Home Sales Advantage: Fiber-Based Broadband

National Study Shows High-Speed Internet Service Carried on Fiber All the Way
to the Home Is a Key Amenity for Home Buyers

NEW YORK, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- As the real estate market begins to show
signs of recovery amid increased sales and low mortgage rates, sellers are
looking for every advantage. Now new research shows just such an edge comes
from fiber-based telecommunications services like Verizon FiOS Internet and
FiOS TV.

A national study of U.S. broadband consumers by RVA LLC Market Research and
Consulting, released this week, shows that 82 percent of those buyers who have
had broadband service over fiber all the way to the home rank it as the
leading real estate development amenity. Four other key prospective features
ranked lower among buyers shopping for a new home.

Even among broadband customers who cannot get fiber, nearly 70 percent want
"very high-speed Internet from a direct fiber-optic line" at the next home
they buy, the study showed. The percentages in each case were of customers
giving advanced broadband either a 5 or 4 on a five-point scale for rating the
importance of amenities.

A national random survey of more than 600 fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) consumer
users was conducted in April, and a national random survey of more than 600
other broadband consumer users was conducted in May. Respondents were asked a
series of perceptual questions and also were asked to test and report their
current Internet speeds. Both surveys were done for the Fiber-to-the-Home
Council. (Click here to view charts of the results.)

"The message to the real estate market is to put a sign on the lawn and a line
in your ad saying, 'This place has fiber,'" said Joe Savage, president of the
Fiber-to-the-Home Council. "When end-to-end fiber broadband service tops
green space, a security patrol, a community pool, a park or a fitness center
among sought-after amenities -- and this survey shows that it does -- then
it's a real factor."

Mike Render, CEO of RVA LLC, said: "Broadband has become so much a part of
home life that the best, fastest and most reliable service is what's in
demand. From our research, it appears that this desire relates to current
needs for fast Internet, the anticipation of even more online services in the
future, and an appreciation that this amenity will add value to the home for
future resale."

Studies show that home broadband bandwidth requirements have grown at a rate
of about 10 times every six years as access to more complex files and
interactive services has increased. Multiple devices in the home doing more
downloading and uploading will mean even greater demand for bandwidth, which
fiber-based facilities are well-positioned to meet.

In another RVA study, very high-speed Internet -- such as over fiber -- ranked
second only to landscaping and setting on a list of 23 amenities, ahead of
features such as pools, home automation, shops, a fitness center, a dog park,
a golf course, Wi-Fi at the pool area, day care or concierge services.

"The indication is that the personal space and connectivity really matter to
the home buyer now, compared with public facilities; it's where home owners
actually spend their time, and broadband is an increasing part of that time,
so they want the best," Render said.

Realtors are discovering the same thing.

"Having ready and reliable broadband service is very important to potential
home buyers because it contributes to making a move as seamless and
hassle-free as possible," said John Tunny, a sales associate at Weichert,
Realtors in Chatham, N.J. "Having a home with high-quality broadband
capability is extremely desirable to potential home buyers because they want
to be able to have secure Internet service without having to compromise on
speed."

According to Bill Heilig, Verizon vice president of corporate marketing,
social trends also affect the quest for fiber-based service. "Teleworking is
on the rise again, and nothing beats a 25 or 50 megabit-per-second downstream
link for just-like-at-work service," he said. (Click here to view a video of
more of Heilig's comments.)

From a home-sales perspective, census data indicate families generally stay
put for at least 5.2 years, on average. With the pace of change in both
technology and in broadband services, moving into a home that is already wired
for the future is a distinct advantage.

Verizon's FiOS Internet and FiOS TV services are provided over an all-fiber
network straight to the home. The capacity of glass fibers is enormous, so the
FiOS network is perfectly positioned to meet the demands of the Internet age.

Increasingly, consumers are downloading movies and videos rather than viewing
hard media at home, and experts say the era of the home publisher, pushing
multimedia out to the world, is just beginning.

Verizon's Stu Elby, vice president-technology, said that as a society, we've
"turned a corner and are headed toward being a information publishing society
more than an information consuming society, so faster upload service speeds
will be an advantage." (Click here to view a video of more of Elby's
comments.)

Verizon last week increased the upstream speeds of its most popular bundled
FiOS Internet services. The former offer of 10 megabits per second (Mbps)
downstream and 2 Mbps upstream now includes upstream service at 5 Mbps, and
the previous 20/5 Mbps service now comes with 15 Mbps upstream.

"Home shoppers used to scan the prospect for a Jacuzzi or an intercom," Heilig
said. "Now, not so much. They look for the Verizon Optical Network Terminal
and the Verizon broadband home router so they know they'll have the best
Internet and TV service over the best home network available today.

"Those who are lucky enough to have the fiber to the home can leverage it to
get 21st century service ahead of everyone else," he said.

Verizon also offers a range of fast, affordable DSL-enabled High Speed
Internet service with speeds of up to 1 megabits per second (Mbps)/384
kilobits per second (Kbps), 3 Mbps/768 Kbps and 7.1 Mbps/ 768Kbps* available,
as well as wireline voice and all-digital-quality DIRECTV service. For more
information on High Speed Internet and Verizon bundled services, visit
http://www22.verizon.com/residential/highspeedinternet/.

* Internet speeds refer to the connection speed between the user's location
and Verizon's central office. Actual surfing speeds will vary based on many
factors and be lower than connection speed.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global
leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications
services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.
Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving
more than 86 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations
provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over
the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes
Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to
customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse
workforce of more than 237,000 and last year generated consolidated operating
revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit
www.verizon.com.

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FiOS Internet at Home

Verizon has just made FiOS Internet even better and faster. New speed
combinations for new customers are as follows:
Previous Speed New Speed New Speeds' Pricing
(Mpbs) (Mpbs) Annual / M2M

10/2 15/5 $44.99 / $54.99

20/5 25/15 $64.99 /$72.99
(35/20 available in better
or best bundles only in
NYC market)

50/20 50/20 $139.95 / $159.95*

*$89.95 term plan NY/VA/DC
*$109.95 M2M NY/VA/DC

SOURCE Verizon

Jim Smith, +1-908-559-3477,. james.albert.smith@verizon.com