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The Gadgetress ~ TV, mobile and Internet: Covering technology's monthly bill

Archive for the 'FiOS' Tag

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Verizon adds paperless coupons for phone, FiOS TV users

February 3rd, 2010, 5:04 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Cellfire coupons on a mobile phoneNoted: Coupons are a pain to remember to use but they do tend to save some money. Today, Verizon teamed up with Cellfire to make using coupons easier for customers with wireless or FiOS TV service. Those customers can sign up at vzspendsmart.com.

Of course, anyone can sign up for the same deals at Cellfire.com. There are two options for redeeming coupons: Pick out deals online and add them to your grocery store loyalty/club card. Or keep the whole process digital and just show the clerk the image on your phone. Unfortunately, the latter isn’t available for most offers here in Orange County. Participants seem to be only grocery stores and Sears.

Verizon doesn’t say whether its customers will get any extra special deals. And it looks like the answer is no. More on the FiOS TV widget HERE.

Fry's coupons from CellfireScanning the site, I noticed Fry’s had coupons! I haven’t been to the electronics store in a long time and didn’t realize it even offered coupons.

The only deal? Just $0.50 off Progresso Soup. Soup? Then I realized, this isn’t Fry’s Electronics. Rather, it was some grocery store named Fry’s Food with a very, very similar logo:

frysvfrys

>>This just in from reader Mike in Yorba Linda (updated 5:41 p.m.): Fry’s Electronics was started by the sons of the Fry’s Grocery store founder, using some of daddy’s money. Hence the similarity. I often go to Arizona, where Fry’s Grocery Stores are common. The signage is nearly identical. As a tech geek, I was somewhat disappointed the first time I went in one. See the link for more info. (Thanks Mike for doing the reporting I didn’t feel like doing.)

Want some real deals? Check out the Register’s Deals blog at ocregister.com/ocdeals. Recent finds:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

48% of people served by Verizon can order FiOS but most don’t

January 26th, 2010, 1:04 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Verizon's FiOS TVThe hottest new TV service to invade North America continued to grow during fourth quarter 2009 but at a much slower rate then ever before. One reason? The price. According to the company earnings report today, the average FiOS TV subscriber pays $140 a month.

By the end of 2009, Verizon said its FiOS service had 3.4 million Internet customers and 2.9 million TV customers.

While still a pidly amount compared to cable TV’s 63 million subscribers, Verizon definitely has made the cable companies cringe. Reports of cable companies suddenly cutting cheaper deals with existing customers aren’t uncommon.

Some of that is bound to be happening here in Orange County, where FiOS has spread ever so slowly in Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton and Westminster. UPDATED, 5:06 p.m.: The company told me today that these are still the only cities in O.C. where FiOS is being offered and, unfortunately, it’s not offered to every resident there. You’ll need to check with Verizon for your home address. The good news for those cities is that Verizon is concentrating on existing neighborhoods where it has already built its fiber-optic service. For the latest, check the Gadgetress FiOS page HERE.

Competition from existing TV services is probably what is causing Verizon FiOS’s growth to peter off. During the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, Verizon added the least number of new subscribers in three years. It added an equal number of Internet and TV customers — 153,000 for each service. See the charts below to compare:
2007 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
New FiOS TV subscribers 141,000 167,000 202,000 226,000
Total FiOS TV subscribers 348,000 515000 717,000 1 million
2008 1Q 2Q 3Q Q4
New FiOS TV subscribers 263,000 176,000 233,000 226,000
Total FiOS TV subscribers 1.2 million 1.4 million 1.6 million 1.9 million
2009 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
New FiOS TV subscribers 299,000 300,000 191,000 153,000
Total FiOS TV subscribers 2.2 million 2.5 million 2.7 million 2.9 million

Price is one reason why consumers may balk at Verizon FiOS. While it has more HD channels and faster Internet service then anyone else out there, it costs more. See an earlier story: “Is Time Warner really cheaper than Verizon FiOS?”

Verizon reports that it is making more money each month off each FiOS customer — approximately $140 per user. Overall, this helped boost Verizon’s Internet and video revenues to $1.7 billion during the quarter, up 25.5 percent from the same time last year.
Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • | 6 Comments »

Verizon FiOS Internet upload speed hits 35 Mbps!

January 18th, 2010, 4:39 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Verizon's FiOS TVVerizon just announced today faster Internet speeds for FiOS customers of up to 35 megabits per second upload. That’s faster than any Orange County Internet provider’s download speed.

Faster upload speeds means spending less time uploading photos to Facebook, sending giant spreadsheets and other files to coworkers online or regularly backing up computer files to the great big cloud. According to Verizon, the faster 35 mbps speed means uploading a 20-minute HD video in three to five minutes instead of the half hour it takes with a cable Internet connection.

In Orange County, cable companies upload speeds are a measly 1 to 2 mbps.

But most of Orange County can’t order FiOS. The fiber-optic service is a huge investment for Verizon, which needs city permission to lay cables in the neighborhood. The service has only reached residents in parts of Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach Stanton, Westminster and certain unincorporated areas.

Those of us who can’t order Verizon FiOS can, at least, take heart that we won’t be subject to the service’s new early termination fees.

Separately, Verizon confirmed that customers who drop out before their two-year contract ends could be forced to cough up an extra $360. Previously, the fee was $179.  The higher early-termination fee does drop by $15 every month the customer keeps the service, which means by month 23, exiting customers will be charged $15.

The new Internet upload speeds of 25 Mbps up and down, and 35 mbps up and down, upgrade existing plans. Here’s the low down of FiOS TV/Internet bundles:

FiOS plans Price
Ultimate: TV service with 90+ HD channels, Internet speed of 35 mbps up/down, phone $139.99
Extreme: TV service with 65 HD channels, Internet speeds of 25 mbps up/down, phone $124.99
Prime: TV service with 40 HD channels, Internet speed of 15 mbps down, 5 up, phone $109.99

More details on the new bundles HERE at Verizon’s site.

Notable special: Verizon is offering a major FiOS discount to new customers — $20 discount each month for first 12 months for Prime plan, $10 discount for either the Extreme or Ultimate plan.

More on Verizon FiOS:

Posted in: Internet • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • | 18 Comments »

FiOS TV free previews: ESPN Full Court, NBA

January 11th, 2010, 7:48 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

BasketballFree previews ongoing and coming to Verizon FiOS TV viewers:

Through Jan. 15, FiOS TV customers get free access to ESPN Full Court, which broadcasts college basketball games. Typically, this is $114 for the season or $79 for a half season. The freebie is on channels 1010 to 1015.

Starting next Monday, Jan. 18, NBA League Pass is free. The channels feature out-of-market NBA games. Typically, a subscription to the full season is $189 and is found on channels 1489 to 1499.

For either package, some games may be blocked out due to local broadcast rules and restrictions. More details at FiOS’s At Home blog.

More on FiOS TV:

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Verizon: Leaked price hikes won’t impact current FiOS customers

December 22nd, 2009, 12:29 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Verizon FiOS signUPDATE, 2:33 p.m.: Verizon has verified that the only announced price hike for existing FiOS TV customers is that premium channels like HBO, HBO/Cinemax and the Movie Package will each increase by $1 as of Jan. 17.
_____________________________

As the year winds down and TV customers learn how much more TV service will cost next year, existing Verizon FiOS customers may have lucked out.

Verizon responded to a report that FiOS TV bills will go up $10 to $20 a month with this:

“We have no comment – we have made no such announcement. That being said, please keep in mind that anything we might possibly do going forward would not impact our current customers,” said Heather Wilner, a Verizon spokeswoman, in an e-mail response to my question.

BroadbandReports.com noticed new pricing plans after they were accidentally posted on a public Verizon Web site. The page showed price hikes between $10 to $20 depending on the bundle, starting on Jan. 17, 2010. It also noted that the basic “TV Essentials” package was being replaced. The site hones in on a new feature: a $360 early termination fee. Read BroadbandReports story, “Leaked 2010 Verizon FiOS Rate Hike Info.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • | 8 Comments »

TV, mobile stories I couldn’t get to this week

December 18th, 2009, 3:27 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

File this in the stuff I just couldn’t get to but thought was interesting for readers:

Here’s what I spent my time on this week:

Have a good weekend!

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Verizon adds HDNet on demand

December 14th, 2009, 8:10 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

HD channels from Verizon FiOS.Noted: Verizon FiOS adding HDNet and HDNet Movies on demand. FiOs subscribers already can get the two regular channels, which include shows like “Dan Rather Reports,” mixed martial arts events and movies.

The on-demand movie channel will offer more than 25 movies each month. Current films include ”Lost in Translation,” “21 Grams,” “Hoosiers,” “Waterworld,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Darkman,” and “The Illusionist.”

The on-demand channel menu can be accessed on channel 900.

FiOS is available in limited areas of Orange County, including parts of Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton, Westminster and certain unincorporated areas. The company is targeting users in its current telephone territory and primarily competes with Time Warner Cable here. More details about FiOS in Orange County HERE.

For more on FiOS HD channels, visit the list at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/fiosHD.

Recent new channel announcements:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Verizon FiOS adding caller ID for TV users

December 10th, 2009, 11:11 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Verizon FiOS signNoted: Verizon said today it is rolling out on-screen caller ID service to FiOS customers. The incoming caller ID will pop up on the corner of the TV screen, so customers don’t even have to bother looking down at their telephone to see who’s calling. Customers can keep watching TV while deciding whether to ignore the call.

The new FiOS feature is free to customers who have TV and voice service. It rolls out first in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Texas. The service will be coming to other markets in the future.  When it does become available, customers can go to the “Settings” category of their Interactive Media Guide main menu and click “Caller ID” to see if it’s available.

I’m surprised that FiOS didn’t already offer this since Time Warner, AT&T U-verse and others do.

More on FiOS:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • | 1 Comment »

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