The Gadgetress blog launched five years ago as a spot to post my high-tech musings. It evolved into a gadget-review column, then a how-tech-saves-money site and finally a blog dedicated to reporting the latest on local TV and mobile services.

But all good things must come to an end and the Gadgetress blog is retiring. That’s because after nearly 10 years at the Orange County Register, I’m leaving this great gig — and Orange County — for that mysterious “to pursue other opportunities.”

It’s really a mystery to me what I’ll be doing next. I’m taking a break for a few months. Seriously. I may return to the world of tech journalism. If you want to keep track of what’s next for me, just head to my personal site at tamara.net.

I enjoyed every minute, especially the interaction with readers. Thank you readers, fans, critics, the companies and even Time Warner Cable. I’ve learned a lot from all of you and hopefully vice versa. I’ve updated the story archives so if you’re looking for an old post on TV service, here’s where to go:

• Time Warner Cable
• Cox Communications
• Verizon FiOS
• AT&T U-verse

For all other tech-related stories and questions, here are a few people who may be able to help you:

• The PC Club Q&A will continue. Readers can still submit questions to gadgetress@ocregister.com with “Help Me” in the subject head.
• John Dunphy, OC Register editor who oversees technology coverage: jdunphy@ocregister.com
• Ian Hamilton, OC Register reporter who covers tech in Irvine and has a soft spot for all-things Apple: ihamilton@ocregister.com

Farewell good readers. I’ll be on Twitter, Facebook and who knows where else? May we meet again!

Signing out,

Tamara “The Gadgetress” Chuang

Last week, Verizon gave Orange County the most detailed information to date on where its elusive FiOS TV and Internet is offered.

The company listed 19 zip codes in area cities that may qualify for the fiber-optic services that boasts Internet speeds of 50 megabits per second and a slate of the most HD channels nationwide. But as I mentioned in the original post, this doesn’t mean that EVERYONE who lives in those zip codes can order FiOS TV and Internet service. Jon Davies, with Verizon, offered the zip codes to help readers, not frustrate them.

“I was hoping it would help readers get a better sense of where we are — I didn’t mean to cause frustration! But, as you know, the biggest challenge we’ve always had with FiOS is making it available to everyone who wants it,” Davies said.

So, to help clarify availability in those zip codes, I’m listing reasons why you may not be able to order FiOS for your home.

1.  You live on the wrong side of the zip code. Zip codes don’t conform to the boundaries of Verizon’s footprint so some customers in these areas may be AT&T customers. Verizon is targeting its existing wired telephone base first before it expands outside its territory.

2. You’re part of the 52 percent in Verizon territory who can’t order service. Verizon hasn’t deployed fiber everywhere in its footprint, so that may be why some residents can’t get FiOS. In its last earnings report, Verizon said that 48 percent of people living within the Verizon service area (typically those who can order landline phone service from Verizon) — or 12.2 million premises — can now order FiOS capable. But of those, only 24.5 percent of potential customers do. That penetration rate, however, continues to grow. Last year, it was 20.8 percent. (Read the earlier story, “48% of people served by Verizon can order FiOS but most don’t.”) It’s also looking less likely that the remaining 52 percent will ever be able to order FiOS as the company has put expansion plans on hold in many cities nationwide. But we’ll have to wait for the company’s next update.

3. You live in an apartment or condo. Verizon is stepping up an effort to win over landlords and condo associations. Without them, there’s no way those residents can order FiOS. Here’s an older story about the topic, “Verizon FiOS TV heavily targeting apartments, condos in O.C. and more.”  If you are a tenant, you should check with the owners. My personal story? I rent and asked my condo’s owner to check with the board for FiOS. The next thing I know, I’m getting free Showtime and a digital box from Time Warner Cable. The cable provider is just as aggressive with keeping existing customers.

4. Verizon’s FiOS availability database is not up to date. Verizon hasn’t confirmed this but I’ve had complaints from readers who plugged in their phone number or address to check availability and were told they live in Menifee, Ca. Or were told it wasn’t available even though a neighbor just ordered it. I suggest calling Verizon and getting someone on the line to verify whether you can get FiOS or not. That number is 1-888-591-6076.

More reasons? Comment below. I’ll add to the list. Thanks!

More on Verizon FiOS:

• Verizon says FiOS now available to 1.2 million in SoCal March 6, 2010
• Time Warner toys with raising Internet pricesMarch 2, 2010
• New soccer channel debuts on Dish, DirecTV and FiOS March 1, 2010
• 2 Verizon phones can now turn on the TVFebruary 19, 2010
• National Geographic Wild starts in March, replaces Fox Reality February 15, 2010
• Verizon FiOS gets high-def MSNBC TV February 11, 2010
• How to get Google’s new 1 Gbps Internet service to launch in your cityFebruary 10, 2010
• Verizon adds paperless coupons for phone, FiOS TV users February 4, 2010
• 48% of people served by Verizon can order FiOS but most don’t January 26, 2010
• Verizon FiOS Internet upload speed hits 35 Mbps! January 19, 2010

It’s been a big week for 3-D TV news, as DirecTV gave the new ESPN 3-D channel a June launch date while several cable providers said they will air the upcoming Masters Tournament in 3-D (Time Warner Cable is joining the effort too, announcement is coming).

Today, Verizon chimes in. The company however, isn’t joining the 3-D trend just yet. It’s too early, says Shawn Strickland, vice president of FiOS product management for Verizon.

Currently, consumers need a 3-D HDTV and special glasses to view 3-D broadcasts. But beyond a handful of Blu-ray Disc movies, there is very little 3-D content available.

“The market for 3-D TV is very, very early in its development. We’re monitoring the early sales of 3-D TVs with interest and expect to announce a 3-D offering well in advance of the holiday TV shopping season, when 3-D television sales will expand,” Strickland said.

But don’t count out Verizon. Strickland goes on to say that its FiOS TV service has become the leader in HD channels and offers the most to consumers who can order the TV service. “Ultimately we expect to provide the same industry leadership with 3-D,” he added.

So, it sounds like Verizon FiOS will offer 3-D broadcasts before the end of the year.  And not just one channel but “our commitment will be to bring the broadest range of 3-D programming,” Strickland said. He adds that Verizon is actively negotiating with “a number of companies in the emerging 3-D value chain.”

Now if only more consumers could order FiOS…

More on 3-D TVs and 3-D viewing:

This is not an April Fool’s Day joke. After pestering Verizon for months, I finally got more details today about the availability of Verizon’s FiOS TV and Internet service in Orange County. Apparently, 70,000 households and businesses here can order the alternative TV service powered by fiber-optic lines.

The company offered a zipcode breakdown, which doesn’t necessarily mean you can order service if you live in that zip code. Apartment or condo dwellers need permission from the landlords or homeowner associations before FiOS can offer service.

So, where is Verizon FiOS in Orange County? Drumroll please…

• La Palma (90623)
• La Habra (90631, 92821)
• Stanton (90680, 92804)
• Los Alamitos (90720)
• Seal Beach (90740)
• Huntington Beach (90742, 90743, 92646, 92647, 92648, 92649)
• Westminster (92655, 92683)
• Fountain Valley (92708)
• Garden Grove (92841, 92844, 92845)

You can check on your own address at verizonfios.com or by calling 1-888-GET-FIOS.

If you live in one of these zip codes and can’t order FiOS, check again today and then share your experience as a comment (thanks!)

This is the second specific announcement Verizon has made this week about FiOS availability.  Earlier this week, the company updated everyone on activity in Long Beach. (Those zip codes include Downey (90241), Norwalk (90650),Pico Rivera (90660), Santa Fe Springs (90670), Artesia (90701), Cerritos (90703), Bellflower (90706),Lakewood (90712, 90713, 90715), Hawaiian Gardens (90716), Signal Hill (90755), Long Beach (90802, 90803., 90805, 90804, 90806, 90807, 90808, 90810, 90813, 90814, 90815.

Verizon FiOS has been in the news recently because it appeared to be ending its rollout of FiOS on the East Coast. The company said nearly the same thing last year for Orange County residents. Instead of expanding to new cities, Verizon planned to focus its efforts on neighborhoods that it had already built the technology (read: “Verizon’s FiOS TV rollout slows in So Cal“).

The company faced tough competition as cable companies and other competitors offered residents better deals. After nearly three years since launching, approximately 24.5 percent of households who can order FiOS actually do, according to Verizon’s last earnings report. Verizon has previously said that penetration rate is about the same in Southern California.

It’s tough for any geek not to want FiOS service. Its Internet speeds top 50 megabits-per second with upstream speeds of up to 35 Mbps. And the TV channels? FiOS has more HD channels than any other TV provider in Orange County. Still, the service comes with a higher price than the competition.

More on FiOS:

We here in Orange County were one of the first in the country to get Verizon FiOS TV and Internet service. It excited many readers who looked forward to 50 mbps Internet service and an alternative to cable TV. Then last year, we found out that the company stopped expanding to new areas locally in order to concentrate on where it already built the infrastructure (read: “Verizon’s FiOS TV rollout slows in So Cal“).

Now it looks like the same is true in East Coast cities of New York and Philadelphia, where Verizon made a big push for FiOS after jilting us here in O.C. Bill Kula, part of Verizon’s media relations group, wrote in the company’s At Home blog that Verizon is focusing on “increasing FiOS availability in those areas where we already have video franchises in place.”

Some interpret this to mean that if you don’t live in an existing FiOS-friendly neighborhood, it’s not coming anytime soon. It’s difficult not to make that assumption especially if you’ve been checking the FiOS availability site for the last couple of years only to get the same “Not available, but we do have DSL…”

Still, Verizon is sticking to the interpretation that FiOS hasn’t slowed down. In fact, Verizon is right where it had expected to be. Kula emphasizes that the company is on track to meet its goal of reaching 18 million premises by the end of 2010.

“At the end of the last quarter, we had 3.4 million FiOS Internet customers and 2.9 million FiOS TV customers. That’s a national penetration rate of 28 percent for FiOS Internet and 25 percent for FiOS TV – a very healthy growth clip for a service that we began selling from scratch nearly five years ago. That makes us the 8th largest among cable and satellite providers, some of whom have been in the business for decades,” Kula writes.

A reminder: When FiOS does enter a new neighborhood and starts selling TV door to door, the local cable TV company does the same, matching or beating FiOS rates. And we know FiOS isn’t cheap. Verizon, apparently, isn’t getting the kind of reception it had anticipated as it discovers that potential customers just signed long-term contracts with their existing TV service.

But those contracts, especially in Orange County, are approaching the 2-year mark so Verizon is going after those customers again. We saw some evidence that FiOS really is still expanding when the company announced earlier this month that FiOS added 166,000 new households in California last year (read: Verizon says FiOS now available to 1.2 million in SoCal).

I’m awaiting the latest word from my Verizon sources on more specific availability here in Orange County. Perhaps now that Verizon is no longer concerned about applying for new video franchises on the East Coast, it can finish what it started here. In Orange County, FiOS is available in some parts of Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton, Westminster and certain unincorporated areas.

More on FiOS:

In an attempt to get TV subscribers to pay a bit more for new channels or tiers, free previews are quite common. Here are some current and upcoming freebies for Orange County-area customers:

Time Warner Cable:

• Showtime On Demand, from March 25 to 28. Go to Channel 1006 (or channel 1 and look for Showtime ONDEMAND) (source: Time Warner)
• CBS College Sports Network, Channel 261, free through April 5 (more)

DirecTV:

• Game Lounge (ch. 110): Free Trial from April 2 to 4 (source: DirecTV)
• Showtime, between March 25 to 28 for the following channels: 537, 538, 539, 540, 542, 544, 545, 547, 549 (source: FreePreview.tv)

Dish Network:

• Style, channel 115, through April 4 (source: Dish)
• CBS College Sports Network, Ch. 152, through April 7 (source: Dish)
• Fuse, Ch. 158, through March 31 (source: FreePreview.tv) Not happening this month, according to Dish.

Verizon FiOS

• Showtime On Demand, between March 25 to 28 (source: FreePreview.tv)

If it feels like Verizon has been taking its sweet old time to offer its fast and comprehensive FiOS TV service in Orange County, here’s a bit of an update. The company offered a progress report for Southern California.

Approximately $682 million of Verizon’s $1.2 billion investment in California last year went to wired services like FiOS TV and Internet. That helped add another 166,000 households and expanded FiOS’ reach to 1.15 million premises in 85 cities in Southern California.

Broken down further, FiOS is available to 1 million single-family homes, 90,000 apartments and condos, and 46,000 businesses in SoCal.

FiOS has been hotly anticipated by many ever since it launched in Orange County in May 2007. It offered residents an alternative to the local cable service and promised faster Internet speeds — up to 50 mbps — and more TV channels. FiOS currently offers the most HD channels in Orange County, at nearly 140.

I’m waiting to hear back from Verizon about whether the FiOS service has expanded to any new Orange County cities, but last I heard a few months ago, Verizon continues to focus on existing neighborhoods instead of new territories. There’s a greater chance you can order FiOS in Orange County if you live in cities: Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton and Westminster. But keep in mind, not even everyone in those cities can order the service.

The wired investment budget also went toward its non-FiOS Internet service, or DSL Internet that Verizon calls High Speed Internet because of its speeds up to 7.1 mbps. Huntington Beach was one of 15 cities — and the only one in Orange County — that received the extra Internet attention.

The company also mentions a whole bunch of discounts it’s offering mostly to new customers, including a free wireless router for new FiOS triple-play customers, a $20 monthly discount for ordering online and committing to 24 months, and $150 cash cards for new customers who order High Speed Internet along with another Verizon service. Read the press release HERE.

Recent Verizon FiOS news:

Spotted: Dow Jones news services picked up on an interesting sentence muttered by Time Warner Cable’s chief operating officer Landel Hobbes during an investor conference on Monday: Broadband Internet has replaced cable TV as the company’s “anchor product” so if TV service continues to slow, Time Warner can just raise Internet prices.

Reporter Nat Worden writes just a few paragraphs, enough to give us a glimpse into the future of cable bills.

“Consumers like it so much that we have the ability to increase pricing around high-speed data,” Hobbes said.

** Webcast: Listen to what Hobbes said **

While that’s discouraging news for anyone on a budget, it makes financial sense for Time Warner especially as more consumers cut cable and instead watch TV shows online for free. But this still means you need a fast Internet connection.

I listened to what Hobbes said and he went on to talk about what customers can expect from Time Warner this year: Access to TV shows online via “TV Everywhere,” and the long-rumored multi-room DVRs and features like “Start Over” and “Look Back” to allow viewers to watch TV shows they missed or forgot to record.

Hobbes also said DOCSIS 3.0, which offers faster Internet speeds of 50 down and 5 up, will be coming to more cities this year, possibly targeting markets where Verizon FiOS also offers fast service. Time Warner launched its faster Internet for around $99 in New York City, where it goes head to head with FiOS and is rumored to be targeting Texas, Ohio and upstate New York next.

That gives us hope here in Orange County for those wanting faster service and are willing to pay for it but can’t order FiOS. Faster Internet is apparently what the bulk of new Time Warner customers want. During the investor conference, Hobbes said that 70 percent of new customers opt for Turbo Internet speeds, currently at 15 mbps downstream and 2 mbps up. Comparably, FiOS offers up to 50 mbps down and 35 mbps up.

Speaking of FiOS, Time Warner considers it to be its chief rival. While AT&T U-verse does offer TV service and Internet, Hobbes remarked that U-verse service is, well, “I’d say not as good as mine.”

Time Warner is also getting ready for another big push in Verizon FiOS territory. Customers who ditched cable for FiOS are now getting to the end of 1-to-2-year contracts with Verizon, which launched FiOS in Orange County in 2007. Hobbes believes Time Warner has a good chance at winning them back.

“Typically when we lost customers to FiOS the first time … it’s because we’ve done something from a customer service perspective that made them upset, not happy with us and that’s why they leave,” he said. “From our research, we’re seeing that if there’s any part of the product set that they (Verizon) are struggling with it’s scaling the care model. That’s the reason why we think we’re going to be successful in the winback situation… We’ve got databases to track those customers. We’ve really been focusing on our care model and improving it.”

Further down the road, Time Warner plans to expand its wireless data access so broadband customers can access mobile RoadRunner Internet service on the road. The company launched the service in North Carolina and Dallas in December and is now in 8 cities, he said.

Recent Time Warner news:

Noted: If you love soccer, a new channel is coming your way. Fox Soccer Plus debuts today on several TV services. But it may not come cheap. See below for details.

The new channel is part of Fox Soccer channel and replaces the Setanta Sports, which called it quits in the United States yesterday, Feb. 28. The TV network continues to broadcast overseas. Here in the states, Setanta gave up its programming rights to several soccer and rugby events.

The new Fox channel features at least 600 exclusive matches, including the Carling Cup, England’s FA Cup and the Coco-Cola Championship. It will also include some rugby matches.

If you’re a fan, the services below are offering the channel or will soon:

Dish Network: Channel 406, available for $14.99 a month. Details

DirecTV: Fox Soccer Plus replaces Setanta Sports for existing customers at no extra cost. It’s $14.99 per month.  Details

Verizon FiOS: Automatically switches Setanta Sports customers to new channel, airing on 1009. Also $14.99 per month. Details

Time Warner Cable: Coming soon, according to a USA Today story.

Recent sports TV news:

Noted: Verizon Wireless said today it has switched on a feature that turns certain phones into TV remotes.

What you need: Verizon-serviced Motorola Droid or HTC Imagio phone and Verizon FiOS TV service. Using the new Mobile Remote function, the phones can control the FiOS set-top box. All the same functions will be available, including changing channels, pause and rewind and managing parental controls.

The new remote-control feature also allows users to transfer a photo on the phone to TV, or even beam a whole slideshow to the big screen.

And, of course, the phones still are phones. If you get a phone call, the phone mutes the TV.

If you’ve got a compatible phone — and Verizon said that more phones will be added in the future — you set up the “Mobile Remote” on the phone via an app, pair the phone with your home’s Wi-Fi network and then finish up using the Mobile Remote widget on the TV. More details are at Verizon’s site HERE, which includes a video overview.

Recent Verizon FiOS news:

Corrected 2/16: Fox Reality is being replaced by National Geographic Wild, not West. My bad. Thanks reader ‘m’ for pointing this out. Text below is corrected.

If you haven’t spent much time on the Fox Reality channel, you’ll be glad to know it’s being booted next month in favor of the National Geographic Wild Channel.

The Fox channel shuts down on March 31, as noted last October, in favor of another version of reality. Why National Geographic? The channel is 50 percent owned by Fox Cable Network.

Time Warner Cable, which notified customers today on its alerts page, switches to “Nat Geo Wild” on March 29. It’s the same channel — 129 — and same plan level as Fox Reality.

Other TV providers have not announced the switch yet but here are the existing channel numbers for their Fox Reality channel:

• Time Warner, 129
• Cox Communications, 363
• Dish Network, 190
• Verizon FiOS, 197
• AT&T U-verse, 130
• DirecTV, 250

For more on TV services, see the following links:

					* Time Warner Cable * Cox Cable * Verizon FiOS * AT&T U-verse		* DirecTV * Dish Network * Web TV * All TV

Noted: Verizon said today that MSNBC HD is now available on channel 603 for all of its TV customers nationwide.  By its count, FiOS now has 138 HD channels (I’m off by one on my FiOS HD channel count page).

MSNBC HD has been around since June 2009 and is already available on most paid-TV services, including Time Warner Cable and Dish Network.

In Orange County, Verizon offers FiOS TV service in certain parts of cities: Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton and Westminster. When I checked with the company about its O.C. roll out in the past month, Verizon said it continues to pursue potential customers in existing neighborhoods rather than building the service out to new residents.

Recent HD channel news:

That Google, always experimenting with cool technologies from the money it makes off investors and its core search-engine service. Today, the company said it would soon begin testing super-fast Internet service of up to 1 gigabits per second.

The 1 Gbps speed is up to 100 times faster than what many consumers get. One gigabit is 1,024 megabits, so compare it with your own service. Most cable and DSL users get about 3 megabits per second for about $20 to $30 a month.

Google plans to build fiber connections right to a customer’s home, which is the same technology Verizon FiOS uses to offer customers Internet download speeds of 50 Mbps and upload speeds of 35 Mbps.

This is no small investment because it requires city permits and digging up the streets to lay fiber-optic cables and all the way up to a customer’s house. But Google has the money, at least to experiment. It said it plans to offer the service “at a competitive price” to at least 50,000 people. Possibly 500,000. Interestingly, in the Google video on right, the company says it plans to share the fiber with other companies who want to also offer fast Internet to residents.

And Google is asking the public to tell it where to start. It could even be here in Orange County, if you can get your city to make some inquiries.

“As a first step, today we’re putting out a request for information (RFI) to help identify interested communities. We welcome responses from local government, as well as members of the public. ”

Google is asking requests be made by March 26 and offers this page for as a starting point. City and community officials need to answer some questions, but any one can nominate their city on this page.

A faster Internet pipe has more benefits then streaming high-definition videos from the web smoothly. It allows companies, like Verizon, to offer TV service and broadcast HD channels without the need to compress them. It can mean high-definition video calls. Or the ability to back up your computer’s hard drive online within seconds.

Google apparently has been buying unused fiber for years although analysts had suspected the purchases was to connect Google’s own data centers, according to a CBC News report.

Good reading about Google’s gigabit efforts online:

• Think big with a gig: Our experimental fiber network (Google Blog)
• Google’s Fiber Network Could Foil ISPs and Fuel Innovation (GigaOm)
• What Can You do with One Gigabit? (GigaOm)
• Google launching fibre broadband networks (CBC News)

Noted: 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.

Scanning 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:

>>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:

The 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.

Interestingly, Verizon said that 48 percent of people living within the Verizon service area (typically those who can order landline phone service from Verizon) — or 12.2 million premises — can now order FiOS capable. But of those, only 24.5 percent of potential customers do. That penetration rate, however, continues to grow. Last year, it was 20.8 percent.

FiOS Internet service is apparently more appealing with its upload speeds of up to 35 Mbps. Verizon said that 28.1 percent of people who could order the Internet service do, up from the year ago’s 24.9 percent. The company has 3.4 million FiOS Internet customers, up 38.4 percent from last year.

In other Verizon business, the company also said that it added 2.2 million net new wireless phone customers during the quarter thanks to adding new Android phones like the Droid. And no, the company did not mention anything about whether the iPhone is in its future.

Read the Verizon quarterly report: 4th Quarter 2009 press release

Recent FiOS headlines:

Verizon 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:

Free 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:

UPDATE, 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.
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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.”

The proposed changes, if they do in fact go into effect, are similar to many of the increases AT&T U-verse plans to roll out in 2010. The $3 to $5 price hikes for Internet services only affect new customers. Read the U-verse prices story, “AT&T U-verse raising TV, phone, Internet prices in 2010.”

Verizon offers its FiOS TV service in select neighborhoods of these cities: Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton, Westminster and certain unincorporated areas. For more FiOS information and older stories, visit the Gadgetress FiOS page: gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/fios.

Help me out: Are you a Verizon FiOS customer? I’ve heard that the only price increase is to premium channels. If you’ve been notified about your bill going up, tell me about it.

Recent Verizon FiOS news:

For more on TV services, see the following links:

					* Time Warner Cable * Cox Cable * Verizon FiOS * AT&T U-verse		* DirecTV * Dish Network * Web TV * All TV

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

• Vizio views listing in 5 years (Wall Street Journal)
• Comcast puts cable TV on Internet for subscribers (USA Today)
• Verizon: We’re testing 10 Gbps and you aren’t (BroadbandReports.com)
• AT&T Wireless CEO: U-Verse Taking 60% Share In New Markets(Wall Street Journal)
• Washington State suing DirecTV on consumers’ behalf (Seattle Times)
• Verizon prepares for the iPhone (BusinessWeek)

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

• Time Warner could lose ‘Simpsons,’ ‘American Idol,’ more Fox shows
• TV set-top boxes lack innovation, says FCC
• Psssst: Digital cable TV is cheaper than analog cable
• Cox Cable: No price hikes planned for 2010 yet
• Boost Mobile adds unlimited calls to Mexico landlines for $10
• Free Wi-Fi Internet at McDonald’s begins January
• Verizon begins offering free Wi-Fi to its mobile broadband users
• Time Warner’s ‘Get Tough’ campaign launches in Spanish
• Time Warner 2010 price hikes mostly affect those who order the least
• Free Showtime for 4 days for Time Warner customers
• AT&T U-verse gets Cartoon Network HD, MSNBC HD, 3 more HD
• Verizon adds HDNet on demand

Have a good weekend!

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:

Noted: 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:

For Verizon FiOS  TV customers who just can’t find a thing to watch among the 500 channels offered, the company is rolling out three new international channels by the end of the week.

The new channels, which cost extra, are as follows (as described by Verizon):

• YTN (channel 1761), Korea’s all-news channel, joins a new Korean package that also includes MBC (channel 1760).
• Phoenix North America (channel 1797), a Mandarin channel offering news and entertainment, including programs like “Phoenix North America News” and “Experience America.” The channel joins CCTV4 (channel 1795) and CTI (channel 1796) in a new Chinese Mandarin package.
• Antenna (channel 1789), FiOS TV’s first Greek channel, featuring comedies, dramas, news, current affairs programs, game shows, entertainment programming and more.

This brings FiOS’ international offering to 35 channels in 20 languages. Channels and packages cost between $14.99 to $24.99 per month.

New customers can order certain bundles and get one of the international TV plans for free for three months.

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