Verizon FiOS Gets 150/35 Mbps Plan

Verizon has bumped the speed of its FiOS fiber-optic internet service, launching a new, 150/35 plan that offers up to 150 Mbps downloads and up to 35 Mbps uploads. The new ultra-high-speed plan is the fastest available in the US, though you'll have to live in one of the 12.5m homes that Verizon currently offers service to.

Meanwhile Verizon has promised to have the 150/35 option available to all of their existing FiOS small-business customers by the end of 2011. As for what you can do with it, a 2hr SD movie (around 1.5GB) will download in under 80 seconds, while the same HD movie (5GB) takes less than 4.5 minutes.

Meanwhile uploading 100MB of photos would take less than 23 seconds. Obviously not everyone will get the maximum speed the press release talks about, but it's impressive stuff all the same. Unfortunately, while the speed is eye-watering, so is the price: $194.99 per month assuming a one-year agreement and Verizon wireline voice service.

Press Release:

New Verizon FiOS Internet 150/35 Mbps Offer Launches Consumers Into Broadband's Fastest Lane

Powerful Speed Tier Becomes Nation's Fastest Mass-Market Internet Service

Verizon is launching 150/35 megabits per second (Mbps) Internet service – the fastest mass-market broadband service in the nation – over the company's all-fiber-optic FiOS network. The company has begun to roll out the ultra-high-speed service to the majority of the more than 12.5 million homes that the FiOS network passes, and will make the service available to Verizon FiOS small-business customers by the end of the year.

Verizon's new Internet service surpasses competitors' offers by pumping three times the downstream speed previously available to FiOS customers.

"By offering the fastest mass-market Internet service in the nation, we're supporting the immediate and future speed needs of bandwidth-hungry consumers," said Eric Bruno, Verizon vice president of product management. "The new 150/35 Mbps FiOS Internet offer establishes a new benchmark for high-speed Internet in America, and paves the way for a flurry of emerging bandwidth-intensive applications to reach mainstream status."

The Difference for Customers

With a downstream speed of 150 Mbps, consumers can download a two-hour, standard-definition movie (1.5 gigabytes) in less than 80 seconds, and a two-hour HD movie (5 GB) in less than four and a half minutes.

Downloading 20 high-resolution photographs (100 megabytes) would take less than five and a half seconds using the 150/35 Mbps service. With the 35 Mbps upstream speed, consumers can upload those same 20 high-resolution photos in less than 23 seconds.*

The 150/35 Mbps residential offer will be available to the majority of FiOS-eligible households, and sold as a stand-alone service starting at $194.99 a month when purchased with a one-year service agreement and Verizon wireline voice service.

Verizon will continue to offer on a stand-alone basis its next-fastest FiOS Internet speed of 50/20 Mbps, as well as its 25/25 and 15/5 speed tiers. FiOS Internet speeds of 35/35 Mbps, 25/25 Mbps and 15/5 Mbps will continue to be available in double-, triple- and quadruple-play bundles matched with FiOS TV, FiOS Digital Voice and Verizon Wireless service.

Bruno said the 150/35 Mbps tier takes advantage of Verizon's robust all-digital, all-fiber-optic network, which extends directly to consumers' homes and will ultimately serve 18 million households. The new speed tier will provide immediate value to consumers already using applications that require high downstream and upstream bandwidth.

"Our new 150/35 Mbps offer will also support burgeoning bandwidth-intensive applications such as Internet video to TV and PC, 3D TV and movie downloads, high-definition and real-time video conferencing, and online data backup," said Bruno.

Amy Lind, broadband research manager for the global technology market intelligence firm IDC, said: "This is about more than Verizon zooming to the top of the broadband speed chart. It's a reflection of Verizon's vision. Verizon understands that this kind of bandwidth will fuel new product and service development down the road and is poised to allow its customers to reap the benefits of those innovations in the future."

Introduction of the new 150/35 Mbps FiOS Internet service follows recent Verizon field trials that achieved connection speeds of nearly 1 gigabit per second (Gbps), both downstream and upstream. When a more advanced XG-PON2 technology was connected to the network several weeks later, connection speeds of 10 Gbps were reached on Verizon's fiber-optic network.

Once service is connected, Verizon FiOS Internet customers have access to the Verizon In-Home Agent, a free application that gives them valuable tools to set up services. In-Home Agent will help customers configure Wi-Fi links, set up and manage voice mail, auto-fix video problems, and trouble-shoot and correct Internet issues – all with the simple click of a mouse.

* Upload and download time estimates based on maximum connection speeds. Actual throughput speeds will vary.