Verizon launches "symmetrical" speed Web service

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc on Tuesday launched a new Internet service over its high-speed FiOS network that allows users to upload and download data and Web entertainment at the same speed.

The "symmetrical speed" service, available initially in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut before a wider launch, will enable users to access the Internet at an upstream and downstream speed of 20 megabits per second, Verizon said.

Average Internet access speeds, using DSL and cable modems, are around 3 to 5 megabits-per-second downstream and less than 2 megabits-per-second upstream, a company spokesman said.

Verizon began a mass-scale deployment of FiOS, which connects an all-fiber network directly to subscribers' homes, in 2004. It also offers an advanced video service that features high-definition programming over the FiOS network, although it is still in the process of getting license.