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Wireless and cellular services are very important. How does wireless fit into Verizon's overall strategy as it relates to Fios and TV?
Wegleitner: Well it starts with the fundamentals, like allowing your cell phone to act as a sort of remote control for the TV service. We are adding that capability to our latest version of our Fios TV service. It's in beta right now, but we'll make a formal announcement about it later this summer.
Right now, our cell phone customers and TV subscribers can get some common content through VCast. And eventually there will be some transferring the experience from the set-top box to the cell phone. But I think the big question that is yet to be answered is what kind of content people will want to view on their cell phones. Do they want to watch an entire movie? In theory the sky is the limit, but customers will determine what services actually make it to market.
Verizon's goal has been to deliver 100 megabits per second to the home. How close are you to making that a reality?
Wegleitner: In many states the highest download speeds we offer are 50Mbps and uploads of 5Mbps. We have a few trial customers, who are Verizon employees, now testing the 100Mbps service. The trial is going very well. And that is with the BPON technology. We're also deploying GPON, which will quadruple the available bandwidth, so that will make delivering 100Mbps even easier.
When do you think people will need 100Mbps in the home?
Wegleitner: Well it depends on how many devices you have and what everyone in the household is doing. It's not inconceivable that people would have three high-definition TVs in the home, and that they would want to watch programs in HD on all three at the same time. And then you might have a couple gamers. Then you might throw in some Internet surfing. Plus you add voice over IP phone calls, streaming video and maybe video conferencing, and it adds up to a lot of bandwidth. So people could need it sooner than you expect.
There is so much new technology available to consumers, but do you ever think that the experience has just gotten too complicated? And that all this stuff is just too cumbersome and complex for average consumers to use?
Wegleitner: We've invested a significant amount of money and effort into creating a user-centered design. We look at everything that goes in front of a customer. We do the usual interview where we bring them into a lab, hand them a box and ask them to follow directions. Then we apply the feedback we get to eliminate any unnecessary instructions.
We really try to keep things as easy as possible. And if the network can find some piece of information on its own, we do that instead of relying on people to type in information. Also if hiding complexity in the network is viable, we do that. We don't want to add another box or force someone to configure something on the network.
So from your perspective, something like a network-based digital video recorder that would eliminate the need for a subscriber to have a box to record and store recorded programs, could make sense?
There are a lot of digital rights management concerns that still need to be worked out. And we are watching closely how this issue is dealt with by the cable industry. We need to look at how the technology can be adjusted to accommodate concerns. But in general, I think all parties involved need to get together to come up with a solution that meets customers' requirements, instead of polarizing and delaying what could be an attractive capability.
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Mark Wegleitner, fiber, Verizon Communications, FTTH, AT&T Corp.
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couldn't even get voicemail or caller ID. We have a hybrid switch,
not full digital and they have no plans to upgrade. SWB provides
high speed internet (not satellite) to their customers just 4 miles
down the road. Verizon needs to send some of that 18 billion our
way and bring us some 21st century technology.
The design of the Web pages is also indicative of Verizon's concept of their customers. All the Fiber pages look and feel like TV advertisements loaded with animation fluff, simplistic slogans and generalized project descriptions. You have to dig through several pages to find any technical details. Clearly Verizon is hoping that people buy tech services the same way they buy shampoo.
I get flashbacks to having Verizon DSL which I eventually dropped because customer service was a nightmare. You had to be transferred around to several depts., none of whom communicated with each other, to find someone who could help. Now they've added a fiber/tv dept. to their balkanized company. They should invest some of that fiber money in reinventing their internal organization.
You could PIPE in some of that internet from 6-8 miles away with a WLAN Backhaul system for under a $1,000
If your not interested in investing $1000 why should verizon invest $1,000,000 ?
The only ones who ever saw any benefit was the telcos who laid so much fibre that most of it is dark because its not necessary (Remember the Global Crossing debacle?)
And the amount of fibre laid to our door, in feet and inches, was 0'0"
The telcos have been ripping us off for years with promises and surcharges.
We're finally seeing some fibre because its cheaper to replace broken copper with fibre than to keep trying to patch it with solder.
The fibre replacement policy, which we, the consumers, have been paying for since the begining, with surcharges for things that the telcos never intended on delivering, has been a complete rip-off since the beginning.
We already know that for at least 5 years, cable has been fiber to the street outside our buildings. We already see areas of the same city where the FIOS is going to be available sooner getting treated to aggressive measures to the point where they get 20% MORE HD channels for the same rates the rest of us pay... but if Verizon does the same thing, we'd be subject to the very same restrictions, rendering the use of fiber pretty much moot because Verizon won't "go the last mile (which is more like 200 feet)."
So I ask when FIOS will be available in my neighborhood. And they won't give me an answer, making me assume that it won't be available for a long, long time. Come on, Verizon. You could be honest with your customers, but you (evidently) cannot. I'm a big boy. I can take it. If you aren't going to install FIOS in my area, tell me.