Verizon Invests $800 Million To Deploy FTTP Networks This Year

Starting in Texas, and then moving on to California and Florida, Verizon is launching an $800 million initiative to bring fiber-optic-based broadband services to customer premises by the end of this year. The company plans to offer 30, 15 and 5 megabits-per-second (Mbps) services over fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) networks in Keller, Texas (near Dallas) later this summer.

While the company has not yet set prices for the 30 Mbps service, the 15 Mbps service (with upstream speeds of 2 Mbps ) will sell for $44.95 and the 5 Mbps service (also with upstream speeds of 2 Mbps) will sell for $34.95 per month. The company is calling the service Verizon Fios (FYE-ose).

Officials say the Fios service is available either as part of a bundle of local and long-distance calling services from the telephone company or as a stand-alone Internet access service. The company plans to add a video offering to give consumers an alternative to cable TV in 2005.

"We will spend approximately $800 million in 2004. While we have not projected capex beyond the end of this year, we do expect to pass 1 million homes in 2004 and another 2 million homes next year," a Verizon official tells the Networking Pipeline.

The initial 2004 FTTP roll out calls for passing approximately 100,000 homes and businesses in each of the following markets:* California -- Huntington Beach area and in other parts of Southern California.

* Florida -- the Tampa area and parts of Hillsborough County.

* Texas -- the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, including Keller.

"From the point of view of geography selection, we considered market realities, competition and the needs of our business in selecting where to deploy FTTP. The technological challenges [associated with FTTP rollouts] have largely been met. [While] the cost is still formidable, [it is] falling as manufacturers ramp up production and equipment prices fall," an official tells the Networking Pipeline.