Verizon Extends Remote DVR Control
New York City-based Verizon Communications announced plans to extend its free remote-management service to a larger network of wireless devices. In addition, Verizon will provide all FiOS television DVR subscribers with an Internet-based remote DVR management service.
With the addition of these services, Verizon FiOS TV customers with active lifestyles will be able to manage DVR recordings remotely. According to Verizon officials, subscribers will be able to “remotely review, change or add recording requests, delete recorded programs, browse and search TV and video-on-demand listings, set parental controls, and more.”
FiOS TV Home Media DVR subscribers can now control their DVRs using any wireless device. To take advantage of this feature, customers must have a cell phone with an active data plan subscription.
Programming can be recorded in both standard and high definition (HD), and can be enjoyed on more than five television sets in the home – simultaneously. FiOS TV Home Media DVR partnered with Media Manager, a program that provides subscribers with access to music and photos from their home computers. This content can be displayed on any television or theater system in the home.
In January 2009, Verizon’s free remote DVR control service was introduced to FiOS TV Media Manager customers. Customers utilized the service by visiting www.verizon.com/fiostvcentral on a home computer or wireless handset.
According to Shawn Strickland, Vice President of FiOS Products for Verizon, “we’ve had a tremendous, positive customer response to the freedom, flexibility, and control that our remote DVR management service provides.”
The advanced two-way technology of Verizon’s all-fiber network allows the telecom company to continuously improve the interactive elements of its services, Strickland suggested. According to a TCMnet report from January 2009, Verizon FiOS TV provides no less than 100 HD TV channels in every market that it serves.
Verizon and ESPN360.com
Verizon and ESPN360.com have teamed-up to present American soccer fans with full coverage of the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League games.
Featuring live competitions between various European soccer teams, the UEFA Champions League tournament will be available on the Internet, exclusively on ESPN360.com. The network provides TV-quality resolution of sports content online, including coverage of the world’s most popular sport- soccer! Verizon FiOS Internet subscribers can enjoy the world-class soccer matches at no additional cost, as part of Verizon’s Online extensive entertainment line-up.
"ESPN360.com's more than 3,000 live sporting events every year, delivered over Verizon's fast, reliable broadband networks, create the ultimate online sports-watching experience" stated Shawn Strickland, Vice President of Verizon’s Marketing Division. "Now our broadband customers also can enjoy some of the best soccer competition in the world as teams from across Europe battle for the 2009 Champions League title."
ESPN360.com allows viewers to enjoy UEFA Champions League coverage from various locations, including the home, the workplace, and even the road! Since many modern flat-screen televisions support broadband connections, ESPN360.com’s UEFA Champions League coverage is accessible on select TV sets. With a broadband Internet connection, soccer fans can enjoy UEFA matches from virtually anywhere.
ESPN360.com offers live coverage of up to 20 events, simultaneously! With an intuitive interface, subscribers have the ultimate control over their online sports-viewing experience. ESPN360.com provides dependable, TV-quality video streaming, and the option to fast-forward, pause, and rewind live programming.
"With ESPN360.com, Verizon customers have access to a lineup of top global soccer, no matter where they are," stated Damon Phillips, Vice President of ESPN360.com. "It's just one example of how a service like ESPN360.com serves the displaced and underserved fan, 365 days a year.
Verizon Foundation Supports PBS Frontline Project
Since 2000, New York City-based Verizon Communications has worked to improve literacy, healthcare, education, and family safety through the Verizon Foundation. The organization has invested more than $400 million in programs that address social issues including domestic violence and technology education.
In 2009, the Verizon Foundation will spend $1 million in a partnership with PBS Frontline to address the following question: how has technology changed our lives? “Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier” will be a multi-platform project, featuring a TV national broadcast (due in early 2010), education outreach programs, and a website providing video reports and stories submitted by users.
According to Patrick Gaston, President of the Verizon Foundation, “Frontline, one of the most trusted sources in this country for news and information, is embarking on an ambitious project that will both report on how technology has changed life in America and will use technology to create a living demonstration and dialog about our digital nation.”
“Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier” will explore the Internet’s influence on education, while examining how social media (such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter) has altered the way that people interact. In addition, Internet safety and privacy will be addressed.
"This concept captured our interest at all levels - from its relationship to our core business where the advancement and applications of technology are critical, to its alignment with our philanthropic efforts to use technology to improve education and ensure Internet safety,” added Gaston.
"The sweeping magnitude and speed with which digital media permeated nearly every facet of our culture prompts us to take a long, hard look at the implications," said Frontline Executive Producer, David Fanning. "An initiative of this scope would not have been possible without the Verizon Foundation's commitment to exploring these issues and its generous financial support."
Marblehead, MA Approves Verizon FiOS TV
Thanks to authorization by the Marblehead Board of Selectmen, Verizon gained access to residents of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Verizon FiOS TV will become available in this region, providing residents with an alternative in cable TV programming. The nation’s most advanced, all-digital fiber-optic network will become available to Marblehead residents in 2009.
Marblehead, MA is the 93rd community in the United States to gain access to Verizon FiOS TV.
"We are thrilled to be able to bring FiOS TV to residents in Marblehead," stated Donna Cupelo, Verizon Region President for New England. "Since the launch of FiOS TV in Massachusetts last year, we are continuing our efforts to meet the consumer demand for cable TV choice."
"As a result of this new franchise, consumers in Marblehead will be able to choose their cable provider as easily as they choose their phone company," stated Cupelo. "Competition drives innovation, value, and service quality, and it puts the consumer in control."
In 2009, Verizon will target various communities in Massachusetts in hopes of constructing additional sites for FiOS TV service. Verizon FiOS TV provides better picture quality, HD programming, and On Demand at highly competitive rates.
According to recent research, 87% of Massachusetts residents value competition in TV services. The benefits of industry competition are clear, typically manifesting in the form of lower prices, improved service, and better entertainment packages.
The agreement between Marblehead and Verizon will last for 10 years, laying the groundwork for improvements including added financial support to educational institutions, better access to channels, future company growth, and advanced cable service to government facilities.
"Verizon will compete aggressively for subscribers in Marblehead with our FiOS services, which are fueled by our lightning-fast fiber-optic network," Cupelo stated. Verizon will utilize a door-to-door sales campaign in this community, informing potential customers of the many benefits of FiOS TV.
Verizon to Attend Conference as Fiber-Optic Expert
Verizon operates the industry’s largest, most advanced fiber-optic network, delivering quality voice, data, and video services directly to customers. As a result, Verizon network developers have a unique understanding of fiber-optic performance, and the various opportunities it offers.
The expertise of 16 Verizon engineers will be displayed at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition, in addition to the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference. Verizon developers will discuss fiber-optic technology at the conferences, to be held this week in San Diego, CA. Topics of discussion will range from the bandwidth flexibility of fiber, to all-optical switching. Verizon experts will explain how to meet future bandwidth needs.
"There's no question that because of our five-year head start over competitors… we have not just the theoretical understanding of fiber and what it can do, but real experience and a clear perspective on what it will be doing tomorrow and further into the future," stated Stu Elby, Vice President of Network Architecture for Verizon.
"Actually operating a fiber network directly to customers' premises was a big commitment, but it is paying off now as customers demand more and more capacity for large files and video delivery," he stated. "We're at the stage now that we have to look forward to the days of 3D TV and gigabit-per-second traffic in and out of homes and small businesses. Sharing that view is what this conference is about."
Stu Elby will host two presentations. He will identify successful strategies for advancing bandwidth related applications, in addition to bandwidth adaptability and availability.
"Networks are never done. Emerging demand brought about by developments in other industries -- whether data services, video services or complex network design and transport services -- are a tradition in our industry,” he stated. “No matter what the base technologies, engineers and network planners toil to make things better, bigger, less costly, and more efficient.”