Verizon VA Info

riffjim4069 said:
Waiting for information from my Richmond contact. I can assure you the Richmond build-out is just beginning...

Verizon was running underground lines alone Spring Run Rd. in Chesterfield Country about two weeks ago...was it fiber?
 
To win cable game, Verizon seeks rule change

Verizon hopes its aspirations to compete with cable companies will be boosted if Virginia becomes the second state nationwide to make it easier to sell television service.

The telecom giant is building a fiber optic system capable of bringing blazing Internet speeds and television service to consumers. But Verizon can't sell television without getting a franchise in each locality - a grinding process that takes six to 18 months. The General Assembly tabled a bill this year similar to the one that will now reappear in 2006.

Verizon got legislation passed recently in Texas to make the process easier, and is now looking for changes in Virginia. The changes potentially could attract Verizon to start selling television service faster and more aggressively in Virginia.

"Virginia has a fantastic opportunity here to be right in front on this," said Harry Mitchell, spokesman for Verizon.

But the phone company is facing stiff resistance from cable competitors that fear Verizon will not be subject to similar franchise agreements and local governments that fear a loss of control. The debate largely boils down to whether Verizon should be forced to serve entire localities, as cable companies have.

Verizon says that requirement is a barrier to competition - an obstruction not faced by Cox Communications and other cable companies that have taken Verizon's phone customers since telecom markets were deregulated in 1996.

In Hampton Roads, Verizon has begun building its fiber network in Virginia Beach but is not revealing its schedule for future additions. Verizon has laid fiber in wealthy areas of Northern Virginia and has gotten a few franchises for eventually selling television service there.

Verizon said that even though it has secured the cable franchise agreements, the company has been haggling for over 15 months in other localities in the region. In Virginia, Verizon is seeking a variation of the solution it got in Texas - moving franchising authority to state regulators.

But that would violate Virginia's constitution to remove localities' authority to negotiate franchises. Instead, Verizon wants a new law that will spell out minimum requirements for competitors who want to sell cable television in Virginia. The companies must already have right-of-way for utilities, phone or cable service.

So instead of lengthy behind-the-scenes negotiations with municipalities, Verizon would only need to notify the local government that the company intends to offer service and will follow the rules spelled out in the new bill.

Thirty days later, Verizon could start offering service. The local government would have 120 days to hold public hearings and pass an ordinance spelling out any details such as customer service rules that are more stringent than the state's minimum requirements.

But the new state-level restrictions concern local governments, which would have less flexibility to negotiate some parts of franchises, said Phyllis Errico, general counsel of the Virginia Association of Counties, which hasn't taken a formal position on the bill yet.

Existing cable companies would continue to be bound by 10- to 15-year franchise contracts. The old deals have more stringent requirements for construction, customer service standards and fines that Verizon won't face, said Ray LaMura, president of the Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association.

Verizon wants local governments to have the option to let cable companies out of these contracts and use the same system as Verizon, but that won't work, he said.

"What incentive do they have to let us out of the contract, so we can have less requirements than we already have," said LaMura.

Verizon claims there are two main barriers to entry for new cable competitors - the requirement that the cable system reach an entire locality and up-front capital grants. The grants are used to build studios that broadcast local public shows and city council meetings.

"Maybe a way to get at that is for the new provider to make a contribution," to operating public service facilities instead of building a whole second studio, said Verizon's Mitchell.

The counties association is concerned that rural areas will not get the benefits of competition if Verizon isn't required to reach all consumers in a locality.

"I would doubt that they will benefit from this at all," said Errico. "If there's no build-out requirement, it wouldn't be economically feasible."

Mitchell doesn't deny that Verizon will start with profitable customers in localities, and slowly expand to others as it builds the system. That's the same strategy taken by Verizon's competitors in the Internet and phone businesses. Verizon has strung about 15 million feet of fiber in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Virginia Beach so far - making Virginia one of its biggest targets for building the system besides Texas. Hampton also has a major call center for Verizon's new Internet service.

The only state that has overhauled its cable franchise system so far to make it easier for competition is Texas. Verizon got approval from Texas regulators last Friday for its first state-issued franchises for 21 communities in Texas, and the process only took a few weeks.

The company expects to have 400,000 television customers in the state by the end of 2006.

"There's a finite amount of dollars any company has to invest," said Mitchell, and the Texas law means it's getting a lot of that money.

http://www.dailypress.com/business/dp-06969sy0oct25,0,6762616.story?coll=dp-business-bothead
 
is it just me, or are all cable companies afraid of verizon and sbc??? this is only going to make them provide a better service, making us the consumers the winners.
 
I guess in the long run customer service would have to win out. Depending on how Verizon's customer service is compare to others would make the difference in the long run. People probably will jump on this since it's new to say they have it or to try it. Staying with it will depend on management and service. It will be a wait and see.
 
Fios business internet in Va

Can anyone verify the particulars of the Fios business internet offerings in Va. In particular I am interested in the 15/2 service with static IP(s). The verizon page indicates "Static IP" while other posts seem to indicate a block of 5 IP's. Can I get a confirmation one way or another?
Thanks
 
Cable Choice Now!

I was contacted by leadership at Cable Choice Now! (aka The Coalition) earlier this morning and I was asked to serve as their Citizens Member Representative - I gladly accepted. The Coalition consists of three member positions: Verizon Virginia, a Think Tank, and last---but certainly not least---the Citizen Members.

Advanced Notice: The Coalition is organizing a Press Conference that will most likely take place late next week in Richmond VA (the seat of the Commonwealth). I am planning to attend and will provide details when available. Additionally, I plan to get plenty of photos and will meet with as many legislators as possible.

More Good News: Thanks to grass roots efforts like SatelliteGuys.US, The Coalition now has over 1000 members...many who have grabbed the attention of their local and state representatives. If you haven't already done so, please visit http://www.cablechoicenow.org and voice your support for more Cable Choices Now; better, more reliable, less expensive Cable Choices are out there!

Additional Scoop: I have been working with staff members at the Fredericksburg Freelance Star (local area newspaper) in the hope of raising Cable Choice awareness of the citizens living in Fredericksburg City, Spotsylvania & Stafford counties. Stay tuned...
 
I live in Springfield, VA in (Fairfax County) and some of my friends have fios, they live in the Saratoga area and its available and there is some availability in some parts of the pohick area also. It sucks when because i live 3 miles away from them and my area isnt wired yet, they have had it for months now
 
Today's Press Conference has been postponed. There is an event involving several State Senators today so the coalition will reschedule in order to maximize press coverage. I'll post more details as they become available. Don't forget to take action now by demanding legislative reform and joining the coalition at www.cablechoicenow.org - membership is free and open to anyone who supports competition in the cable industry/video service market. Cable Choice Now will keep its list of registrants confidential and not market, sell or give away the list to any third party.
 
riffjim will also let everyone know what happens at the press conference when the make up day is announce. hopefully some good things will come out of this which would bring fios tv to all of us alot sooner.
 
Verizon Launches FiOS TV in Virginia

I think with the rollout of FiOS TV, it may be time to take another look at re-branding SatelliteGuys.us and perhaps focusing more on Scott's early work in establishing HighTechTV.net. For example, when I use some popular Internet search engines to search "Virginia FiOS TV" here are the results:

Google: links to news, Home Theater Spot, and FiosLive.com
Yahoo: links to news, Tivo Community, DSLreports
Mamma: the above info
Altavista: news and Tivo Community
Dogpile: official Verizon Fios site, misc.

Ok, my point is that while SatelliteGuys is the webs most popular Satellite Forum, people aren't coming to HighTechTV unless they have Satellite concerns. In fact, when I Google or Yahoo "high tech tv" the HighTechTV.net website isn't even displayed, which is the opposite of when you search both for "satellite guys".
 
h.monay said:
I live in Springfield, VA in (Fairfax County) and some of my friends have fios, they live in the Saratoga area and its available and there is some availability in some parts of the pohick area also. It sucks when because i live 3 miles away from them and my area isnt wired yet, they have had it for months now

I am less than a mile away from a wired area and it's not available to me yet here in Chesterfield. From what I understand it will be quite sometime before I can get it.
 
Verizon's New High-Fiber 'Diet' for Newport News: Blazing-Fast Data, Crystal-Clear...

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Verizon is bringing to Newport News one of the most significant advancements in telecommunications technology in the past 100 years.

The company today announced it is building a fiber-optic network that will deliver faster data speeds, crystal-clear voice -- and also has the capability to offer a full suite of video services in the future - to residence and small business customers. The new network initially will be located in parts of the Alpine, Bayberry Harpersville, Bernard Village, Bethel Industrial Park, Concord Lake, Deer Park Grove, Indigo Lake, Lake Queen Anne, Pine Grove Village, Sierra Park and Tabb Lakes areas.

Full Story
 

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