As most people know, cable companies have been moving customers to digital tiers in order to free up space on their systems and to allow for other uses such as providing Internet service.  The FCC is looking into how that is being done.  

At Verizon, our TV system was all-digital from the start although we did simulcast a few channels in analog format so that customers could see these channels without using a set top box.  Earlier this year, at the FCC’s urging, however, Verizon agreed to discontinue those analog simulcast channels before Feb. 17, 2009.  We have now done that.  

However, we did not move analog channels to different tiers of service as part of this process, and FiOS TV customers still receive the same channels, in the same tiers as they always have.  In fact, we provided a digital adapter to any customer who had analog TVs connected to FiOS without a set top box.  These adapters were provided for free as long as that customer remains a Verizon FiOS TV customer at their current location.  This digital adapter not only allows the customer with an older, analog TV to receive the small subset of channels that had been simulcast in analog format in an improved digital format, but also enables those customers to have access to the hundreds of other digital channels available on FiOS TV without adding a full-featured set top box.

So for Verizon customers there was no need to subscribe to a different, more expensive service tier to continue to receive the same channels, and, in fact, using the digital adapter, customers were able to receive more channels, not fewer, on TV sets not equipped with a FiOS set top box.

As we have told news reporters, we are confident the FCC will agree that this was an appropriate way to handle the change and we believe our customers agree as well.