A leaked memo regarding imminent pricing changes to Verizon’s FiOS offerings caused a minor uproar on the Internet in the last week or so of December, but the dust has finally settled and Verizon has finally made some of the changes official. Some news outlets took the news and ran with it, often attacking Verizon for a steep increase in their FiOS-related early termination fees (ETF), but few seemed to look at the problem analytically. Of course, analyzing a problem requires gathering the facts, and a supposedly leaked memo did not necessarily constitute hard facts.
Now that the changes have been made official, the facts are finally available, but what do they mean for consumers? Actually, there is a lot to be impressed by and pleased with, especially for consumers who have secure employment and housing for the foreseeable future. While the economic crisis gripping the world means that there might not be as many of those consumers as there used to be, there are still countless millions of consumers who could benefit from the recent changes.
The ETF Issue
By far the most covered and controversial change is the marked increase to Verizon FiOS ETFs. These changes currently affect only new customers that sign two year agreements for fixed pricing on packages. Verizon offers plenty of FiOS options for consumers that do not want a contract, but the best discounts are offered to customers who agree to longer term contracts. Increasing ETFs is not a new business practice, nor is it a business practice that is exclusive to Verizon or even the industry as a whole; many industries use similar pricing structures that offer monthly no-obligation plans and contracts with comparatively lower rates and ETFs.
This particular business practice offers customers a better price on services they intend to use for a specific duration and ensures companies offering those services a reasonable expectation of a steady cash flow. A steady cash flow is very important to businesses of all sizes as it helps them determine their ability to meet their existing financial obligations as well as plan for future expenditures such as hiring new employees or expanding their operations. Therefore, it is not necessarily an unreasonable thing to ask customers for, especially in exchange for lower rates. If Verizon were limiting choices or options to customers who did not want to sign a contract, then there may be a basis for a complaint, but that does not seem to be the case.
In short, there are no real reasons to complain about the ETF changes other than to grouse publicly. Month to month options are still available for those that need the flexibility. Verizon also changed some of their core offerings to make them more attractive, including releasing symmetrical speed increases that were simply amazing.
New Symmetrical Speeds
The new symmetrical speeds offered by Verizon’s FiOS network is simply amazing. Up to 35 Mbps upstream and downstream speeds offer consumers and businesses alike an amazing level of performance that are hard to compete with. While there are comparable downstream speeds available from many DSL and cable-broadband providers, the 35 Mbps uploads are simply stunning. Anyone who handles a lot of outbound traffic or plans on running will certainly appreciate the stunning 35 Mbps upstream speed, which is very hard to find on consumer-grade broadband. Of course, not everyone can effectively use high upstream speeds, but those that do will be probably fall head over heels for the new symmetrical speeds. Some common applications that may benefit from high upstream speeds include uploading pictures to Flickr and videos to YouTube and other similar services.
Better Packages
Verizon’s FiOS bundles have always been competitive, but the new trio of plans offer greater broadband performance and more television channels than their predecessors. The new Ultimate FiOS plan includes no less than 90 HD channels (different markets offer different channels), content from Showtime, TMC, Flix, EPIX and NFL Red Zone. This is bundled with 35 Mbps symmetrical data access via a 100% fiber optic network and the FiOS digital telephone service for $139.99 per month in most markets. The Extreme FiOS bundle includes at least 65 HD channels, digital telephone services and 25 Mbps symmetrical data access for $119.99 per month in most markets while the new FiOS Prime bundle offers at least 40 HD channels, digital telephone service and an asymmetrical data plan that offers downstream speeds of up to 15 Mbps and upstream speeds of up to 5 Mbps for $109.99. Bear in mind that these plans completely replace the need for telephone service, digital television service and broadband data access, and they certainly constitute a bargain by any measure. some markets may have slightly different prices or slight modifications to the aforementioned plans, but these descriptions are generally accurate when discussing FiOS offerings on the whole.
These bundle prices are only available for customers that sign two year contracts and subject themselves to the possibility of having to pay an ETF. ETFs are only a problem for people who do not know where they will be in two years, but keep in mind that Verizon does allow service to be transferred to a new residence. The bottom line is that it is easy to get stuck on the ETF issue or small changes in the pricing structure, but that is ultimately akin to looking for the dark lining on an otherwise bright cloud.
