In East Region, Company’s FiOS Internet and High Speed Internet Services Outscored All Other Competitors in Overall Satisfaction; Ranked Highest in Performance and Reliability, Cost of Service, Offerings and Promotions, and Billing

Award for Broadband Products Follows Top Ranking for FiOS TV for Second Year in a Row

Verizon’s consumer broadband services – Verizon FiOS Internet and Verizon High Speed Internet (HSI) -- outperform all their competitors when it comes to overall customer satisfaction in the East, according to the J.D. Power and Associates “2009 Internet Service Provider (ISP) Residential Customer Satisfaction Study”SM released Wednesday (Oct. 28).
 
Verizon’s advanced FiOS Internet and its digital-subscriber-line (DSL)-based HSI service outscored 10 providers measured in the East region of the ISP study – including all cable providers – in overall satisfaction and four factors:   performance and reliability, cost of service, offerings and promotions, and billing. 

The recognition for Verizon’s broadband products closely follows J.D. Power and Associates’ Oct. 7 announcement that Verizon’s FiOS TV was ranked highest in the East Region in the “2009 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study” for the second consecutive year.  In the television study, FiOS outperformed all competitors measured in overall satisfaction and three factors: performance and reliability cost of service, and offers and promotions.

The J.D. Power and Associates East region covers Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,  Virginia, West Virginia and Washington D.C., as well as  three other states. 

“Once again, customers in some of our largest metropolitan markets are clearly appreciating the Verizon difference,” said Michael Ritter, Verizon chief marketing officer for consumer wireline and business services.  “From 1 to 50 Meg connections, Verizon offers consistently fast, reliable Internet speeds – for downloading and uploading – to match every lifestyle and need.

“It’s also clear that our customers care about the tremendous strides we’ve made in enhancing and simplifying our customer billing,” said Ritter.
 
In 2009, Verizon introduced faster downstream and unprecedented upstream speeds for its all-fiber-optic FiOS Internet service; added more DSL-based Verizon High Speed Internet (HSI) service; and offered free access to roughly 14,000 Wi-Fi connections across the U.S., giving millions of broadband customers the Internet away from home.

Verizon’s broadband Internet services also provide a gateway to other valuable Verizon services, including Verizon Internet Security Suite, Verizon Online Backup & Sharing and Premium Technical Support. 

“The great news is that, with our new quad-play bundles, many customers can now combine Verizon’s J.D. Power and Associates award-recognized Internet and television services with J.D. Power award-recognized Verizon Wireless phone service on one bill for additional convenience and savings,” said Ritter.

The basic Verizon quad-play FiOS bundle consists of the national Verizon Wireless calling plan of 450 minutes, Freedom Essentials voice service, FiOS Internet service with downstream/upstream connection speeds of up to 15/5 Mbps and FiOS TV Essentials service for $134.99 per month with a one-year agreement.

For customers served by Verizon’s copper network, the lead quad-play bundle consists of the national Verizon Wireless calling plan of 450 minutes, a Freedom Essentials calling plan, HSI service with downstream connection of up to 3 Mbps and the DIRECTV® PLUS DVRTM package for $124.99 per month.  A one-year Verizon commitment and a two-year DIRECTV commitment with hardware lease are required with these bundles.

Additional quad- and triple-play bundles featuring different broadband speeds, TV plans and Verizon Wireless calling plans are also available, as well as additional copper-based double-play bundles.