Verizon Begins Rollout of FiOS TV
Verizon on Thursday announced it had begun its rollout of its fiber-optic based cable TV alternative. Called FiOS TV, the service will offer access to 180 digital video and music channels as part of its main offer for under $40 USD per month.
The service has launched first in Keller, a Texas city 30 miles west of Dallas. Verizon plans to expand to Wylie, Sachse and Westlake, Texas later in the year. FiOS TV will then expand to cities in Florida, Virginia and California - places where it has obtained permission to offer service.
FiOS has been offered in the Texas town in its Internet form since last year, and according to Verizon, 30 percent of households that could receive the service have subscribed. On Thursday, Verizon had obtained the sufficient programming rights to offer the TV service immediately.
"This is not cable TV. This is not satellite. This is FiOS TV," said Bob Ingalls, president of Verizon's Retail Markets Group, in a statement. "We've harnessed the speed and capacity of broadband with the power of broadcast to create a revolutionary, new entertainment experience."
A large selection of on-demand programming will become a key feature of the FiOS service. Today, about 600 titles will be made available to customers, although Verizon expects to have 1,800 available by the end of the year.
The company will offer three types of set top boxes depending on the quality desired. Standard set-tops will run $3.95 USD per month, with HD boxes as well as a DVR-enabled version at $9.95 USD and $12.95 USD, respectively.
On top of that, the customer will choose from a three programming tiers: basic with acess to 15-35 local broadcast, weather and community channels for $12.95 USD per month; Expanded Basic with 180 channels for $39.95 USD; and La Conexion, a bilingual English-Spanish offering with 140 channels for $32.95 USD per month.
A sports package and premium channels will be made available for an additional charge.
Verizon says it has not yet established a timetable for a nationwide rollout of FiOS TV. "We need to secure franchise agreements in each location before we can provide service. If this were not the case, we could provide the service more quickly to the areas where we are building our fiber-to-the-premises network," a company spokesperson told BetaNews.
The spokesperson also said Verizon had tapped Motorola for its set-top cable boxes, and Microsoft to supply the software used by FiOS TV. However, Verizon is not using Microsoft's IPTV technology to deliver its programming.