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Verizon’s Multimedia Effort targets Young Professionals in Metropolitan Areas

21 Feb

Finally FastBusiness News from the Finally Fast team

Today’s apartment and condominium residents have a lot going for them when it comes to enjoying technologies’ riches.  To drive home the point, Verizon has introduced a new hyperlocal, multimedia marketing campaign aimed at trend-setting, young professionals in the New York, Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles metropolitan areas who want cool residences, crazy-fast Internet speed and crystal-clear TV service.

“Some people think they have to live in a single family home to get the very best broadband and video entertainment services, but that’s not true,” said Pedro Correa, vice president of Verizon Enhanced Communities, a unit within Verizon focused on marketing the company’s FiOS voice, high-speed Internet and TV services to tenants and property managers of multidwelling unit properties.

“Most 25- to 39-year-olds, who make up a significant portion of multidwelling unit tenants, are major users of social media and the Internet, and spend as much as 14 hours online per week,” said Correa. “Given the importance that young professionals place on technology to get ahead at work while staying connected with friends, we want to help as many residents of multidwelling units as possible enjoy the borderless lifestyle FiOS offers.”

Currently, Verizon FiOS services are already available to more than 2 million multifamily units, and growing, in parts of 12 states, and the District of Columbia.  About half of all Verizon’s FiOS lines opened for sale this year will be in apartments and condos, reflecting the heightened importance of marketing the company’s flagship wireline services delivered over a highly reliable and robust all-fiber-optic network to MDUs.

Inside the apartments and condos located in Verizon-served areas, Verizon offers a wide range of ultra-fast FiOS Internet at speeds including 25/25 megabits per second (mbps), 35/35 mbps and 50/20 mbps, as well as crystal-clear FiOS TV, which offers more than 35,000 video-on-demand titles.

With the FiOS Internet 35/35 mbps tier, consumers can upload 200 photos in one minute and download a two-hour standard definition DVD in less than six minutes, boosting productivity and saving time for other things.

Late last year, Verizon launched a hyperlocal marketing campaign in the Washington metropolitan area that helped showcase the value of using FiOS to the Generation X and Y crowd who live in, or are seeking to move into, MDUs that represent more than 20 percent of all residences served by Verizon in the D.C. metro area.

These trendsetting, “techknowledgeables” between 25 and 39 years of age bear some unique attributes, according to Verizon research:

45 percent are more likely than the average adult to consider the Internet as their primary source of entertainment.

20 percent have taken some of public transportation in the past month.

78 percent have seen a movie in the past 6 months.

33 percent go the gym 3-4 times a week.

64 percent like to dine out and socialize at bars, half of them with their friends.

Many of the hyperlocal campaign elements used during the D.C. metro pilot — including immersive digital advertising combined with social media engagement, plus a concentrated presence of out-of-home advertising and local events with prospective customers — will be on display in metro New York, Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles.  In these highly competitive markets, Verizon will seek to reach young professionals in places where they spend much of their time – gyms, restaurants, bars, movie theatres, malls and transit centers.

In metro New York, the campaign will encompass parts of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx; parts of Long Island; the northern suburbs in Westchester and Rockland counties; and northern New Jersey communities.  The Philadelphia region campaign will focus on the northwestern suburbs chiefly located in Chester and Montgomery counties.

In North Texas, the emphasis will be on the northern suburbs of Dallas and Forth Worth, including more than a dozen communities such as Plano, Irving, Lewisville and Grapevine in parts of Tarrant, Denton, Dallas and Collin counties.  The Southern California focus will include beach communities stretching north of Malibu and south to Huntington Beach; parts of inland Ventura County, including Thousand Oaks; and parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties including Long Beach.  The Washington metro campaign will continue and includes a large swath of Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Northern Virginia, and Montgomery County in Maryland.

“We’re dealing with a group of very active people who are heavily reliant on their wireless devices, and so we’re offering compelling FiOS bundles of Internet and TV including some deals that waive activation fees and provide a free wireless router and premium video content,” said Chris Anderson, director of consumer marketing for Verizon. “To make it easy for young professionals to find MDUs with FiOS, we’ve created a region-specific microsite that shows the MDUs where FiOS is available in metro New York, Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.”

Through a variety of pioneering innovations, Verizon FiOS customers can fully maximize their broadband and video services.  Verizon provides next-generation interactive services, including Flex View and FiOS TV Online, which extend FiOS TV beyond the single family or MDU home to the Internet and a range of mobile devices; an advanced video operating system and viewer guide; and free interactive applications like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

With FiOS, customers can also receive Media Manager, which allows them to access on their TVs personal photos, music and videos from their computers; and In-Home Agent, which helps customers to diagnose and resolve service issues.

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Seeing Green: Ideas for a Better Data Center

30 Mar

From the FinallyFast Help Desk:

While the “Zeronet” data center (that is, a data center that features net zero energy consumption) may be difficult or impossible to achieve with the systems, budget, or logistics you have in place, IT administrators at all points in the “legacy system” spectrum can take positive steps toward greening up IT infrastructure and saving significant energy costs that impact the bottom line. Here are a few strategies to think about:

Get hip to power management – The simple decision of configuring servers to operate at minimum power levels when not in use can save anywhere from 10% to 20% in data center energy costs. In the green way of doing things, IT admins need to examine downtime as much as they do uptime. Be smart about power management, an essential yet often overlooked tool in your toolbox.

Pay attention to the cooling system – Organizing your server racks according to the hot aisle/cold aisle containment system is a very important step toward exceptional energy efficiency. This involves server racks facing each other (creating “hot aisles”), and an air-conditioning system (complete with raised floor) that takes advantage of this concentration of heat. While it may be a significant expense if your server room is not set up for this configuration, the return of investment can be realized within a few short years.

Junk the legacy systems – The idea of “junking” doesn’t really do your cherished legacy system justice—it’s delivered the company many years of admirable service, and it may in fact be working just fine at the moment. It’s also, of course, a royal pain to think about the massive data transfer to be undertaken with any upgrade. But a generation of new and greener technology is achieving a level of energy efficiency that legacy systems can only dream about. Server upgrade is perhaps the single most impactful item on your list.

Go virtual – Server virtualization is also a key aspect of any green plan, particularly if you are loaded down with tons of outdated information and a variety of legacy systems. By consolidating data and then running more virtual servers on less physical servers, your data center will get smarter and smarter about gobbling up energy.

Get the bosses on board – Dovetailing off of the last point, it’s essential to get the check-cutters enthusiastic and involved with your green IT strategy. Make it a company-wide initiative to evaluate total energy costs and determine the ROI of implementing a green IT strategy. After all, the best way to go green (for the environment) is to get them to go green (for the money)!

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UK broadband experts concerned over piracy increase

27 Apr

The United Kingdom’s two largest political parties have argued over a state-sponsored program to improve broadband speed throughout the country since election season began. According to MoneySupermarket.com, increased availability of broadband would result in an increased presence of piracy over the internet in the country.

The in-power Labour Party and the Conservative Party have argued over the proper way to install it, but broadband experts in the nation believe that any bill that sponsors broadband access for all will have adverse effects on the recording and film industries. Eighteen percent of people surveyed report that they have downloaded a file illegally before.

Music piracy is the most popular form with 74 percent of people claiming to have downloaded music in the past. Movies, software and television shows, respectively, follow music as the other most frequently pirated file types.

“Illegal downloading is already a big problem for the likes of the music and film industries and with super-fast broadband packages set to become commonplace, the problem seems likely to get worse,” Mike Wilson, manager of broadband for MoneySupermarket.com, said.

The government is an especially difficult situation. Fifty-six percent of 957 people surveyed by ISPreview.co.uk in the UK reported that they were unhappy with their broadband speed.

Lawmakers vow support for National Broadband Plan

27 Apr

Senators John Kerry, a democrat from Massachusetts, and Jay Rockefeller, a democrat from West Virginia, both recently vowed their support for the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan, which it announced on March 17.

In a recently released statement, Kerry called for an expansion of the market similar to the environments in South Korea and Japan. The idea of altering laws to improve broadband speed and access is something that both senators endorse under the right circumstances.

“In the long-term, if there is a need to rewrite the law to provide consumers, the FCC, and industry with a new framework, I will take that task on. That’s the option where I think we are probably going to end,” Rockefeller said.

“The chairman of the FCC ought to be pretty upset about this. I know I am,” he continued.

Both denounced the United States Supreme Court’s decision favoring Comcast in a battle over net neutrality. The court ruled that Comcast was not in the wrong when it banned file-sharing network BitTorrent from its servers in 2007.

Some skeptical about National Broadband Plan

19 Mar

The National Broadband Plan, which Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced on Wednesday, will likely improve internet access and speeds throughout the U.S. However, Washington Post technology writer Rob Pegoraro believes the economic implications are such that the increased web availability will not greatly alter the way Americans use the internet. The primary goal of the plan for those who already have reliable web access is to provide further options and competition among potential providers. Improving infrastructure and making use of unused wavelengths will allow consumers to choose from options that may have been outside of their service area before the plan. Pegoraro believes that the cost of buying the unused airwaves, though, will be high and force the FCC to develop a tax on internet use to fund its purchases – even after it receives funding from Congress. A report released in March 2009 by the International Telecommunications Industry found that the United States ranked 17th in the world in web adoption. Sweden and South Korea were the two best developed nations in terms of web presence and infrastructure. The study took place from 2002 to 2007 and also found that Eastern Europe grew the most as a region.

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National broadband plan has its critics

10 Mar

The Federal Communications Commission’s plan to develop a national broadband network that would reportedly provide more than 100 million Americans with high-speed interent access, which it is due to present to Congress in one week – already has some critics due to the cost implications and potential interference in the business of internet service providers – according to Business Week.

The plan calls for the owners of unused airwaves to sell them to the government for use in the project. Paul Karowicz, the owner of 12 local television stations throughout the U.S., does not plan to sell any of his excess airwaves to the government and thinks the government will meet similar resistance from broadcasters in similar circumstances.

The Cellular Telephone Industries Association, the telecommunications industry trade group, supports the plan, however.

Broadband access has made news recently following the announcement of three states receiving funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Cities throughout the U.S. vying to attract Google after the search engine giant announced plans to install a 1 gigabyte per second broadband connection in select cities.

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Washington state receives grant to improve state internet access, broadband speed

2 Mar

The state of Washington announced recently that it received $84 million in grants from the federal government to improve web access and broadband speed throughout the state.

Education experts cite the so-called digital divide as growing factor contributing to education gaps from rural, suburban and urban communities. Eighty-nine percent of households with an average yearly income of $150,000 have high-speed internet access, while 29 percent earning less than $15,000 have internet access.

In general, the U.S. lags behind other developed nations in web access, according to the Seattle Times.

“This is a direct investment in making our state more competitive,” Senator Patty Murray said. “Not only with other states here at home, but with other countries around the globe. This grant will bring tele-health, distance learning and help for small businesses to many regions in our state for the first time.”

The Federal Communication Commission reported recently that two-thirds of the American population has access to high-speed internet. Among rural populations, less than half have adequate internet access and 5 percent of the total U.S. population relies on a dial-up modem.

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FCC sets goal of 90 percent broadband penetration by 2020

25 Feb

For those not hooked up to high speed internet access for one reason or another, Uncle Sam wants you.

Well, actually, federal regulators are trying to push the number of homes connected to 90 percent by 2020, according to recent statements by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

“This is an ambitious goal,” Genachowski said in a recent speech. The goal will be part of the commission’s mandated national broadband plan, which is due to Congress by March 17, he said.

“The economic benefits of broadband go hand-in-hand with social benefits and the potential for vast improvements in the quality of life of all Americans,” said Genachowski. “Right now, more than 100 million Americans that could and should have broadband don’t have it. Because they can’t afford broadband, don’t know how to use it, or aren’t aware of its potential benefits.”

Currently, about 35 percent of Americans don’t use broadband at home, according to an FCC survey. In fact, Genachowski said that 100 million Americans do not have broadband and that the U.S. adoption rate lags behind Singapore and South Korea.

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