Verizon Halts FiOS Expansions

Posted 03/26/2010 at 5:05pm | by Ryan Whitwam

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If you were holding out hope that Verizon would run some fiber to your house and save you from the cable company, think again. A Verizon spokesperson has clarified the company’s position on the future of FiOS. Verizon will not be laying any fiber in cities where it is not already underway. They will, however, be continuing to hook up homes and businesses in cities where the rollout has already started.

Verizon is still negotiating for so-called franchise arrangements to begin rollout in some small communities, but called off talks with larger municipalities like Alexandria, VA. The original intention of FiOS was to reach 18 million customers by the end of 2010, and they are likely to reach that goal. We just didn’t think they’d completely stop after that. Still, it isn't surprising given the approximately $1,350 it costs just to get a new customer up and running.

It seems likely that in the midst of the economic downturn, the value proposition became less attractive to Big Red. Adoption slowed as consumers tightened their belts, and Verizon shifted resources to the more lucrative mobile business. AT&T and Qwest are both laying fiber into neighborhoods, but are running copper lines to individual houses. We’d like to hold out hope that fiber may one day find its way into everyone’s home, but we aren’t optimistic for the near term.