In an era of seemingly endless promotional offers and pricing to push one and two-year network services, Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) appears to be bucking a big trend by offering Internet at up to 1 mbps for $17.99, “for the life of your service.”
While the speed is easily dwarfed by Internet offered from Verizon’s fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network (20 and 50 mbps for example), the price is also lower and stays the same, even after the completion of a two-year contract.
Verizon, however, is offering this Internet pricing in areas served by archrival Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), which also offers higher access speeds, recently instituted free upgrades for current customers and is deploying DOCSIS 3.0 technology to power higher, pay tiers.
To guarantee the $17.99 pricing, customers must contact Verizon by February 21. It’s available to new residential high-speed Internet customers with Verizon voice services. The two-tear commitment carries a $99 early termination charge.
Customers can receive a free modem or router if they order the Internet service online. The carrier has been very aggressive in trying to move service ordering to the Web, offering discounts and related price breaks for those that do, back-dating to last summer.
The deal is not contingent upon customers signing up for additional services, such as TV.
While power users may not consider 34 times faster than 28.8 kbps dial up to qualify as “high-speed Internet,” the idea of a price that’s low and “guaranteed to never go up,” might prove alluring as consumers look to control and/or cut communications costs.
Verizon likely is looking to maximize aging copper plants while cutting expensive truck rolls by building in what it describes as a “three-step, self-installation,” with ‘round-the clock technical support just a phone call away.
The company launched an all-out marketing blitz for this speed Internet in the fourth quarter that included robo-voice mails to customers homes. Verizon augmented this newer tactic with direct mail pieces, newspaper inserts and TV ads.
