Verizon Brings FIOS to the Masses

57% of Manhattan is expected to be wired for FIOS by the end of the year.

By: Ryan Hartley

Verizon is planning its largest launch of the new FIOS service ever. 300,000 residents of NYC will have access to the service, which offers blazingly fast 20 Mbps download speeds over fiber optic cables. The only catch...94.99 per month access fees, which is a promotion for the first year. There's no telling what the price will be after the end of the promotional period. Verizon employees, who were on site at Grand Central Monday, were unable to comment on the post-promtion pricing.

With so many different high-speed providers in the city, including giants Cablevision and Time Warner, Verizon may be forced to offer their service at a loss for a time, in order to compete with the cable giants that are already established in the city. If there's any increase at all at the end of the promotional period, it shouldn't be much.

The FIOS service is two years old, and has been offered in other places around the country. With record setting numbers in 2007 and early 2008 for the FIOS services, thousands of people switched from their old broadband connections to take the new Verizon service. The service in NYC will be offered along with 100 HD channels with a plan to have 150 total by the end of the year.

The deal that Verizon made with the Franchise and Concession Review Committee calls for 57 percent of Manhattan to be wired for FIOS by the end of 2008. This is in addition to coverage for 13 percent of the Bronx, 15 percent of Queens, 12 percent of Brooklyn, and 98 percent of Staten island. The whole city is scheduled to be wired for FIOS by 2014.