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Was FiOS a smart bet for Verizon? Yes, but…
Published: August 22, 2008
The New York Times has an interesting article on the debate among some investors about whether Verizon overspent (about $23 billion) on its fiber optic FiOS network.
For most consumers, though, the investment debate is kind of academic.
As the article points out, for a $100 billion-a-year company like Verizon, even a FiOS-level expenditure isn’t a back breaker, so it’s not like the managers at Verizon are scrambling to figure out if they can afford pens and toilet paper at the executive offices.
The more massive issue, I think, is not whether Verizon can afford the tech investment (they can) or whether the technology is a large upgrade over existing systems (it is).
The real concern I’ve, as a FiOS customer, is that Verizon is putting far too much focus on signing up new customers and not enough on expanding its FiOS services to those customers once they sign their contracts.
In other words, where the heck are my new high definition Television channels, Verizon?
Satellite companies, in particular, are soaring past Verizon in this area, and I’m considering dropping my FiOS TV service this fall when Netflix streaming finally goes live on the Xbox 360.
At that point, I’ll be able to get the networks in HD for free via an antenna, stream TV shows from Netflix to my Television via my XBox 360, download HD movies from Microsoft’s own Xbox 360 video store or the Sony PlayStation 3 video store, rent movies from Netflix’s regular rental service, or hook up my laptop to my Television to watch legal videos on a variety of streaming services.
In other words, I won’t be missing much, and I won’t have to pay a monthly fee, other than for my Netflix account, which I’m already paying now.
Now, if Verizon does roll out a bunch of cool HD channels, I might stick around. But, at this point, they’re not doing much to earn that loyalty.
