Earlier this week, Cablevision unveiled a new DOCSIS 3.0 service tier that delivers 101Mbps downstream and 15Mbps upstream for $99 with no caps, a good deal no matter what kind of technology you favor. The next day, Verizon was quick to call Cablevision's offer a "parlor trick," and a Verizon representative on Twitter has spent much of the week taking shots at Cablevision's offer. Verizon seemed interested in this particular story by PC Magazine Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff, where he begins by claiming Cablevision's being misleading:While the cable industry often likes to intentionally confuse the difference between core and last mile fiber, that doesn't appear to be the case here. We asked for a copy of the ad in question from Cablevision, and it turns out the specific ad was for Optimum's business service, the business logo clearly displayed throughout. Cablevision's ad was specifically responding to a Verizon ad for business-class 7Mbps DSL, not FiOS. Ulanoff goes on to make a few strange arguments about how Cablevision's new 101Mbps residential offer isn't really fast:Which is curious, since even including municipal fiber deployments in places like Lafayette, Louisiana, Cablevision's new tier is the fastest residential broadband in the country, barring a few tiny carriers. Ulanoff also argues that the service isn't really wanted, and that customers who might want 101Mbps connectivity are somehow being conned by Cablevision:Describing consumers who want the fastest connection available as "foot soldiers" and "well-heeled" makes Cablevision's offer sound almost menacing. When the tier launches on May 11, consumers in our forums will be the first to tell you whether Cablevision is living up to their promise. While the new tier is certainly more than most users need, it's still a good value. Until the speed tests roll in, it seems like the technology press should be applauding the kind of one-upmanship Verizon and Cablevision are engaging in.

After all, it's what real competition looks like, potshots and all. Not that the potshots mean anything, anyway. Like their response to DOCSIS 3.0, Verizon has called Cablevision's decision to offer free Wi-Fi "a marketing ploy," yet the Wall Street Journal today cites insiders who say Verizon may offer free Wi-Fi themselves sometime this summer as part of a partnership with Boingo. It's likely that once Verizon gets done complaining, they'll eventually unveil their own 100Mbps FiOS offering. One more time with feeling: ain't competition grand?