One thing has me totally geared up lately. In two weeks, the Verizon dude will be wheeling up to my house to hook me up with sweet, sweet bandwidth. Yes, I'm getting FIOS.
I used to really loathe Verizon, with that special kind of loathing reserved for other ruthless, monolithic, we're-a-monopoly-so-we-can-screw-you corporations (like oh, say, Adelphia). But their customer service has turned around dramatically over the past year or two. And now with FIOS on the way, they're going to start expanding to provide TV as well. I love that they're going to send the cable companies cowering.
Instead of subscribing to phone and cable separately, now you're going to have just one information service company. And that means one bill, and fewer bills is good, right? At least there will be some much needed competition. The big difference though will be in distinguishing bandwidth (as a utility) from content (as a service). More on that in future posts.
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2 comments:
I know what you mean.
20 times the bandwidth for less cost, AND I get to stick it to the man (Comcast)?
SIGN ME UP.
Only problem I see down the road is a monolithic High-Speed Internet provider in Verizon with a complete monopoly and a plateau in innovation and customer service.
Ok, so this kinda gets into where I'm planning to go in a future post. Yes, Verizon will have a monopoly on the fiber lines themselves. The FCC ruling guarantees that.
But what they won't (can't) compete with is service providers based on the internet (no, I don't mean ISPs). VoIP stands to cut heavily into phone service. On-demand services like Netflix/Tivo and MovieLink will definitely cut into video entertainment. And sufficiently motivated haxx0rs (in both senses) will ensure that software alternatives exist to drop the bottom out of the market for both.
Essentially, what I see happening is that Verizon will move into a role as a utility/infrastructure company. For the short term they're going head to head w/ Comcast but in the long run all they are is your daily dose of fiber. :)
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