Orange County Register

Nearly 70 percent of 600 people surveyed recently said that yes, their next house better have that speedy fiber-optic based Internet service, such as Verizon FiOS.

And these are people who can’t order FiOS, like most of us in Orange County, even if we dangled a $100 bill in front of a Verizon installer!

When it comes to buying a house, this speedy Internet, which requires a company to connect cables from its facility all the way to a consumer’s front door, was more important than having nearby jogging trails, 24-hour security, a community pool or a neighborhood fitness center, according to report commissioned by the Fiber-to-the-Home Council and conducted by Oklahoma consulting firm RVA Market Research and Consulting. 

Fiber lets companies like Verizon offer its speedy FiOS network of super-fast Internet (up to 50 Mbps downstream, 20 Mbps upstream to upload videos, photos), TV service, phone and pretty much anything else it wants to offer customers at home. Many in Orange County have been salivating for the service, or so it seems.

In reality, though, will people really buy a house because it has FiOS?

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Verizon recently acknowledged that it slowed FiOS expansion plans in Southern California because customers who could order it, weren’t. Said Verizon at the time, “… In order to get the return on our investment we need to focus on areas that we’ve already built.” (Read the earlier story, Verizon’s FiOS TV rollout slows in So Cal.)

Likewise, AT&T, which offers a similar service called U-verse, also pulled back on expansion plans. (Read the earlier story, “Oh no! U-verse rollout slowing down.”)

And places that do have FiOS are doing little to market the feature. Condos and apartment buildings that are wired seem to be doing little to entice fiber-seeking residents, at least here in Orange County.

When Verizon mentioned in January that 15,000 apartments in Orange County were FiOS friendly, it declined to list those locations saying it didn’t have clearance to release those names. My ensuing offer to those dwellings to tell me who they are in exchange for some free publicity has resulted in zilch. You have to use Google to search sites like Move.com for any sign of FiOS service, which shows up as an amenity at Carnegie Lane Apartments in Redondo Beach.

What gives?

Michael Render, president and principal of survey-conductor RVA Market Research, doesn’t believe FiOS or any other fiber-optic developer is losing steam. Rather, a pullback is probably due to the high cost of construction or increased competition from cable companies as FiOS enters new neighborhoods. 

“Companies like Verizon face a lot of competition in the areas they’re in. They tend to be up against competent cable companies that offer service as well,” Render said.

Based on his research, consumers want fiber, he said. “(Fiber services) have been meeting expectations. The fiber rollouts out there have reported very few failures. Satisfaction reports are very high.” 

Of course, people who have experienced fiber-based Internet really love it. RVA surveyed 600 more people who have fiber and 82 percent said they expect to also have fiber in their next house.

Click chart to enlarge

“The survey results make clear that once they have it, people really love their direct fiber broadband,” said Joe Savage, president of the Fiber to the Home Council, in a press release. “When we asked FTTH users whether they would consider disconnecting their service if economic conditions forced them to rethink their household budgets, 49 percent of them said their fiber connection would be the ‘last thing’ they would give up. Only 11 percent said it would be the first.”

More: Fiber to the Home Council-commissioned survey on consumer broadband: LINK

Recent AT&T U-Verse news:

Recent Verizon FiOS news:

Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local TV services. 

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