What is FiOS costing you these days?

I found a couple of interesting things late last week that relate to a subject near and dear to everyone's heart... bills.

We'll start with your Verizon bill. In this post over at Broadband Reports, they somehow got hold of an internal memo from a major cable operator. The memo tracks the price of certain bundles and hardware across different states, and apparently customer service reps for this cable operator are using the numbers to justify their own price hikes to customers. Nothing mind blowing, but some states have seen a noticeable increase in prices over the past year. Of course, this data should be taken with a grain of salt seeing as it comes from one of Verizon's competitors.

Here's an example of what they have for Virginia:

Freedom Essentials + FiOS 5Mbps/2Mbps + FiOS TV Premier (two-year commitment) increased from $104.98 to $115.98
Freedom Essentials + FiOS 5Mbps/2Mbps + FiOS TV Premier (one-year commitment) decreased from $114.98 to $110.98
Freedom Essentials + FiOS 15Mbps/2Mbps + FiOS TV Premier (two-year commitment) increased from $119.98 to $120.98
Freedom Essentials + FiOS 15Mbps/2Mbps + FiOS TV Premier (one-year commitment) decreased from $124.98 to $120.98

FiOS 5Mbps/2Mbps + FiOS TV Premier increased from $85.98 to $101.97
FiOS 15Mbps/2Mbps + FiOS TV Premier increased from $92.98 to $111.97
FiOS 15Mbps/15Mbps + FiOS TV Premier increased from $107.98 to $123.97

Moving on to another bill, Lance J. Technoweb has done some analysis to determine roughly how much your FiOS service is affecting your electric bill. It's by no means a complete look, as he only measures the electricity use for the main network box and the battery backup unit. To get a complete picture, you would need to take similar measurements on the router and the set top boxes as well. Lance determines that the network paraphernalia is using roughly 140 Kilowatt-hours per year, which depending on where you live might cost you up to $29 annually. Not backbreaking, but you probably didn't take electricity consumption into account when you were figuring how much converting to FiOS was going to cost you.

FiOS well positioned in the "HD arms race"

Which service provider is going to offer the largest array of high definition content in the long run? It's too early to tell, but Verizon's FiOS is in a great position to compete according to this article from Cable360. The piece speculates that Verizon has plenty of bandwidth, and that FiOS is in a better place than most cable providers for a couple of reasons:

• FiOS already employs a relatively small portion of its video bandwidth for analog channels, and by February 2009, FiOS will reallocate even this segment entirely for digital TV.

• Verizon can allocate the entire 860 MHz for downstream standard definition and HD TV channels. On cable, some of this bandwidth is allocated for upstream and downstream VOD and Internet access. On FiOS, traffic for VOD and Internet access is carried on different wavelengths (for upstream and downstream) over the fiber plant and does not subtract from the 860 MHz for linear TV.

Bottom line: this is good news for FiOS subscribers. Once Verizon finishes upgrading the network components that are currently causing the bottleneck, the sky is the limit for FiOS bandwidth. Check out the article for the full scoop.

FiOS In The News: Roundup

Nothing big on the FiOS news front so far this week. Instead of making things up, here are some interesting FiOS-related links from around the web:

• Verizon, Fiber or Die? - A reader question at Slashdot spawns some discussion about whether or not Verizon is trying to strong-arm traditional copper DSL customers into making the switch to FiOS
  
  
• Nothing Lasts Forever - A Computer World blogger is left hanging when his FiOS Actiontec modem/router bricks up two weeks after the end of the warranty period, and Verizon charges him $130 for a replacement
  
  
• Verizon Tests AFOX - Verizon hopes to improve network performance and management with new AFOX (automated fiber-optic cross connect) capabilities, eliminating one of the last remaining manual network functions
  

Update: Those free HDTVs are coming... eventually

Like we talked about earlier in the week, Verizon is having problems meeting customer demand for the free 19" Samsung flat-panel HDTVs that were offered to all new "Triple Freedom" customers over the past several months. Lots of angry letters, lots of press, you get the picture. So, not surprisingly, Verizon has addressed the issue directly in the policy blog.

Like we posted yesterday, the bottom line is that customers who were promised televisions are going to get them. From the Verizon post:

First, let’s set the record straight. If a customer qualifies for a TV set under our recent promotion, they’ll get one. We stand behind the offer and are doing a number of things to speed up the process.

The bad news is that customers (who ordered prior to December 31st) are going to be waiting 10 to 15 weeks to receive the new displays. Since not everyone has that kind of patience, Verizon is offering a couple of alternatives for those of the instant gratification persuasion.

1. Those waiting for their freebie can opt to receive a Magnavox 19” LCD HDTV instead. This non-Samsung set will arrive in 4 weeks.
2. The super impatient cash in their chips for a $200 Best Buy gift card, which could arrive in as little as 2 weeks.

Neither option is too shabby, and the choices show that Verizon is making an effort to make the situation right for FiOS subscribers.

So, about that free 19" LCD HDTV for signing up with FiOS....

If you were in a hurry to sign up with Verizon to get the free 19" LCD HDTV they have been offering to new FiOS subscribers in the recent ad campaign... you may want to temper your expectations. You may have thought that your FiOS installer would show up at your door with the shiny new display, but that isn't the case. According to Verizon, this is how is should work:

Two to three weeks after all your bundle components are installed and working you will receive a letter in the U.S. Mail. The letter will include a username and password for a website address to redeem the promotion. You must claim your gift award within 45 days of receiving the letter in the mail.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the 45 day window is a bit of a pipe dream, too. Not surprisingly, a lot of customers are steamed. Over at the Consumerist, there is a full length report on the issue, including lots of angry comments from customers waiting for their TVs.

The bottom line is that Verizon is going to have to provide the televisions or comparable reimbursement at some point. But in the mean time, this ugly situation is a bit of a black mark, especially in contrast to the recent positive customer feedback mentioned earlier.