Verizon’s FTTP connections, expanded earlier this month to several East Coast states, allows users a direct fiberoptic line and download speeds up to 30 Mbps depending on the service plan.
“This exciting new network we’re building will lead to a true convergence of voice, data and video services on one network,” said Paul Lacouture, president of Verizon’s Network Services Group. “We currently deliver voice and high-speed data over this new network, and the available bandwidth that fiber provides makes the addition of video services the next logical step.”
Under the new agreement, Motorola’s newly-formed Telecom Access Solutions will provide project management and integration services.
Motorola, which currently delivers more than 700,000 independent streams of digital video and roughly 90 percent of the North American xDSL video service, will also provide video infrastructure technology.
According to Verizon, fiber connections allow advantages over regular broadband technology, including reliable service during rainy weather, which might affect older copper lines, less day-to-day maintenance and less power and repairs to electronics in the field.
“No word yet on whether Verizon will block ports,” writes Slashdotter ooglek. “With a 2 Mbps upload, I hope to basically run a small datacenter in my basement.”
In August, FTTP was the center of controversy as the FBI requested that the Federal Communications Commission force fiber services to be compliant with a 1994 federal wiretapping and eavesdropping law.
While wiretapping would still be possible if fiber was not ruled FTTP compliant, it would require government agencies to update their eavesdropping systems.
Currently deployed only in limited markets, Verizon’s FTTP connections are available in Huntington Beach and Murrieta in California, North Tampa in Florida and Colleyville, Grapevine and Southlake in Texas.
Late last week, more deployments were announced in parts of California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.
Service plans begin at $34.95 per month for a 5 Mbps/2Mbps line.
Verizon expects the FTTP network to reach one million homes by the end of the year.