Most people with FIOS will upgrade. But why should we have to pay more for FOX news in HD when we have CNN, CNBS, NBC in HD in our current package ? Most of the news is shown in standard since broadcaster haven't invested much in HD cameras anyway. But we do have the HD sidebars to keep us calm and content!

Real HD content up until now has really lagged. Many channels billed as "HD" have shown little HD content and frequently have shown a stretched version of a standard def picture. I suppose they think we're morons.

Nothing's free of course, so just expect to see your bill go up $10 a year as new HD channels are added. I believe that early FIOS customers should get a discount for staying with Verizon as FIOS matures.

Surely enough, many of the irate FiOS customers such as myself who are tempted to cancel their contract in protest will likely not do so because the other options are, for the most part, worse - especially in terms of picture quality. But that's the real shame, that Verizon had to stoop to this level of being the least of all evils.

They had done so well thus far with being loyal to their early adopters, giving great customer service (billing dept notwithstanding). And now they totally blow it, taking a huge leap backward by screwing those of us who signed a 2-year contract based on "FiOS Premier" being THE standard package, and rightfully assuming that the promise of over 150 HD channels by the end of 2008 would be available in that standard package. Now I'm thinking a large amount of these channels will only be available in the "Extreme HD", or future packages like "Ultimate HD +" "Super-Crazy Mind-Blowing HD 4.0" package, and the total HD count for the Premier package will be well below what they announced in press releases. Not so "premier" after all, is it?

Another thing that aggravates me is that Verizon tries to tell you this not an upgrade or higher-tier package but a replacement of Premier - meaning it's still the "flagship" package. If that's the case, why weren't those of us who locked in the $42.99/mo price of Premier for our 2-year contracts grandfathered into this new package? We didn't have to pay another $5 when the price of Premier went up to $47.99, so why should we have to pay for this price increase? The answer shouldn't be because there are more HD channels now, because they added more channels before and that didn't change anything, and all providers are adding HD channels all the time. That's called evolution, and it shouldn't correlate with price increases if it's considered a natural progression in the technology.

Why did they even bother giving us the 17-18 new HD channels for a week and then take them away? Why not just not make them available in the first place? I'll tell you why - it was a blatant and deliberate teaser to make you want to upgrade to "Extreme" that much more. If you ask a sales rep they'll tell you something like "it was a glitch with the upcoming IMG update" or "there was a slight time lapse between those new channels being part of the Premier package and being part of the Extreme package"...which is total B.S.. Furthermore, the biggest disadvantage FiOS has had is it's low number of HD channels compared to other providers. I don't know about you, but when I talk about HD channel counts between providers I am not including premium channels, PPV, etc. I'm talking about the core package, and in that regard FiOS has barely moved forward now that they've made most of the new channels part of what amounts to an upgrade package for those of us locked into existing contracts.

Verizon has lost a lot of credibility with me, and if you're upset too you should call their sales dept and let them know how you feel. Perhaps if they get inundated with complaints they'll reconsider their strategy. It won't be long before EVERYTHING is broadcast in HD. It used to be cutting edge, it's really not anymore. If a popular cable channel like FX or Fox News or ESPN News is available in HD and the customer owns an HDTV and pays a monthly fee for an HD set-top box, then those channels should BE in HD without paying more to get them. Period. With the new price of Verizon's "flagship" package, they are now on par with the pricing of formerly monopolistic cable companies like Comcast. I had hoped the whole competition thing would mean lower prices, as it usually does. Guess I was being naive.