As I read that at&t was beginning another employee trial (their 5^th market, according to the post) of their u-verse video product, I thought about how far along our own fiber-to-the-people product is, i.e. FiOS.  But how far?  Colleagues here sent me a handy fact sheet that tells the story, circa, 2006.  Highlights:

• Verizon has passed about 6 million homes and businesses – installing more than 366 million feet of fiber -- in parts of the 16 states
• Verizon had 522,000 FiOS Internet customers at the end of the third quarter 2006
• Verizon had 118,000 FiOS TV customers at the end of the third quarter 2006
• As of late December, Verizon had 274 local video franchises.  When the company begins selling its video services in all of the localities covered by the franchises, FiOS TV will be available to about 5.4 million households
• Monthly churn rates, a measure of customer turnover, have been below 1.5 percent for both FiOS Internet Service and FiOS TV, indicating customer loyalty that exceeds the company’s expectations
• Verizon will begin boosting speeds and capabilities on its all-fiber network when it begins deploying advanced G-PON electronics in 2007.  This technology can increase downstream broadband speeds by up to four times, and upstream speeds by eight times.

Here’s the full document, sorry no link, this post will have to do:

Verizon is the only major U.S. telecom company building an advanced, all-digital fiber-optic network, on a mass scale, all the way to customers’ homes. As a result, only Verizon's fiber-to-the- premises (FTTP) network has earned the certification of the independent Fiber to the Home Council.

Where is Verizon Deploying Its FTTP Network?

·        At the end of 2006, Verizon had passed about 6 million homes and businesses – installing more than 366 million feet of fiber -- in parts of the 16 states below:

·        Verizon expects to continue passing some 3 million premises annually through 2010, when we expect to have passed about 18 million homes, or over half the homes we serve.

·        Verizon will begin boosting speeds and capabilities on its all-fiber network when it begins deploying advanced G-PON electronics in 2007.  This technology can increase downstream broadband speeds by up to four times, and upstream speeds by eight times.

What Broadband Products is Verizon Delivering on its All-Fiber Network?

·        At the end of 2006, Verizon was marketing its industry-leading, high-speed FiOS Internet service – with downstream speeds of up to 50 Mbps and upstream speeds of up to 10 Mbps – in over 1,500 communities in all 16 states where the company is building its FTTP network.

·        Verizon had 522,000 FiOS Internet customers at the end of the third quarter 2006.

·        By the end of 2006, Verizon expected to have about 725,000 FiOS Internet customers, with service available for sale to 5 million premises.  This represents a market penetration of about 15 percent.

·        Verizon expects to attract up to 7 million FiOS Internet customers by year-end 2010 – a penetration rate of 35 to 40 percent.

·        For more information on the products and prices, go to: http://www22.verizon.com/Content/ConsumerFiOS/

What Video Products is Verizon Delivering on its All-Fiber Network?

·        At the end of 2006, Verizon was selling its all-digital FiOS TV Service in over 150 communities in eight of the states where the company is building FTTP:  California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

·        FiOS TV will be available in Delaware and New Jersey in early 2007.

·        Verizon's FiOS TV delivers hundreds of digital video and music channels, high-definition programming, video-on-demand content, a robust interactive programming guide and other customer-friendly features.

·        Verizon had 118,000 FiOS TV customers at the end of the third quarter 2006.

·        By the end of 2006, Verizon expected to have about 175,000 FiOS TV customers, with the service available for sale to 1.8 million households. This represents a market penetration of about 10 percent.

·        Verizon expects to attract from 3 million to 4 million FiOS TV customers by 2010, which would be a market penetration of 20 percent of 25 percent.

·        As of late December, Verizon had 274 local video franchises.  When the company begins selling its video services in all of the localities covered by the franchises, FiOS TV will be available to about 5.4 million households.  In addition, in New Jersey, the company has 316 communities covered by the new state-issued video franchise there. Verizon expects to announce in January where it will begin selling FiOS TV in New Jersey.

·        Monthly churn rates, a measure of customer turnover, have been below 1.5 percent for both FiOS Internet Service and FiOS TV, indicating customer loyalty that exceeds the company’s expectations.

·        For more information on the FiOS TV products and prices, go to:

          http://www.verizonfios.com/tv

Media contacts:

FiOS Network and Technology – Mark Marchand, mark.a.marchand@verizon.com

FiOS Internet – Bobbi L. Henson, bobbi.henson@verizon.com

FiOS TV – Sharon Cohen-Hagar,

Sharon.cohen-hagar@verizon.com

Or, your regional Verizon media contact, at:

http://newscenter.verizon.com/media-contacts/