Published September 2003

Verizon steps up activity
in digital realm

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

Verizon expects to be one of the key players in the growth of digital communication, a future that will include more merging of voice-and-data services, more products and more ways to use them.

Once people discover how many amazing services a digitized world has to offer, they will begin making dramatic changes in how they communicate in the 21st century, a high-ranking Verizon executive predicts.

During a brief visit to Everett in June, Assistant Vice President Link Hoewing said Verizon’s spring announcement about slashing its DSL prices for high-speed Internet service, increasing its broadband speed for customers and expanding its DSL network represents much more than simply a strategic move against the competitive cable industry.

Although the company’s $15 to $20 slashing of its monthly DSL service fee was clearly meant to grab a larger market share of the high-speed data business, the move also signaled a new level of activity for Verizon in the digital realm.

“Verizon is one of the top 10 companies in capital investment in the telecom field,” said Hoewing, who helps the company plan its national Internet and technology strategies and track high-tech trends. “Each $100 million of capital investment in this field also means 1,000 new jobs for the people who install equipment in buildings or put fiber-optic lines in the ground.”

In an interview at the company’s Pacific Northwest headquarters, he predicted consumers will soon have many more options for high-speed Internet access, including wireless technology such as Wi-Fi networks.

“What’s happening now is we’re trying to figure out how the broadband market will develop, what people want, how they will use the systems,” he said. “When the telephone was invented, many people thought it was primarily good for calling the telegraph office to see if they had any telegrams. Then they discovered the phone could replace the telegrams. That’s where the digital broadband telecom industry is today, sorting out the best uses, prices and markets.”

In Snohomish County, Verizon will add about two dozen remote DSL hubs, expanding the local availability of the service. The maximum speed of the standard service also will increase for many customers, the company said.

Verizon has about 1.8 million DSL subscribers nationally, according to the company, out of 36 million households with Verizon phone lines that are equipped to handle DSL service. The national expansion will make the service available to another 10 million households by year’s end.

“Looking at the market, we realize it’s a changing world. On college campuses, 17 million students with high-speed broadband connections and cell phones are communicating much differently than earlier generations kept in touch,” he said. “That new generation gives us a lot of potential for future growth.”

Hoewing predicts future Verizon communication packages will include more cost-effective, bundled services for local and long-distance calling, high-speed Internet services and cell phones, a trend that is already taking shape.

“The challenge for Verizon is to increase broadband availability, retain DSL customers ... and enhance the value of those broadband services by increasing speed and reducing prices,” he said.

Back to the top/September 2003 Main Menu