Verizon Slashes Prices
by Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 1/11/2009 7:00:00 PM
Verizon opened 2009 with several aggressive pricing announcements, designed to lure video customers with free HD digital video recorders and to woo Internet and DirecTV customers with bundled, discounted pricing.
Verizon said customers who subscribe between now and Feb. 21 to its FiOS TV video service will get six months of free use of either a high-definition digital-video recorder or an HD home media DVR. The company notes that the offer will save a consumer between $95 and $119, depending on the set-top chosen.
Verizon said consumers are re-evaluating how they spend their discretionary income in the current economy. A telco-commissioned survey querying 1,026 adults found the majority of respondents intend to spend more time at home watching television.
Verizon is touting its HD home media DVR as an entertainment solution for these economic times that “old fashioned cable can't match.”
The New York-based telco followed up that announcement with an aggressive pricing offer for digital subscriber line buyers and triple-play bundles including DirecTV satellite-TV service.
Verizon will offer discounts, and a “lifetime” price guarantee, for new DSL subscribers. The company said the savings will vary depending on the speed the consumer buys at the beginning of the contract. Customers who sign up for at least two years will be guaranteed the entry price point for as long as they keep the service.
Verizon's high-speed Internet service costs $17.99 for 1 Megabit per second, $27.99 for 3 Mbps and $37.99 for 7.1 Mbps. The highest service level is now available to 9 million U.S. households.
The contract price would save a subscriber $24 to $96 a year, depending on the speed of the service, compared with Verizon's month-by-month pricing. Consumers must buy Verizon Internet services before Feb. 21 to get the price guarantee.
The company also introduced new bundles of high-speed data and DirecTV.
Triple-play packages, including unlimited local and long-distance calling, Internet service at 1 Megabit per second and video from DirecTV begin at $79.99 for 12 months. Double-play bundles are priced beginning at $49.99.
Through Feb. 21, customers who upgrade the Internet speed to 3 Mbps or 7.1 Mbps can qualify for a special discount of up to $30 a month for the first three months, Verizon said.
