As part of a very East-Coast-centric news conference, TV and Internet company Verizon FiOS offered Orange County and its fellow FiOS-ians nationwide a nice jump in speed for entry and mid-level plans.  

Entry level speeds will double to 15 megabits per second downstream and 5 Mbps upstream. With a one-year committment, the price is $44.99; for month to month, it’s $54.99. The bundled price, with options to add TV and phone service, starts at $109.99.

Mid-tier speeds will jump to 25 Mbps download and 15 Mbps upstream. Prices go up to $64.99 for an annual committment and to $72.99 for month to month. The bundled prices start at $119.99.

But for existing Verizon FiOS customers to get these speeds, they need to ASK! It’s not an automatic upgrade.

For folks in Downstate New York, entry speeds jump to 25 Mbps down and 15 Mbps up. Mid-tier speeds jump to 35 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up.

Pricing varies by area, the company said, but three-tier service packages (phone, TV, Internet) start at $99.99. Verizon said it will also toss in a free Compaq Mini netbook computer or UltraFlip camcorder for customers of its three-piece bundled deal.   

See the details HERE: Verizon’s press release.

So the 100-mbps downstream speeds weren’t announced and it’s unlikely they will this year.

Said a Verizon spokesman at the press conference: “We’re really not seeing a demand for 100 Mbps service now.  … As the market develops we’ll look at increasing the speeds but do so in an affordable manner.”

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