Yesterday we reported Verizon is now offering 15 Mbps ADS2+ service to about 4 million of their DSL customers. The new 15/1 Mbps tier costs $50 for users who bundle Verizon voice service, or $60 standalone. Light Reading’s Carol Wilson offers additional technical detail, including the fact the faster speeds are being offered at customer central offices already equipped with Alcatel-Lucent or Adtran ATM Subscriber Access Multiplexers that can support ADSL 2+. Verizon’s John Schommer puts it rather bluntly:”If we knew we had the proper type of equipment to support higher speeds, we turned it up,” Schommer says. “Through the end of the year, we are investing a little bit in some preferred locations. But compared to the investment in FiOS, this is a very small amount of money being spent on DSL.” This could be the last copper upgrade, unless something new comes along, he adds. “You never say never,” Schommer says. “Every time before, when we thought we were at the end of the road, we found something else.”It’s not entirely clear where Verizon plans to go from here. The company says they won’t be upgrading these users to VDSL, because the costs of building out fiber nodes closer to the customer “aren’t favorable versus a complete fiber build.” That of course is in contrast to the position held by AT&T, who recently insisted they still believe their decision to nurse copper and use more bandwidth-constrained VDSL was the more prudent option.
Meanwhile, Verizon’s stated “complete fiber build” has been put on hold with the exception of large cities locked into franchise agreements (NYC, Pittsburgh, DC) with no statement from Verizon on when they’ll be restarted.
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