAAP) grew 10.9 percent. Operating income margin rose to 18.8 percent, compared with 17.8 percent in the second quarter 2007. On an adjusted basis, Verizon’s operating income margin rose to 19.0 percent, compared with 18.0 percent in the second quarter 2007.

Cash flows from continuing operations were $12.1 billion through the first six months of 2008, up 4.2 percent compared with the same period last year. Capital expenditures were $8.4 billion through the first six months of 2008, down more than $100 million over the same period last year.

Total debt was $43.1 billion, compared with $35.8 billion at the end of the first quarter 2008. In the second quarter, the company made final payments of approximately $8.5 billion for licenses won in the Federal Communications Commission’s 700 MHz spectrum auction and purchased $4.8 billion of Alltel Corp. debt in connection with the pending acquisition of Alltel.

Wireless Continues to Gain Share, Posts Record Low Churn

Verizon Wireless continued to lead the industry with strong, quality customer growth, record-low churn and the highest profitability. In the second quarter:

* Of the 1.5 million total net customer additions, essentially all were retail post-paid.
* Retail gross customer additions were strong, up 3.2 percent over the prior year.
* Total churn was industry-leading and down year over year at 1.12 percent, a record low for the company. Among the company’s retail post-paid customers, churn was even lower at 0.83 percent, also a record low.
* Wireless continued its double-digit revenue growth, with total revenues of $12.1 billion, up 11.8 percent year over year. Service revenues were $10.5 billion, up 11.6 percent year over year, driven by customer growth and demand for data services. ARPU levels (average monthly revenue per customer) increased year over year for the ninth consecutive quarter. Total service ARPU of $51.53 was up 0.9 percent year over year driven by total data ARPU, which was up 31.3 percent.
* Wireless operating income margin was 28.6 percent, the highest ever.
* EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP) was 45.6 percent. (EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.)

Significant Business Development Initiatives

Verizon Wireless, which expects the closing of the Rural Cellular acquisition soon, also launched or completed several significant business development initiatives in the second quarter:

* The company paid for the 700 MHz spectrum it gained in the FCC’s auction. The purchase includes a nationwide footprint the company will use to build its 4G LTE (fourth generation, Long Term Evolution) network in the 2010 timeframe.
* The company announced an agreement to purchase Alltel, with completion of the merger targeted for the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals.
* The company announced a five-year agreement with Qwest Communications International for Qwest to market and sell Verizon Wireless service beginning this summer.

Continued Growth in FiOS, Strategic Services

Verizon Wireline expanded penetration of FiOS services and continued to increase sales of enterprise strategic services. In the second quarter (with prior-period comparisons adjusted to reflect the impact of the previously mentioned spinoff):

* Sales penetration rates (percentage of potential customers who buy the service) increased for both FiOS Internet (available for sale to nearly 8.4 million premises) and FiOS TV (available for sale to 7.0 million premises). FiOS Internet penetration averaged 23.5 percent across all markets, up from 18.7 percent in last year’s second quarter. FiOS TV penetration averaged 19.7 percent across all markets, up from 13.3 percent.
* Verizon added 176,000 net new FiOS TV customers, for a total of nearly 1.4 million FiOS TV customers as of the end of the quarter.
* Verizon added 187,000 net new FiOS Internet customers. The company had nearly 2 million FiOS Internet customers at the end of the quarter, nearly doubling the number of FiOS Internet customers since the end of second quarter 2007. Verizon added its 2 millionth FiOS Internet customer earlier this month.
* Broadband and video revenues from consumer customers totaled more than $1.0 billion in the second quarter, representing year-over-year growth of 52.9 percent.
* Growing revenue from broadband and video services drove consumer ARPU in legacy Verizon wireline markets (which excludes consumer markets served by the former MCI) to $63.76, a 10.4 percent increase compared with last year’s second quarter. The ARPU among FiOS customers was more than $130 per month.
* Verizon Business had total revenues of $5.3 billion, or growth of 0.9 percent compared with last year’s second quarter. This was Verizon Business’ seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year pro-forma revenue growth (non-GAAP, calculated as if Verizon and MCI had merged on Jan. 1, 2005). Global enterprise revenue, representing retail sales, increased 1.7 percent to $4.0 billion, compared with last year’s second quarter.
* Sales of strategic services — such as IP (Internet protocol), managed services, Ethernet and optical ring services — continued to drive growth at Verizon Business. These services generated $1.5 billion in revenue, up 18.7 percent from second quarter 2007.

Additional Highlights

Wireless

* The company has the most retail customers in the industry. At the end of the second quarter, 97 percent of the company’s base was retail (post-pay and pre-pay).
* Verizon Wireless continued to lead the industry in cost efficiency. Cash expense per customer (non-GAAP) was $28.02 in the second quarter 2008, an increase of 1.2 percent over the second quarter 2007 and a decrease of 0.1 percent from the first quarter 2008.
* Data revenues grew 45.3 percent over the prior year, contributing nearly $2.6 billion. The company had 49.6 million retail data customers in June (approximately three-quarters of its retail customer base), a 25.6 percent increase over the prior year.
* Building on the success of its first Open Development Initiative (ODI) conference held in March, Verizon Wireless during the second quarter certified the first device for use on its network under ODI. Provided by SupplyNet Communications, the device is a machine-to-machine wireless inventory telemetry system to monitor inventories at customer locations and send alerts when set levels are reached.
* The company continued to extend the reach of its nationwide wireless broadband network. This is the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G (third generation) network, and it was available to more than 256 million Americans by the end of the second quarter. More than 60 percent of the company’s retail customers — 40.5 million — had 3G broadband-capable devices at the end of the quarter.
* To continue to meet demand for broadband devices, Verizon Wireless launched the BlackBerry Curve 8330, the Moto Q 9c and the Palm Centro for business connectivity and productivity. The company also announced the availability of three new multimedia handsets by LG: the Dare, featuring an all-touch screen operation; the Decoy, the world’s first phone with a built-in detachable Bluetooth headset; and the Chocolate 3, the latest version of the iconic music phone. In addition, in the second quarter, the company launched the Glyde by Samsung, the Motorola w755 and the Nokia 6205 (The Dark Knight Edition).
* During the quarter, Verizon Wireless launched V CAST Music with Rhapsody, a monthly subscription service combining the company’s world-class mobile music service with Rhapsody’s leading desktop music solution, which delivers unlimited access to music on select wireless phones and players, and online on PCs, for $14.99 a month.
* During the quarter, Verizon Wireless customers sent or received nearly 70 billion text messages and 1.4 billion picture/video messages. Customers also completed 36.5 million music and video downloads.

Wireline
* Wireline total operating revenues were $12.1 billion, a 1.8 percent decrease compared with the second quarter 2007. Wireline total operating expenses decreased 1.7 percent over the same period.
* Verizon gained final approval for the New York City video franchise in July, and the company today is announcing the sales launch of FiOS TV service in the city — as well as the availability of 100 high-definition FiOS TV channels in the New York metropolitan area. The New York City franchise covers 3 million premises, and Verizon already passes about 25 percent of these with fiber. About 2 million premises are in multiple dwelling units.
* Verizon’s broadband fiber-to-the-premises network, which delivers FiOS Internet and FiOS TV services, passed 11.0 million and 9.6 million premises, respectively, throughout the company’s entire service territory by the end of the quarter.
* Total broadband connections were 8.3 million, a net increase of 54,000 over the first quarter 2008. This includes a decrease of 133,000 DSL-based Verizon High Speed Internet connections, which was more than offset by the increase in FiOS Internet customers. The
* 8.3 million is an 11.5 percent year-over year increase, excluding broadband connections in 2007 in the three New England states that have since been spun off.
* Wireline data revenues — which now represent 41.8 percent of total wireline revenues — were $5.1 billion, an increase of 16.1 percent compared with the second quarter 2007. This includes revenues from consumer broadband services, wholesale data transport and Verizon Business data services.
* Verizon Business, which delivers integrated global solutions to large-business and government customers and operates the world’s most connected public IP network, again announced significant capability enhancements. These included expanded unified communications services for multinational companies; expanded global professional consulting services; enhanced optical capabilities for Ethernet networks; expanded enterprise mobility offerings in Asia-Pac and Canada ; and several additional managed security services.
* Verizon Business continued to expand its reach into high-growth, global markets, announcing that it had joined the Europe India Gateway submarine cable consortium, which will build a 9,000-mile high-speed submarine cable network from the United Kingdom to India. The company also unveiled plans to open an office in Dubai to further strengthen its Middle East operations, and it received approval to directly deliver advanced communications services in Mexico .
* Additional global network enhancements included turning up 1,940 route-miles of Ultra Long Haul network in Europe connecting London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Brussels, as well as 804 additional U.S. route-miles; deploying new multiplexer technology in nine additional U.S. markets, enabling remote configuration and provisioning of bandwidth; and installing additional MPLS-based (multi protocol label switching) switches in 22 additional global business centers.
* New commercial customer agreements included Liz Claiborne Inc., Milliman Inc., Parsons Brinckerhoff, Standard Register and Western Union . In addition, Bühler became the first customer of the Swisscom/Verizon Business strategic alliance announced during the second quarter. Verizon Business also signed new contracts with several U.S. government agencies, including a 10-year, $678.5 million agreement under the Networx Universal program to deploy and manage a global IP network for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Look for Verizon to start infiltrating select NYC neighborhoods in the “coming weeks” while they deploy their fiber-optic network. The telco giant has received approval from the New York State Public Service Commission to start selling its FiOS cable TV service in New York.

As Verizon FiOS is 100% fiber-optic all the way to your home, expect the transition to take some time. It would seem Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and RCN have some time before they start actually losing customers.

In the suburban northern New Jersey town that I live in, we have telephony infrastructure that is absolutely ancient. This is par for the course for many communities all over the United States. We have copper wire dating back to the 1950’s, with junction boxes to match. Most of our telephone wiring is on good ‘ol telephone poles, a lot of them still made out of wood.

Wood! What horrors have these suburbanites committed that the great, dark god Verizonus doth ignore them so!

Suburbanites to arms! Your lifestyle is at stake here. Maybe you all can meet at Olive Garden to discuss this.

Full disclosure – I live in Brooklyn and even I can’t get FiOS, so stop yer whining.

You know when there’s this kind of catfight that none of them have anything decent to offer. If any one of them really had a truly superior product, they would be able to say so with authority and the benefits would be manifest. But this kind of little dust-up just means they’ve all got nothing and their lawyers just needed a workout.

If you happen to live in one of the lucky areas of the 16 states where Verizon has made FiOS available, you’ll be able to top your Internet connection out at 50 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up. Verizon says the speed enhancements will begin next week.

Some markets already have the 50/20 speed tier, but Verizon will be rolling out faster connections to FiOS customers where 30 Mbps had previously been the highest download speed available – about ten states in all. At those speeds, service isn’t cheap. The 50/20 plan apparently costs $140 per month unless you live in New York or Virginia, where it’s somewhat more affordable at $90 per month.

From Verizon’s press release…

“[T]he company is expanding its industry-leading FiOS Internet connections of 50/20, 20/20, 20/5 and 10/2 Mbps  across all of Verizon’s FiOS Internet service footprint in 16 states…

…Verizon had already offered the 50/20 Mbps and 20/20 Mbps services in its FiOS markets in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.  The company is now expanding those offerings to new Verizon FiOS customers in parts of California, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington, replacing existing offerings of 30/15 Mbps and 15/15 Mbps services, respectively. 

The mid-tier connection speed in those markets for new customers is being increased from 15/2 Mbps to 20/5 Mbps, and the basic service tier is being increased from 5/2 Mbps to 10/2 Mbps.  Existing FiOS Internet customers who are interested in the new speed options can call Verizon for information about the new plans.”

Full press release here.

Verizon released some b-roll of FiOS being prepared in New York with the promise that as soon as “city officials” approve of the service we’re going to get some sweet, sweet downstream speed. Until FiOS arrives in your area, however, Verizon suggests doing one or more of the following:

1. Reorganizing your wallet.
2. Finally calling the 311 on the man who keeps putting his Christmas Tree out in February and getting needles all over your stoop.
3. Cutting your fingernails on the train.
4. Walking angry.
5. Visiting your aged mother upstate.

Cable companies’ ads are typically woeful, but misleading? That’s unthinkable. Or is it? Not if you ask Verizon. And, please, do, they’d love to hear from you.

Verizon filed suit today against Time Warner, Internet darling, claiming that one of its ads is a pack of lies. You can see the ad for yourself right up there.

Verizon says the ad misrepresents its FTTP service, FiOS, and makes consumers think that you need to install a satellite dish in order to receive TV. That’s what I got out of the ad, too.

Oh, and Verizon, please come up with a better way to tell your potential customers whether or not they can get FiOS. Your Web site says I need to enter a landline telephone number to see if my residence qualifies. Well, it’s 2008 and I don’t have a traditional landline. Why isn’t my address sufficient? (Yes, I tried my address and it comes up with something like, “We’re not sure if you qualify, try your Verizon phone number instead!”) I’d gladly switch over to FiOS.

Guess what? There are 17,000 outdoor U-verse boxes containing backup batteries made by Quebecois company Avestor, a company that no longer exists due to bankruptcy.

Wait there’s more. These batteries are exploding and catching on fire. Nobody’s been injured yet but if you see one of those boxes on the side of the road, treat it as though it were a giant bear.

This setback might just, um, set back AT&T a little bit as it tries to catch up to Verizon’s FiOS service, which covers every area of Boston except mine (and a bunch of other cities, too). AT&T hopes to sign up a million customers by the end of the year. Verizon hit a million last June.

Exploding Batteries Plague AT&T’s U-verse [InformationWeek]

This is troubling to cable TV providers, as they’ve traditionally been the monopoly in the HD delivery marketplace. While it’s still uncertain what the FCC will say on that subject, the fact is Internet providers mike make cable TV redundant. Super IPTV to the home at breakneck data rates? Ok! Thanks, Verizon!

HD Video-on-Demand Now Playing on Verizon FiOS TV [Press release]

Now it’s ten years later and I wonder if a 50 Mbps (20 Mbps up) connection would elicit the same response. That’s how fast you can get Verizon FiOS in some areas now. It’s an insane speed for normal run-of-the-mill browsing. I don’t think I’d be quite as excited as I was back in college because I’ve grown accustomed to about 10 Mbps at home but I might be somewhat amazed at how fast I’d be able to download, say, an entire movie.

Whatever the case, most normal people probably won’t be upgrading in the near future because of the $140-per-month price tag. Early adopters, small businesses, and speed freaks may find the cost to be totally worth it, though. There’s also a 30 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up service tier being rolled out to other areas at $90/month.

All service areas (16 states) are now carrying Verizon’s symmetrical connections (originally launched in limited areas last month), which provide up to 20 Mbps in both directions starting at around $65 per month with a year contract. Here’s some more information from a recent Verizon press release.

"Starting today, Verizon is offering its high-speed symmetrical FiOS Internet services to consumers in 16 states served by its advanced, all-fiber-optic network.  The symmetrical services make possible equally fast downstream and upstream connections of up to 15 megabits per second (Mbps) or up to 20 Mbps depending on the state where the service is sold.

At the same time, Verizon also has dramatically increased the upload speed of its fastest FiOS Internet services across its FiOS Internet service areas.  These new services offer consumers downstream/upstream connections of either up to 50 Mbps/20 Mbps or up to 30 Mbps/15 Mbps depending on the state where the service is sold."

Verizon Continues to Dramatically Raise Broadband Upload Speeds in FiOS Internet Service Areas [Verizon Press Release] via GigaOM

In just a little bit, we’re going to hear from Vince about his experiences with Time-Warner cable. Here in Seattle, we don’t have that as an option. I’m stuck with Comcast, for better or worse, but I sure do wish I had Verizon. Comcast has a handful of HD channels, and most of them are crap, (I swear I was watching something at 10 frames per second in “HD” last night,) while Verizon’s FIOS customers are soon getting 150 HD channels. One-hundred and fifty. I am so jealous.

Not only that, Vzn will be adding thousands of HD movies to its on-demand system.

This is all happening in the next year. Hopefully, with the support of the FCC, there will be more competition in the cable TV neighborhood and I can choo-choo-choose the provider I want. We can dream.

Verizon Plans Fivefold Increase in HD Channels on FiOS TV in 2008 [Press release]