Verizon gives a 4x boost to fiber Internet
updated 03:45 pm EDT, Tue March 27, 2007
Verizon FiOS Boost
Verizon today revealed that it had started rolling out what it says is a breakthrough for its FiOS fiber optic Internet service for the home. Updating the backend of the network, the telco has begun replacing its local backbones with gigabit passive optical networks, or G-PONs. The replacement effectively quadruples the downstream bandwidth and is even faster for uploads, Verizon says: where a single hub today shares 622 Mbps across every attached home for downloads and 155Mbps for uploads, a GPON increases the speeds to 2.4Gbps and 1.2Gbps respectively.
The added speed will have a major impact on subscribers, Verizon claims. Internet access should get faster without creating bottlenecks, while the associated IPTV service should get room for more and higher-quality channels. The network switches will also make it less expensive to add more customers as time goes on, the company says.
Although deployments are beginning today, the benefits are expected to come in the long run as more neighborhoods come online using FiOS and existing areas are upgraded over time. The first towns to see the update will be Lewisville, Texas in the spring, and Kirklyn, Pennsylvania later on in the summer.
