Verizon Fios is 'Crushing It' For Pandemic Sign-Ups

Verizon is offering a sort of "tech in a box" solution to signing up new Fios customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, when social distancing is the byword. 

The company said it is exploring new ways to get its service in the house while keeping its employees and those new customers safe.  

In some cases, a technician-less solution will be to give customers a box containing the necessary equipment, then having the tech run a "crushable" fiber line that can go through a window to connect to the equipment inside.

Verizon said the fiber cable is sufficiently pliable that it does not degrade the signal.

Getting that connection made will be through a remote support tool to talk the customer through self-installation, using an app to give the tech a live view so they can walk them through the process. 

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.