KELLER, Tex – American telco Verizon launched its IPTV service in Keller, Texas this week – and no where in the launch materials does it use the term IP or IPTV or Internet television.
Smart, probably.
Billing it instead as “The future of television” Verizon unveiled FiOS TV to residents of Keller, a city 30 miles west of Dallas and began taking orders for it.
"This is not cable TV. This is not satellite. This is FiOS TV," said Bob Ingalls, president of Verizon’s Retail Markets Group, staying away from that IP term. "Customers who liked what FiOS did for their Internet connection will love what it does for their TV. We’ve harnessed the speed and capacity of broadband with the power of broadcast to create a revolutionary, new entertainment experience."
FiOS TV is designed to compete with cable and satellite and is delivered over Verizon’s fibre-to-the-premises network, meaning it can pretty easily deliver VOD and HDTV, for example, as well as other advanced services.
“Verizon’s network design includes backup facilities not common to traditional cable systems, such as duplicate head ends where the TV service receives national programming,” says the FiOS release.
Service highlights include:
* A broad collection of all-digital programming and compelling consumer choice – with more than 330 total channels at launch and more on the way.
* A lead offer with more than 180 digital video and music channels, for US$39.95 a month.
* More than 20 high-definition channels, with extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.
* Nearly 600 video-on-demand titles available to customers now, with 1,800 by year-end.
* A wide range of local and special-interest channels.
Like we do here in Canada, FiOS groups channels by genres such as entertainment, sports, news, shopping, movies and family.
Verizon provides FiOS TV over the largest fibre-to-the-premises network in the country, delivering the power and capacity of fibre optics directly into people’s homes. A year ago, the company launched FiOS Internet Service in Keller, where today about 30% of eligible households have purchased the high-speed service.
With the announcement, Verizon concludes its successful trial of FiOS TV with employees and Keller residents. Following the service rollout in Keller, Verizon will offer FiOS TV to additional households in Wylie, Sachse and Westlake, Texas, later this year. Those cities negotiated video franchises prior to the enactment of the state’s new franchise law.
Verizon will then expand FiOS TV to cities in Florida, Virginia and California, where it has already obtained video franchises (in the U.S., terrestrial video providers must negotiate with individual municipalities in order to provide service). In addition to Wylie, Sachse and Westlake, Verizon is planning FiOS TV deployment in other Texas communities, and it will offer the service in additional markets as it gets government approval to do so.
"FiOS TV will connect with customers because it offers them choice, value and simplicity," Ingalls said. "We have a great offer today, but it will get even better as we add programming and interactive services. Our employees and customers helped us improve the service during trials this summer, and we’ll continue to upgrade based on what we learn from our customers."
FiOS TV subscribers can choose from three simple-to-understand service offerings, each with built-in choice and value. They can then choose from packages and premium channels with programming that meets their special interests. Verizon offers three set-top boxes: standard definition for US$3.95 per month; high definition, which includes HD channels, for US$9.95 per month; and a digital video recorder set-top box with HD channels for US$12.95 per month.
The services include:
* Basic, with access to 15 to 35 local broadcast, weather and community channels, as well as video-on-demand, for US$12.95 per month. The service is digital with a set-top box. Basic is also available as an analog service that does not require a set-top box for viewing.
* Expanded Basic, Verizon’s lead offer, delivers more than 180 video and music channels for US$39.95 a month. This tier includes access to 600 on-demand titles now, with 1,800 by year end. This service requires a standard-definition set-top box or a high-definition set-top box for HD channels.
* La Conexion, a tier designed for bilingual consumers who enjoy TV programs in English and Spanish, for US$32.95 per month. The package includes nearly 140 channels with English- and Spanish-language programming and access to nearly 600 on-demand titles.
This service requires a standard-definition set-top box or a high-definition set-top box for HD channels.
* Consumers with a passion for sports or movies can add a 15-channel sports package for US$5.95 a month, and a movie package, with 45 channels of Starz, Encore, Showtime and The Movie Channel, for US$11.95 a month. Or, they can buy both for US$14.95 a month. Verizon also will offer 14 HBO channels and 12 Cinemax channels as premium services, with each set of channels available for US$14.95. Subscribers who want both HBO and Cinemax will pay US$24.95 per month.
* Programming choices for African-American, Asian, Russian and other multicultural and ethnic audiences will be available in every market.
“Because FiOS TV has so much capacity, it will also be an outlet for emerging and independent networks to showcase their diverse programming,” adds the release.
