Om is quoting a study on Verizon FiOS in the wild and came away with a starling realization: fiber optics will probably tear cable Internet and TV a new poop hole. Although only a few places have FiOS now, when Verizon rolled it out in Massachusetts:

Comcast lost 5,216 subscribers across a base of 204,160, a drop of 2.6%.

RCN lost 1,813 subscribers, or 7% off its base of 25,895 subscribers.

While that’s not earth-shattering, it does mean that someone out there knows a good thing when they see it. Hrm… maybe a little FiOS in Brooklyn? Nah… just checked. No FiOS in Bay Ridge.

Study [via GigaOm]

Groundbreaking!

Hey, John, I like FiOS. Nuts to your crazy, East Asian “technology,” OK? Now, thanks to Zatz, I can look (no touching!) at FiOS TV 2.0, what the kids will call IMG. The jazzed up interface++, which now includes super helpful widgets and a free hard drive space indicator(!), is currently available in select FiOS neighborhoods. Verizon is expected to announce IMG’s wider, nationwide rollout soon, complete with the soul-crushing news that it still has no intention of making my neighborhood FiOS-compatible.

Hands On With Verizon FiOS TV 2.0 [Zatz Not Funny!]

We at CrunchGear have been mean to FiOS because we’re dumb and don’t understand that fiber is the future. Just to rub it in, Verizon sent us this video of the Bayer family out in Longuyland saying that fiber is supergreat. I’m kind of a futurist when it comes to connectivity — I’ve seen too much cool wireless stuff in Asia to think that wireline networking is the way to go but until that day comes, good on ya, Verizon.

One Millionth FiOS Customer Video [Verizon]

Michael McKeehan, Verizon director of Internet and technology, declared today at FTTH that Verizon’s FiOS is ready for whatever bandwidths its competitors ramp up to. “If they offer 6Mbps, we go a bit better. We don’t see the need to ramp up the speeds just yet,” said McKeehan.

The problem that I see, is an availability that comparatively is more limited than other broadband companies. Fiber to the premises is great, but a quick look at an availability list shows that its proliferation is sparse.

Hopefully Verizon will spread it more drastically this year. I’d love to get some fiber in my Internet diet.

TTH 2007 Europe: Verizon Deals Cablecos FTTH Blow [via Broadband Reports]