“Fast” Internet access means different things to different people.  If you’re a cable customer, it means that you’re can look forward to new upload speeds of 1 Mbps or 2 Mbps paired with typical promised but not always delivered download speeds of 6 Mbps.  If you’re a Verizon FiOS customer, it means broadband speeds that are unmatched by any competitor.

As Verizon FiOS Internet customer Bob Cariste of New Jersey puts it, “(FiOS Internet service) is the fastest and the most reliable.  Those are the two things you can judge Internet on.”

Next week, the best gets even better as Verizon expands its industry-leading 50/20 Mbps and 20/20 Mbps FiOS Internet service across the entire FiOS Internet service footprint in 16 states.  These speeds were already available in some FiOS markets in the Northeast and Florida.  Now, new Verizon FiOS customers in 10 additional states can choose 50/20 Mbps and 20/20 Mbps, which replace current offerings of 30/15 Mpbs and 15/15 Mbps services respectively.  They also can choose from new mid- and basic-tier 20/5 and 10/2 services, which replace the former 15/2 and 5/2 plans.  Existing FiOS Internet customers who want to upgrade their speeds can call Verizon for more information on new plans.

The bottom line is that ultra-high-speed broadband from Verizon is available to all 10 million homes and small businesses within reach of Verizon’s fiber-to-the-home network.  By 2010, the FiOS network will reach more than 18 million customers.

Cable is promising speed upgrades when it rolls out DOCSIS 3.0 to limited markets in the future.  Verizon’s 50/20 FiOS Internet connection is here today, and it’s the fastest available to consumers in the United States.

UPDATE (6/23/08): This video is of two customers discussing the 50Mbs FiOS connection: