Verizon Redefines 'Fast' With Groundbreaking FiOS Internet Service Featuring 20 Mbps Download and Upload Speeds

Service Is First of Its Kind Available to Consumers on a Mass Scale

Super-Fast Symmetrical Speed Enables Today's Most Interactive Online Experiences and Encourages Future Web Innovations

October 23, 2007

Media Contact:

Bobbi Henson, 214-789-6483
Mark Marchand, 908-559-3525

NEW YORK - Verizon has changed the definition of "fast" with the introduction of a new, symmetrical Verizon FiOS Internet service for consumers, featuring an upload and download speed of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps).

The groundbreaking new service - delivered straight to customers' homes on the nation's most-advanced all-digital, all-fiber network - is the first of its kind commercially available to U.S. consumers on a mass scale.  It is available, starting today, in parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.  Verizon plans to offer similar symmetrical services soon in the 13 other states where the company offers FiOS Internet service, and to introduce a similar small-business offer.

"Verizon's new 20/20 FiOS service blows cable away.  Their upload speeds don't even come close," said Susan Retta, vice president, Broadband Solutions for Verizon.

"For more than a decade, the Internet has been defined by how quickly you can download content," Retta said.  "Our 20/20 FiOS service changes everything by creating an entirely new category of U.S. broadband where 'fast' means fast in both directions.  FiOS customers don't have to wait for a new technology standard that's years away to fully participate in today's interactive Web.  Our new FiOS service will encourage applications developers to create even more ways for consumers to benefit from immense upstream connectivity."

Using a 20 Mbps upstream broadband connection, a consumer could upload a 250 megabyte (MB) file of 200 photos in about 90 seconds, compared with about 47 minutes over a 768 kilobits per second (Kbps) upstream connection.  A 500 MB file, such as 400 digital photos or a medical imaging data set, could upload in less than four minutes, compared with about 90 minutes over a 768 Kbps connection.  A 3 gigabyte (GB) file, such as a one-hour family video shot with a high-definition video camera, can be uploaded in around 20 minutes, compared with more than nine hours with 768 Kbps upstream.

The equally fast upload and download speed of the new symmetrical FiOS service also enhances interactive services like video conferencing, online multi-player gaming, telemedicine, electronic home monitoring, online work collaboration, data backups and more.

"Verizon's new symmetric service is a smart response to the changing usage patterns of high-speed Internet subscribers," said Vince Vittore, senior analyst with Yankee Group. "We believe that as user-generated content continues to expand and telecommuting increases in popularity, upstream speed will become just as important as downstream for all users."

The new FiOS service is available in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for as low as $64.99 a month.  Because consumers with ever-growing collections of photos, music, video and other data want to quickly and easily store and protect their files, the symmetrical FiOS service includes a comprehensive Internet security suite plus 1 GB of network-based backup at no additional charge.   Customers who subscribe to the new Internet service can upgrade their backup to as much as 50 GB at competitive rates.    More information is available by calling 888-GET-FiOS (888-438-3467).