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Verizon Announces Fixed Residential LTE Service
'HomeFusion' Primarily Aimed at More Rural Residents

A little more than a year ago we were the very first to report that Verizon was working with DirecTV on a fixed LTE trial that would provide residential LTE service using a home-mounted "cantenna." Back in December Verizon stated that those trials were over. "One of our hallmarks is focus, and we're focused on getting (the marketing partnership with Comcast) up and running, and I can't do both, so we made our choice," Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said at the time. Apparently, Verizon learned how to multitask.

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The company has announced that they're planning to launch a fixed LTE service aimed at rural communities using the aforementioned house-affixed cantenna. Dubbed "HomeFusion," Verizon's charging users $200 for the antenna with a free installation. Verizon says users will see average speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.

Monthly service starts at $60 a month but comes with a 10 gigabyte cap, something you'll eat through quickly in the age of Internet video. For hungrier users, Verizon will sell a 20 gigabyte plan for $90 per month, and a 30 gigabyte plan for $120 per month. Like Verizon's Wireless LTE service, they plan to bill overages at $10 each additional gigabyte.

HomeFusion's primary competitor will be Exede, ViaSat's recent attempt at improving satellite broadband. Exede features speeds of 12 Mbps but with satellite's trademark high latency, and 7 GB ($50), 15 GB ($80), or 25 GB ($130) usage caps. Satellite traditionally offers slow speeds, high prices, and incredibly low daily usage caps, making HomeFusion more appealing to some.

According to Verizon, HomeFusion Broadband will be available starting later this month in Birmingham, Dallas and Nashville, and the company hopes to have the service fully deployed to every LTE market by the end of the year.
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thegeek
Premium Member
join:2008-02-21
right here

thegeek

Premium Member

Better than Satellite

The only problem is getting the signal in a rural area. You'd think Verizon would wait to deploy this till there was actual coverage in rural areas.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

2 recommendations

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Better than Satellite

better than satellite? Kind of like saying herpes is better than AIDS. At least satellite doesn't charge $10 per GB overage.

morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000

morbo

Member

Re: Better than Satellite

said by 88615298:

Kind of like saying herpes is better than AIDS.

Herpes is better than AIDS.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

1 recommendation

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Better than Satellite

said by morbo:

said by 88615298:

Kind of like saying herpes is better than AIDS.

Herpes is better than AIDS.

I wouldn't want either. That's the point

N3OGH
Yo Soy Col. "Bat" Guano
Premium Member
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs

N3OGH

Premium Member

Re: Better than Satellite

But given a "gun to your head" choice?

This certainly isn't an offering I would go for if I wanted to watch days upon days of "Downfall" parody videos on YouTube.

But, if I manage to own that cabin in the mountains I've always wanted some day, and spend 4 or so months a year up there, this would be a good offering for keeping up with my business online as opposed to dropping off the face of the earth for 25% of the year.

Oh, and since I've had neither Herpes or Aids, I can't attest to either.

floyd007
join:2004-06-07
Glen Allen, VA

1 recommendation

floyd007

Member

Re: Better than Satellite

said by N3OGH:

Oh, and since I've had neither Herpes or Aids, I can't attest to either.

If you have cold sore like 80% of the population in this country does, you have Herpes Simplex 1.

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ

MovieLover76 to 88615298

Member

to 88615298
That's the idea that you wouldn't want either, broadband options are abysmal in rural areas, but I sure would prefer LTE with low latency and strict caps over satelite with high latency and low caps.

It's the better of two evils.

Ms Murphy
@core-mark.com

Ms Murphy to 88615298

Anon

to 88615298
That comparison was inappropriate.
iFail 5G
join:2011-08-03

2 recommendations

iFail 5G to thegeek

Member

to thegeek
said by thegeek:

The only problem is getting the signal in a rural area. You'd think Verizon would wait to deploy this till there was actual coverage in rural areas.

Apparently you haven't been to Birmingham, AL. We have a huge amount of rural, vast nothing covered with rural 4G LTE, places where people can't even get a landline.

geeknik
join:2000-04-30
Luther, OK

geeknik to thegeek

Member

to thegeek
I live in a rural area outside of OKC and I regularly get 40Mbit/sec downstream on my Verizon LTE USB modem. By comparison, my AT&T Uverse is only 18Mbit/sec.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK

Premium Member

Re: Better than Satellite

You can hit your cap and run up massive overages very quickly that way.....
NYC Girl
Premium Member
join:2007-02-04
Bronx, NY

NYC Girl to thegeek

Premium Member

to thegeek
said by thegeek:

The only problem is getting the signal in a rural area. You'd think Verizon would wait to deploy this till there was actual coverage in rural areas.

Question: is this the same as FIOS or are they referring to LTE as in cell / smartphone wireless Internet? Because the article mentions "residential LTE". Just curious.
travelguy
join:1999-09-03
Bismarck, ND
Asus RT-AC68
Ubiquiti NSM5

travelguy

Member

Re: Better than Satellite

said by NYC Girl:

Question: is this the same as FIOS or are they referring to LTE as in cell / smartphone wireless Internet? Because the article mentions "residential LTE". Just curious.

It is not in any way related to FIOS, although they may try to brand it that way. It's just a way to leverage the mobile broadband LTE towers and backhaul links they've already installed to serve fixed location residential locations that don't have other options.
NYC Girl
Premium Member
join:2007-02-04
Bronx, NY

NYC Girl

Premium Member

Re: Better than Satellite

Thank you!!

VZT
@verizon.net

VZT to NYC Girl

Anon

to NYC Girl
LTE (long term evolution) doesn't really mean anything. but is wireless internet
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Birmingham, Dallas, and Nashville

are "rural" huh?
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Birmingham, Dallas, and Nashville

said by Jim_in_VA:

are "rural" huh?

Exactly. People in Nashville already have a choice of U-verse or Comcast both of which are better than this crap.

compuguybna
join:2009-06-17
Nashville, TN

compuguybna

Member

Re: Birmingham, Dallas, and Nashville

that's not always true. I think it means "NASHVILLE MARKETS".
I can name plenty of places in NASHVILLE that are outside the limits of cable, and definately outside the limits of DSL. I lived there, I know what's available. DSL is limited by distance from the C/O. Take a road like Old Hickory Blvd. Alot of that road isnt covered by DSL (too far out), and Comcast never extended their lines. so saying people in Nashville have a choice...Sometimes they dont!

NASHVILLE MARKET encompasses a large area. I'm 45 miles from Nashville now, but I'm still in the "NASHVILLE MARKET". We even have TWO Verizon LTE TOWERS here. One is in town, the other is in a hay field 9 miles away.
said by 88615298:

said by Jim_in_VA:

are "rural" huh?

Exactly. People in Nashville already have a choice of U-verse or Comcast both of which are better than this crap.


mix
join:2002-03-19
Romeo, MI

mix to Jim_in_VA

Member

to Jim_in_VA
"and the company hopes to have the service fully deployed to every LTE market by the end of the year." Think about it, it puts Clear out of business.

buddahbless
join:2005-03-21
Premium

buddahbless

Member

Re: Birmingham, Dallas, and Nashville

Not just Clear but satellite providers as well, In reality customers In rural areas that can access both services will see the bottom line that they get more GB for less at a faster speed on Verizon. Not many will care about overage charges until after they hit them.

Satellite broadband providers needs to "step it up" and get rid of there caps or bump it to some where along the lines of ATT DSL cap 150 GB minimum to really compete and crush the soon to be onslaught of LTE offerings.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: Birmingham, Dallas, and Nashville

said by buddahbless:

Not just Clear but satellite providers as well,

How many satellite users are there in areas that are covered by Verizon's LTE footprint? Satellite is realistically the last option for broadband before resorting to dialup. If you have fiber, cable, or dsl available you're going to go with that before satellite and probably LTE just because of costs and possible caps. Until Verizon offers LTE in real rural areas, satellite is in no danger of real competition.

AuraReturn
Premium Member
join:2003-08-18
USA

AuraReturn to buddahbless

Premium Member

to buddahbless
said by buddahbless:

Not just Clear but satellite providers as well, In reality customers In rural areas that can access both services will see the bottom line that they get more GB for less at a faster speed on Verizon. Not many will care about overage charges until after they hit them.

Satellite broadband providers needs to "step it up" and get rid of there caps or bump it to some where along the lines of ATT DSL cap 150 GB minimum to really compete and crush the soon to be onslaught of LTE offerings.

Clear will always have a market. Smaller companies like those are so specialized that they will find a niche.

CLEAR User
@supervalu.com

CLEAR User to mix

Anon

to mix
Clear is "unlimited" ... will provide similar speeds ... $50 (MUCH Cheaper).

Of course this depends on the area ... but that argument is the same for Verizon too.

My wife's T-Bolt use to get 20Mbs downloads on Speedtest via Verizon LTE with an average of 15 easy. 8 months later I am averaging 5.

Clear does throttle ... but Verizon will eventually have to also.

Verizon probably has more LTE coverage however. Verizon will have much better penetration on their 700Mz too. Mind you ... their antennae is outside. If Clear had an outside version ... speeds would be better too.

Long story short ... Clear would still be VERY attractive.

... Now if Clear can just earn enough money to stay running ...

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ
(Software) pfSense
Asus RT-AC68
Asus RT-AC66

MovieLover76

Member

Re: Birmingham, Dallas, and Nashville

I think clearwire is dead, but they providing outside antenna's probably would have been the only thing that could have saved them, with the bad frequencies they have for building penetration 2.5ghz they should have thought that out more.

On paper clearwire is more attractive than verizon lte because of the lack of low caps and high overages.

skeechan
Ai Otsukaholic
Premium Member
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170

skeechan

Premium Member

Re: Birmingham, Dallas, and Nashville

Exactly. None of Clear's modems have external antenna ports so service largely sucks. I was lucky to see 2 or 3Mb with the modem on my desk but after putting up a directional antenna I reliably see 12-13Mb from Clear's WiMax along with sub 50ms latency. And it's only $50 for unlimited service (I hit 96GB last month with no FAP).

Clear should have sourced HW vendors to at least have the ports on the modems and coordinate with customers to obtain external antennas if service sucked.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to mix

Member

to mix
Not necessarily. Clear costs less and doesn't have caps. Then again, their service is crappier.

skeechan
Ai Otsukaholic
Premium Member
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170

skeechan

Premium Member

Re: Birmingham, Dallas, and Nashville

Overall Clear suckiness depends on where you are. In my area my VZW MiFi isn't nearly as fast as my Clear puck. And while VZW offers only 5GB/mo, Clear is unlimited, for about the same price.

banditws6
Shrinking Time and Distance
Premium Member
join:2001-08-18
Frisco, TX

banditws6

Premium Member

It's the caps

I've heard rumors that VZW and ATT want to push home subscribers to LTE-based services like this, so they don't have to spend money on FiOS/U-verse rollouts. The problem with using wireless as a replacement for wireline home broadband is the ridiculous caps. I consider my household to be relatively light on bandwidth at about 40 GB per month, but in order to get the same meager allowance -- if VZW even offers it -- I'd have to pay triple what I'm paying Time Warner today. It's just not feasible.

For rural residents, yeah, I would definitely take this over satellite, but how far into truly "rural" areas does LTE coverage even exist?

Beans
@verizon.net

Beans

Anon

DSL

I will stick to my slooooowww 3 meg DSL line for $30 per month with no cap on my aging copper.

Dear Slowski,

Can you adopt me into the DSL Family? Together our speeds will be slow as ever. Our copper may be aging but it is still reliable to use, unlike that rabbit we call cable, who likes to take breaks every so often.

Signed,
Beans

knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN

knightmb

Member

Wow, I almost had a nanosecond of concern

Until I saw the prices and caps. I do compete with Verizon in some markets, good to hear that they are still as greedy as ever.

Goes back to work.....
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

why get this

Ok why wouldn't I just get a 4G phone from Verizon take advantage of their double data deal( 20 GB for $80 )add the $20 tethering option which includes 2 GB. For $100 I could get 22 GB a month vs 10 GB for $60.

•••••••••
88615298

88615298 (banned)

Member

So for rural people to have somehwat REAL internet

This product $120 a month for 30 GB
Exede $130 for 25 GB
Hughesnet Business $190 850 MB daily cap

So only $440 a month for 80 GB and you have to have 3 services.

••••
en103
join:2011-05-02

en103

Member

If it's rural enough...

Its easy money for VZW - no 'real' competition from satellite, and they're probably deploying LTE anyways for a national build (replacement) of 1x/EVDO.

•••

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08

Premium Member

Well

Im paying $60 for 20gb from millenicom that uses verizons 3g network. It works just fine for me.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

basically only good for e-mail and maybe facebook

and other basic things for $60 a month? Besides if I want to check e-mail and facebook and that other basic stuff I can already do that on my smartphone. So what is the point of this?

••••••••

mod_wastrel
anonome
join:2008-03-28

mod_wastrel

Member

The way these CEOs talk...

you'd think they actually did any of the work.

Yep, by the end of the year... "national" coverage--one more broadband "option"... ought to look really great on those coverage maps... yes-sir-ee-bob!

••••••
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

elray

Member

I'll take Millenicom

I don't expect VZ to keep rates this high for long, they're reasonable for the rollout, allowing them to improve things later.

In the meanwhile, their quiet competitor isn't satellite, but Millenicom, who gives twice the cap for the same $60.

•••
Ripperjack
join:2012-01-12
Fredericksburg, TX

Ripperjack

Member

I can't get it.

"company hopes to have the service fully deployed to every LTE market by the end of the year."

... which for me means I can't get this at all!! I can only get crappy 3G, with the nearest 4G area about an hour and a half drive east of my local. So for all the power this has, it is nothing for me!

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ

MovieLover76

Member

Re: I can't get it.

True but by 2014 they plan to have their entire 3G footprint covered by LTE, it's just like the initial rollout of 4G, it's not available everywhere, but if you get 3G now eventually you should be covered by LTE
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

Local WISPS are a better deal...

My parents live in rural Missouri and pay $50/month with a local WISP. Although it used to be pretty poor (512Kbps down, 256Kbps up with lots of packet loss), the local company recently replaced the radio equipment. Now they can watch You Tube videos and my guess is they get 1-2Mbps down. Not sure on the up but I don't think there are any caps because this service is sold as a permanent Internet connection, not some mobile pile with low caps.

In my opinion, Verizon is crazy with a 10GB cap.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Local WISPS are a better deal...

WISPs would be a great option if they were everywhere. Very few people in my area that can't get cable/DSL can get WISP service.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

Re: Local WISPS are a better deal...

But clearly it demonstrates the big boys margin call is high enough that it's leaving room for competitors. If Verizon and AT&T would flip their spectrum to LTE-only and put decent caps in place (100GB for starters), $50/month for fast LTE would be competitive with cable. A 10GB cap is ridiculous they won't steal any DSL or cable customers. But I guess that isn't what they are trying to do. They are preying on those without any competition. Sad.

agrall
join:2000-09-29
Saint Paul, MN

agrall

Member

Blech...

Price this and cap this so that it can actually compete with Comcast and I'm there...
TheGuvnor9
join:2006-06-23
Beverly Hills, CA

TheGuvnor9

Member

Re: Blech...

I sure isn't a filet, more like a sirloin. However, the majority of you seem to douse it with shit sauce every chance you get.

JasonOD
@comcast.net

JasonOD to agrall

Anon

to agrall
said by agrall:

Price this and cap this so that it can actually compete with Comcast and I'm there...

Will never happen. I'm sure Comcast and the other cableco's made sure of it as part of the spectrum deal with VZ.

Go Home
@comcast.net

Go Home

Anon

Flush the Can?????

What a joke! Overpriced and not worth it!!!!

•••

skeechan
Ai Otsukaholic
Premium Member
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170

skeechan

Premium Member

With an external antenna it could be great

But again, $10/GB for overages? WTF?

Then again this isn't a substitute for cable, DSL or fiber HSI. It's an alternative to satellite, dial up or nothing in which case I would happily take a 10 or 20GB cap as opposed to nothing.

verizonlteda
@myvzw.com

verizonlteda

Anon

Re: With an external antenna it could be great

Yes it is in rural aeras. vzw beats some cable speeds easy i get 20-30 down/ 10-15 up your cable get that ? i bet most don't.
dr_anthony
join:2002-01-23
Saint Charles, MO

dr_anthony

Member

fixed wireless

My question is house is going to work. Is it going to be the cantenna via lmr 400 to inside all in one (modem/router) or some other variant. It would be nice if it was just as I described for individuals who already have something setup and who are the ones who are actually going to take advantage of this offering. Let me know if anyone happens to know.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Re: fixed wireless

It will likely be like a WISP, that is ... a antenna/radio combination that delivers via Cat5 to your computer or a router. For $200 my guess it includes a LTE radio module along with the antenna inside that "bucket"
CXM_Splicer
Looking at the bigger picture
Premium Member
join:2011-08-11
NYC

CXM_Splicer

Premium Member

Re: fixed wireless

Whatever it is, I bet there will soon be jammers available from China.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72

Member

Sat and actuaries

The reason this is priced this way is for a number of reasons:

1. Most likely the node saturation calculations for the cells were determined by some actuary on nodes which were probably cell phones before this was ever envisioned. Now thinks of this as a cellphone with no 3G component (which VZW wants). This is nirvana for them because they are charging a huge premium here.

2. People cross-shopping this will be satellite folks for now, so this is opportunistic AND they can test fringe areas to improve their 4G networks. Think they have static endpoints--think of the valuable data they can recover from that for network coverage/planning.

3. They cannot afford to saturate the nascent 4G networks since they are having so many problems w/ 4G (I have a book of them), and they need to get as many people onto the network as possible.

4. Once they figure out the uptake, they can increase density w/ new AL/Siemens cells which can operate on the 700 OR the new AWS spectrum they just purchased which are field programmable. In this case they can flip prem users onto different spectrum's as needed according to mobile demand.

5. The risk is low, because the initial capex investment is squarely in the purchasers hands ($200).

6. They can deploy microcells in the house so that cell users can voraciously suck up those new family plans sure to come. Because the typical user backends via wire...these folks are double dipping..(LTE to LTE potentially). Maybe they add this to the family plan. Or the microcell runs a 3G POP and backhauls to 4G which is nirvana because now you have a 3G device off the network.

7. I see them including in the family plan any general 4G + some margin loving per device charge so that one can use cantenna, ipad, cells and just chew up your credit card. IMHO this is the reason why these guys love wireless...

8. This is a way to gain more revenue from rural areas where device concentration may be lower.

Price will fall over time and they may not double dip on data charges (they shouldnt like say AT&T) if they are smart because that will stimulate more mindless consumption and more revenues.

The big thing for them will be to find a way to monetize their upcoming VoD platforms without crashing the network. I would probably say they do download over night and it's cheaper than on demand (say $5 vs $10).
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA

Premium Member

Pointless

For now, if you're in that position, just get an LTE phone, use the unlimited loophole, and tether away! Truly unlimited internet at up to 73mbps!
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