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Verizon's $70 Gigabit Internet Is Half the Price of Older 750Mbps Tier (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the new-and-improved dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Verizon is now selling what it calls "FiOS Gigabit Connection" for $69.99 a month in a change that boosts top broadband speeds and makes lower prices available to many Internet subscribers. Actual bandwidth will be a bit lower than a gigabit per second, with "downloads as fast as 940Mbps and uploads as fast as 880Mbps," Verizon's announcement today said. The gigabit service is available in most of Verizon's FiOS territory, specifically to "over 8 million homes in parts of the New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Richmond, Va., Hampton Roads, Va., Boston, Providence and Washington, D.C. areas," Verizon said. Just three months ago, Verizon boosted its top speeds from 500Mbps to 750Mbps. The standalone 750Mbps Internet service cost $150 a month, more than twice the price of the new gigabit tier. Existing customers who bought that 750Mbps plan "will automatically receive FiOS Gigabit Connection and will see their bills lowered," Verizon said. It's not clear whether they will get their price lowered all the way to $70. It's important to note that the $70 price is only available to new customers, and it's a promotional rate that will "increase after promo period." Additionally, Verizon will charge you a $10 per month router charge unless you pay $150 for the Verizon router, plus other taxes and fees.

3 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. It's not $70/mo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "$70" is only the temporary promotional price, plus taxes and fees and other random charges they feel like making up and adding separately to the advertised price.

    Advertisement of internet access pricing is bullshit across the industry and I'm sick of it.

  2. Re:WIthout government mandate? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    FCC be damned - the FBI should be investigating this for fraud. $69.99? That's fraud - plain and simple. $69.99 does not equal $69.99+$10+$some undisclosed non-insignificant amount after the first few months that they wont even disclose in their slashvertisement. It's going to be well over $100 once all the invisible fees kick in that they can't even be bothered to tell you about.

  3. Actually, mi, with a government mandate I had it f by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But I live in Chattanooga, where the government owned and controlled utility started providing fiber about a decade ago.

    We got gig speed for 70 bucks in 2012.

    Thanks government, thanks.