cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
| Just wire up all of PA
Verizon should just wire up the entire state of PA while they are at it. I'd subscribe to a very robust triple play package with MR-DVR / Home Media sharing / Fast internet , etc.. the moment the fiber is lit.
I know they have some of Montgomery, Chester and Bucks counties. They also have some in Cumberland, Lebanon, Dauphin and Lancaster counties. What the hell happened to the hole in the map for Berks County? Right smack in between Lebanon, Montgomery and Chester counties.
Bring on the Competition! Comcast sucks for video. Internet and Phone is great, but HD and the whole guide/dvr experience is not Comcast's forte. |
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PGHammer
join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
 ·Comcast
| That would no more happen than Comcast itself wiring all of Pennsylvania. While Comcast (or Verizon) is indeed capable of tackling the entire state, video franchising is decided at the county (or, in cases like Philly, muni) level. As long as franchising is handled piecemeal, networks will continue to be built/rebuilt piecemeal. (By the way, how much of Berks County has video franchising agreementsw in place?) |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
2 edits | I heard that Muhelenburg Township (Northern Reading border) offered them the same franchise agreement Comcast has. The big sticking point is coverage area. the township wants 100% availability within 3 years to keep them from cherry picking the best neighborhoods but Verizon would not commit to a time table.
When I contacted my township (Lower Alsace) they said that their Comcast franchise is up in 2010 (IIRC) and they are in a joint agreement with about 10 other townships, but assured me I am welcome at any meetings to express concern. They seemed to welcome the idea of allowing Verizon to come in and provide some competition, but Verizon needs to show initiative. VZ has 7mbit DSL in the area and I drive by the local switching facility almost every day.
Additionally I don't know if VZ could technically or legally offer Fios in Douglassville, Birdsboro, Morgantown or any of the area's serviced by D&E Communications. I've seen D&E run fiber, but they appear to only offer 10mbps DSL. I'm not sure what all of that D&E fiber is for... who know's maybe they have a similar project on their drawing boards. 10mbps is good for DSL though. Maybe the fiber is just run closer to the neighborhood. |
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SND2005
Premium
join:2001-09-15
Im Over Here | Great!
Fantastic news! Put Comcast out of business, or least make them try to compete and offer decent prices. |
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CtrlAltDel
WORSE. THAN. CARTER.
Arbitrary Text
join:2001-12-30
Backyard
 ·1and1
 ·Verizon Online DSL
·Comcast
| Philadelphia Is Different
than NYC and Wash DC. There's a new mayor since the Earthlink free WiFi disaster and he and his friends will want to get paid by Verizon. If Verizon plays ball and the right people get their payoffs, then Philly will be wired. Philly has been a Pay-To-Play city and always will be.
Even if approved, FIOS won't be available until 2016. 
»www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_up···874.html
quote:
Verizon challenging Comcast cable reign
By CHRIS BRENNAN
Philadelphia Daily News
brennac@phillynews.com 215-854-5973
Comcast, the king of cable television in Philadelphia, is being challenged for its crown here for the first time in eight years.
Verizon yesterday asked City Council for a cable franchise to install its fiber-optic FiOS TV network across the city by 2016.
Councilman Darrell Clarke introduced legislation on behalf of Mayor Nutter's administration for the Verizon franchise.
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Don't blame me...I voted for McCain |
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Rick
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-06
Waterbury, CT
clubs: 
| While I respect Verizon's efforts
and agree that technologically wise they're offering a very good product...I have to question the viability of this whole roll out. And even whether AT&T Uverse had the better idea (gasp..did i really say that? )when it comes to their next generation plans.
Now..before any AT&T executive who may read this copies and prints this post and runs down the halls of their executive suite cheering in excitement at the mere suggestion of me being a convert to Uverse.. let me make clear I'm referring to the shorter term. Let's consider what is happening in the shorter term based on the recent news.
Landlines..getting decimated. Cable and cell phones are taking those customers.
It really is like McD's is losing their hamburger business when it comes to what is happening to the telco's in that regards.
DSL...getting decimated. Cable and the telco's own next generation products are taking those customers. It really is like Mcd's ALSO losing their fry business.
Given that this is occurring..what options do the telco's have to retain these customers? The problem with fios in the short term is the time that this roll out is going to take...and the cost involved. In other words..if Mr and Mrs Jones call in and say..I've had enough of these slow dsl speeds..WHAT CAN YOU OFFER ME?...which company will have the better ability to retain those customers? The company that says..well..golly..jeesh..maybe in 4 years when we get that skyscraper rewired we can give you fios? Or..the company that says ..here..here's your 10Mb Uverse. Or even the 18Mb Ultra.
The big upper hand that Uverse has is time. And their strategy which costs a lot less..gets a vrad to a neighborhood a lot faster than fiber will get to someones door..might just be the better hand in the near term as cable co's and specifically comcast roll out their docsis 3.0 network.
Both telco's have the big problem in that that rollout is moving apparently at light speed now. 28 more towns announced yesterday in fact. And that's only going to accelerate the loss of landlines and dsl..making it more critical that there is a retention tool available. And that retention tool has to be a better network offering more competitive speeds.
Who's going to have it..based on sheer numbers of homes passed? AT&T.
There's also another danger for Verizon. Ok..so 4 or 5 years from now..they have manhattan wired.
And say to the public..here's your 30Mb speeds.
By then..will it really mean anything? I mean.if the ante is getting upped right now to that and more and if people in a cable territory have had that available to them years earlier...what will that really mean to a consumer?
If history holds true it will probably be more or less viewed as a johnny come lately. A what took you so long?
Don't get me wrong. I think the choice and competition will be a good thing. But what will Verizons position be by then?
Years of landline losses. Years of dsl losses.
And a product that for many..really offers them nothing different.
There is one thing that Verizon can do to help themselves in all this. And that is to pull out every stop there is.
Night and day and weekends and holidays and whatever it may take..they have to be getting this fios network laid out.
It has to become more than essentially vaporware to the many people who can't get it. Theirs IS the better idea.
The better technology. The one that technicians and critics alike can better respect for their efforts.
But I'm afraid that if they don't up the ante big time..
time itself will not be on their side.
McD's cannot stand to lose their hamburger business..fry business..spend massive amounts of money on a new product hoping it will succeed in 4 or 5 years from now.
McD's will be essentially dead by that time if that were to be the case. Especially when the new burger chain moved in next door..and is offering what the cable co's will be in the very near future.
Interesting times. Huge challenges.
It will be something to see how it all plays out.
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The Coyote captured the RR! Roadrunner Rick is now Comcastic! |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
4 edits | Really good point. But so far it's paying off. »So Far, Verizon's $23 Billion FiOS 'Gamble' Paying Off
But yeah, that's in the now. There's a big buzz that "Oh it's fiber to the door, it must be good!". But then again, where will we all be in 5 years from now?
Building the network and doing it fast could create a lot of jobs. There's contractors, in house, and other technicians that can join Verizon and ensure they have a good, steady job. Not only that but it will help local businesses connectivity with high speed internet and choice.
Honestly I would subscribe to Fios instantly if it were available to me. But the fact that there isn't even a peep about wiring up where I live, means we most likely won't see it within the next 5 years. So Verizon, you want to add to your subscriber numbers? Wire Fios in my area (zip code 19606) OR give me a 20% down payment on a house in PA where your services are offered and I'll agree to subscribe to triple play for the length of the 30 year mortgage. Come on Verizon, what's cheaper? Wiring up a whole area with fiber, or giving me $30~$40k to put down on a house. Make me an offer Verizon. Let's see, say my average bill is $200 a month. That's $72,000 for 30 years. (Of course that cost goes up as well). You pay me $40,000 to put down on a house, but you end up making $32,000 off of the deal, not to mention some huge positive PR. Imagine the headlines "Verizon gives customer down payment on a home in order to get Fios".
OR say you spend $6,000,000 wiring up my current area. Let's optimistically say 150 subscribers join for an average of $135 a month. That's an income of $7,290,000 over 30 years, so you make $1,290,000 over that time or $43,000 a year (about one person's salary). I'm pretty sure though that you would get more than 150 subscribers in a 6 million dollar system with all of those commercials we see on TV. Comcast also has a lot of negative PR, so take advantage of it. Come on Verizon, let's crunch some numbers. |
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| reply to cypherstream
Re: Just wire up all of PA
said by cypherstream  :I heard that Muhelenburg Township (Northern Reading border) offered them the same franchise agreement Comcast has. The big sticking point is coverage area. the township wants 100% availability within 3 years to keep them from cherry picking the best neighborhoods but Verizon would not commit to a time table. So in otherwords the town said "all or nothing" and Verizon said "Ok nothing". Real smart town leaders there.
Something > nothing. Last time I checked. |
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cornelius785
join:2006-10-26
Worcester, MA
| reply to cypherstream
oh right, let's wire up every OBSCURE house in YOUR state. why not my state? why waste money on wiring up towns that are sparsely populated that'll have much slower sign up rate? deploying fiber is already expensive, why make it more expensive and longer to pay back the invest? |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
| They can wire up your state too. Verizon can multitask. It's not the same people stringing the fiber in PA as it is in MA or any other state for that matter. It creates lots of jobs which is good for the economy. Just because Verizon is busy wiring up one state doesn't mean they can't do another one at the same time. More than 1 construction crew works for them.
It might be costly now, but they will have a state of the art network that will last the next 100+ years. Was it costly to run copper when that first came out? Probably. This is something that needs to be done, it's just were actually living through this phase. Not that we weren't around when they first started wiring the country with copper telephone lines and electric transmission lines. |
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centc408
join:2008-11-08
Fort Wayne, IN
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Japan Technologically Advanced
Its funny about all these people who complain about FiOS. You know the US considering were the Free Speech country we don't even have half the network speeds that say Japan or xxx has? Japan's network speed is an average of 100 MBPS or more and were just now getting up to 50 MBPS? Not to mention that in Japan there's not much that you can't buy through a cell phone?
Fiber networking is great for everyone. Everywhere where theres significant population there should be fiber. Any new construction should be purely fiber. You know that on a SINGLE Fiber box you can have 400,000 subscribers vs. whatever the other company's limit is? |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| reply to CtrlAltDel
Re: Philadelphia Is Different
said by CtrlAltDel :Even if approved, FIOS won't be available until 2016. Wrong! The whole city would be covered by 2016. Fios TV would be available starting next year.
one-third of households within three years, 70 percent in five years and throughout the city in seven years.
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My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page
Ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk? |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| reply to BF69
Re: Just wire up all of PA
said by BF69 :So in otherwords the town said "all or nothing" and Verizon said "Ok nothing". Real smart town leaders there. Something > nothing. Last time I checked. That's why I have always blamed government for the lack of broadband deployment in this country. Like it or not, there will be some places which are simply unprofitable for some companies to wire up. It isn't fair to everyone else that all other potential customers be deprived of expanded broadband deployments because government places unreasonable demands on ISPs.
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Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
| Yeah especially when there's another incumbent provider already servicing the area. However the local government could give perks or special deals if they comply with certain guidelines. Like if they wire up 100% of the area within 3 years, they could be granted a tax and regulation free presence for 3 years. Verizon can choose to comply - or not. It's up to Verizon if they would want to take them up on that offer.
So let Verizon build, but grant them perks if they comply with the local franchise. |
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jester121
Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL
·surpasshosting
 ·ViaTalk
| reply to pnh102
That's how we ended up with the debacle that is the USF in telecom. Once someone decided that telephone service is a right, the government got involved in "spreading the wealth around" and there you have it. We now have ubiquitous telephone service, along with corruptions and billions of dollars wasted. |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| reply to cypherstream
said by cypherstream :So let Verizon build, but grant them perks if they comply with the local franchise. I like that approach. As long as things like tax incentives and other perks are given after people can actually sign up for the service than I am all for it.
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Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty |
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wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Verizon FIOS
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
·BroadVoice
| reply to pnh102
said by pnh102 :said by BF69 :So in otherwords the town said "all or nothing" and Verizon said "Ok nothing". Real smart town leaders there. Something > nothing. Last time I checked. That's why I have always blamed government for the lack of broadband deployment in this country. Like it or not, there will be some places which are simply unprofitable for some companies to wire up. It isn't fair to everyone else that all other potential customers be deprived of expanded broadband deployments because government places unreasonable demands on ISPs. I was having a discussion about this just the other day. All these small municipalities demanding "100% coverage" are really only hurting the consumer. It appears that Verizon, just like ATT, will simply pass over those communities that put their socialistic principals above the good of the majority of their citizens. I will state my premise on this again, "more choices for some people is better than no choices for all people". I suppose the local government would rather see the entire town/county/etc suffer instead of letting a portion of their residents get better service. 'SHRUG' I sure as heck didnt vote for them, and I suggest the people who live there remember this next time elections come around.
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Комитет государственной безопасности
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russotto
join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA
| reply to Rick
Re: While I respect Verizon's efforts
said by Rick :Landlines..getting decimated. Cable and cell phones are taking those customers. And who is one of the biggest cell phone providers in the US? Verizon Wireless.
DSL...getting decimated. Cable and the telco's own next generation products are taking those customers. It really is like Mcd's ALSO losing their fry business.
If McD's fry customers switch to McD's salads, McD's doesn't cry about it, they just make more salads. That's why Verizon wants to get FIOS in place.
I've had enough of these slow dsl speeds..WHAT CAN YOU OFFER ME?...which company will have the better ability to retain those customers? The company that says..well..golly..jeesh..maybe in 4 years when we get that skyscraper rewired we can give you fios? Or..the company that says ..here..here's your 10Mb Uverse. Or even the 18Mb Ultra.
Verizon is already in place with FIOS in the suburban counties in the Philadelphia area. The reason Philadelphia is last are both economic (costs more to wire, less affluent areas) and political, not technical. As for businesses in the skyscrapers... well, I think we can assume VZ isn't going to wire the Comcast Tower. But if Comcast's business service in Phila is like Comcast's business service in the suburbs, businesses will flock to FIOS when it's available. |
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wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Verizon FIOS
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
·BroadVoice
| reply to pnh102
Re: Just wire up all of PA
said by pnh102 :said by BF69 :So in otherwords the town said "all or nothing" and Verizon said "Ok nothing". Real smart town leaders there. Something > nothing. Last time I checked. That's why I have always blamed government for the lack of broadband deployment in this country. Like it or not, there will be some places which are simply unprofitable for some companies to wire up. It isn't fair to everyone else that all other potential customers be deprived of expanded broadband deployments because government places unreasonable demands on ISPs. These absurd local build out requirements will do nothing but slow down broadband deployment in this country.
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Комитет государственной безопасности
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spewak
R.I.P Dadkins
Premium
join:2001-08-07
Elk Grove, CA
·SureWest Internet
·FrontierNet Intern..
| reply to cypherstream
said by cypherstream : I'd subscribe to a very robust triple play package with MR-DVR / Home Media sharing / Fast internet , etc.. the moment the fiber is lit. Fiber is ohhh soo good Cypher! 
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The weekend is here, grab a can of beer! |
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