After 18 months of laying cables, Verizon is signing up customers for its high-speed online service.
By JANET ZINK, Times Staff Writer
Published July 15, 2005
TAMPA - The marketing push is on.
Portable billboards and Hummers advertising FiOS, Verizon's high-speed fiber-optic network, cruise South Tampa streets. Oversized mailers promising to "revolutionize your online experience" are arriving on doorsteps.
After nearly 18 months of laying fiber-optic cables throughout Tampa, Verizon is now signing up customers for FiOS, short for fiber-optic services.
Last year, the company started replacing copper wires that used to connect homes and businesses to its network with the high-capacity cables. Eventually, the cables will provide residents with advanced phone, Internet and video services.
Problems have plagued the construction. Workers punctured gas and sewer lines, discharging dangerous fumes, stalling traffic and shutting down businesses. In November, county officials issued a brief stop-work order.
It will take 10 to 15 years to lay cables near all the customers Verizon eventually plans to reach, but the lines should pass 300,000 households in a six-county area that includes Hillsborough by the end of the year, company spokesman Bob Elek said.
Verizon began offering FiOS service in North Tampa in November 2004 and in parts of South Tampa in March.
Elek wouldn't say how many people have signed up for the service, but "the response has been very strong," he said. "Our fiber technicians are keeping very busy every day."
He expects them to be even busier once Verizon begins offering its pay-TV and other video services, which will offer on-demand Hollywood movies and high-definition television.
Verizon is negotiating franchise agreements with the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County to make the video service possible. In May, the company entered into a 15-year franchise agreement with Temple Terrace.
The basic package will include 180 digital video and music channels, including 20 high-definition television channels. An upgraded package will be available with 300 channels. Those who pay an extra fee for a set-top box will have access to 2,000 Hollywood movies at any time of the day or night.
Elek said Verizon hopes to offer the video services in Tampa early next year.
In the meantime, those who sign up for FiOS will find that they can participate in video chats and interactive multiplayer games and buy and download digital movies faster than with other types of Internet services, Elek said.
Verizon, which serves 29 states and the District of Columbia, is installing fiber-optic lines in parts of 15 states.
Elek said Florida was among those chosen because of its favorable regulatory environment and wide customer base.
"It's a good market," Elek said. "The company is happy with Florida right now."
