Verizon said customer growth accelerated for its FiOS services in the third quarter 2008 as the company's telecommunications group introduced new features and expanded the fiber network's footprint. Some milestones for the quarter:
- Launched FiOS TV in four new markets -- New York City, Washington state, Harrisburg, Pa., and western New York. Overall, Verizon made FiOS TV service available for sale to a record 1.2 million additional premises in the quarter, bringing the total to 8.2 million.
- Added 233,000 net new FiOS TV customers, compared with 176,000 in the second quarter 2008. The company has 1.6 million FiOS TV customers, compared with more than 700,000 FiOS TV customers at the end of third-quarter 2007.
- Increased FiOS TV sales penetration (sales as a percentage of potential customers) to 19.7 percent, compared with 15.2 percent in last year's third quarter.
- Continued to launch high-definition channels and now offers more HD than cable in each FiOS TV market, with 100 HD channels already available in several regions.
- Began adding new features that take advantage of the fiber network's interactive capabilities including streaming of recorded HD video with Verizon's Home Media DVR; new free informational widgets; purchasing via remote control; and a feature that allows customers to pause live programming, change channels, and then return to the paused program and pick up watching right where they left off.
- Added 225,000 net new FiOS Internet customers, compared with 187,000 in the second quarter 2008. The company has 2.2 million FiOS Internet customers, compared with 1.3 million FiOS Internet customers at the end of third-quarter 2007.
- Increased FiOS Internet sales penetration to 24.2 percent, compared with 20.0 percent in last year's third quarter. FiOS Internet is available for sale to nearly 9.1 million premises.
- Offered its broadband customers access to free parental controls and launched a Parental Control Center offering tips and tools for parents on how to protect their children when they're online.
- Announced that it has completed almost two-thirds of its FiOS build-out in which the company expects to pass 18 million homes and business with fiber through 2010. At the end of the third quarter 2008, Verizon's broadband fiber-to-the-premises network passed 11.9 million premises.
- Announced that fiber-to-the-home now covers more than one-third of Verizon's wireline households and that nearly 70 percent of these homes passed can buy Verizon's video service.
- Continued building its all-fiber-optic network using GPON. The nearly 200 switching centers in 12 states where GPON is being deployed today will grow to 400 centers by the end of 2009. More than 40 percent of homes passed by fiber will be served by GPON technology by the end of next year, rising to 50 percent by 2010.
