July 22, 2004 Cedar Knolls, NJ -- Verizon has given more detail on its Fiber-to- the-Premises (FTTP) rollouts in Texas, California, and Florida. The first rollouts focus on initial deployments of key technology elements in preparation for service rollouts later this year.
"Verizon's announcement clearly raises the stakes in the broadband arena for cable operators," contends Allan Tumolillo, COO of the independent financial analyst firm Probe Financial Associates (PFA). "Their service levels and pricing will directly challenge the pricing assumptions that cable operators and their investors have made on cable broadband services."
According to Tumolillo, Verizon has yet to identify a video service offering, but its public announcements have made it clear that this remains a distinct possibility.
While Verizon is posturing an aggressive rollout of FTTP, it will be many years before it can count on millions of actual subscribers. "The loop environment is costly, complex and time consuming. Verizon's announcement does not change that," says Tumolillo. "Even so, its FTTP program presents a real challenge to cable operators wherever it rolls the service out."
PFA's new report, "Verizon Fiber Builds - In-Line" analyzes the significance of Verizon's FTTP program and what it may mean for the cable operators. For more information, visit .