Worcester News

Worcester getting Verizon high speed wired internet access

  • Posted by Worcester News December 7, 2022 - Filed in News - #Worcester  #Verizon  #Fios  - 9,299 views

    Worcester residents will soon have a choice for high speed, wired home internet access.

    Verizon announced on Tuesday that Worcester is among the cities and towns that will be able to have the company's Fios wired fiber-optic broadband access.

    This breaks the monopoly Spectrum (formerly Charter) had on wired home internet access in the city and provides an alternative to residents who have long complained about Spectrum's cost and service.

    The Fios expansion is for internet access only. Spectrum will maintain its monopoly over cable TV services for the time being. "The current licensing contract [with Spectrum] expires in October 2023," according to a November article on This Week in Worcester.

    The announcement comes after months of speculation that Fios infrastructure was being built out in the city as residents have noticed Verizon employees deploying fiber, particularly on the city's West Side.

    On July 28th, Tory Avery, a resident of the Columbus Park neighborhood, posted on Nextdoor, "Does this mean we could be getting FIOS soon maybe?"

    (Tory Avery, Nextdoor)

    And on August 24th, Verizon employees were photographed installing fiber optic cable at May and Fairfield streets.

    Verizon crews install fiber optic cable at May and Fairfield streets

    “Fios benefits Worcester residents as they continue to recover from the economic impact of the pandemic by offering fast and reliable network connectivity at a time when we continue to rely on online services to function remotely,” Worcester Mayor Joe Petty said in the Verizon announcement.

    "The latest Verizon Home Internet expansion is expected to make Verizon's 100% fiber optic network available to over 70,000 additional homes and businesses in the Bay State," the release reads. Since 2021, Verizon has deployed over 1,000 miles of fiber cable.

    The website Fierce Telecom reported on Tuesday, "A Verizon representative told Fierce it will use a combination of buried and aerial fiber and expects to have all 70,000 locations open for sale by the end of this year."

    "Verizon’s all-fiber network will deliver our award-winning Fios broadband service with wired speeds of up to 940 Mbps downstream / 880 Mbps upstream and no data caps," the company said in the release. Moreover, the company noted, high speed 5G wireless is available in Worcester "starting at just $25 per month with auto pay and select 5G mobile plans."

    For comparison, Spectrum offers broadband speeds of 300 megabits per second to 1 gigabyte per second and prices will be rising $5 per month beginning in November, according to an article on Fierce Telecom.

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