verizon fios

8/14/2019 Verizon FiOS

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Significant Network Management Problems

Verizon DSL Traffic Blocking Issues

In the early days of Web services, the ability to communicate machine to

machine over port 80 to avoid firewall configuration issues was a much

touted advantage. The reality, of course, is that sending XML traffic over

port 80 introduces a potentially significant security risk. With the blocking of

port 80 issues by Verizon, someone at a small business with a Verizon DSL

Internet connection cant connect to a home computer with NetMeeting.

Despite there being no firewall on the receiving computer NetMeeting still

couldn't make a connection. Even a simple ping of the target computerfailed.

Verizon's press relations office made it clear in an update on August 07, 2008

that they do not block traffic. And, it seems they don't - at least not on

purpose. The issue in most of the cases is was with the firewall in the router.

In a standard consumer grade router, the firewall has a simple task: block all

unsolicited incoming traffic. It doesn't try to govern outgoing traffic at all.

Thus, any connection to the Internet that starts from a computer on the LAN

is allowed. This is similar to the way the Windows XP firewall works, except

that the XP firewall is likely to have some pre-defined holes in it.

Security Management

One of the major problems that Verizon FiOS network faces is security

management. A recent study was conducted for this purpose and the results

indicated that around 70 percent of data breaches in the company resulted

from external sources. These include breaches caused by business partners,

inevitably a source of vulnerability. Only 18 percent of breaches were caused

by insiders.


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According to Data Breach Report issued by Verizon Business in 2008, most

breaches resulted from a combination of events rather than a single action.

Some form of error often directly or indirectly contributed to a compromise.

In terms of deliberate action against information systems, hacking proved to

be the attack method of choice among cybercriminals. Although these

breaches were perpetrated from outside but were facilitated by errors inside

the companys management. This clearly indicates that most security

breaches were crimes of opportunity, in which a door was left open and

attackers simply walked in and did the damage.

"Its not about clever or complex security protection measures," says Peter

Tippett, Vice President of research and intelligence for Verizon BusinessSecurity Solutions. "It really boils down to doing the basics, from planning to

implementation to monitoring of the data."

The most common errors identified in the study were errors of omission,

which account for 79 percent of the mistakes identified. This often involved

standard security procedures or configurations which were believed to have

been implemented, but in actuality were not, posing a threat to the

companys stability. The breaches can be attributed to a number of causes.

Verizon had a system running that was operating without the organization's

knowledge; a system that had unknown access or network connections; or a

system that had unknown accounts or user privileges.

To alleviate these internal problems which often lead to external attacks,

Verizon should work on some common-sense strategies, including frequent

checks to ensure that policies are carried out, securing business partner

connections, and creating a data maintenance plan. They should ensure that

basic and essential security controls are met across the entire organization

consistently, and that these controls are actually implemented as well. If

basic security controls had been in place at the time of attack, nearly all

breaches would likely have been prevented.


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Billing Issues

FiOS is seeing good reviews from their users because of the speed and

reliability of the connections. Verizon is deservedly seeing praise for being

the only telecommunication company with the foresight to see that fiber is

the future. However, if FiOS has a weak spot, their users say it's Verizon's

FiOS billing department.

Its price is a major barrier to make it more popular. As of March 2009, it

charges from $50 per month for a connection reaching up to 10 megabits per

second to $145 per month for a connection reaching up to 50 megabits per

second. Its price is more expensive than AT&Ts fastest DSL ($30 per monthfor 3 megabits per second, as of March 2009) and Time Warners cable

internet service ($45 per month for 10 megabits per second, as of March

2009). As of March 2009, Time Warner offers high definition TV (HDTV), cable

internet, and digital telephone bundle services for $130 per month (with a 2-

year contract), while Verizon FiOS service (HDTV, telephone, and internet)

costs $140 per month regularly, but at certain times can be $95 (with a 2-

year contract).

It has been reported by many customers of Verizon FiOS network that from

day one, their bill has never been correct. The triple bundle package which

includes the phone, Internet and TV service is supposed to cost around

$156/month including taxes but most of the statements get around more

than $220/month. There were so many charges that were never clarified to

the customers when they signed up the contract. Customers tell they're

being incorrectly billed for service they didn't order, aspects of installationnot performed, and channels they never asked for. While these users like the

service itself, they say resolving errors is difficult and navigating phone

support is a nightmare.

The billing anomalies vary greatly from customer to customer. One user


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complains that TV Poland mysteriously showed up on his bill to the tune of

$18 per month. After calling and getting confirmation that it had been

removed, it re-appeared the following month.

Another user complains about a phantom $75 extra PC installation charge.

One FiOS customer tells he's been charged for a high-definition set-top box

he doesn't actually have going on eight months now.

When Verizon service was referred for the cause of the problem, they told

that the service was being fixed and re-bundled. According to Verizon's Jim

Smith, the company's current billing system involves some "complex billing

system interactions" that require activations to sync up before bundled

discounts are applied.

"What matters, though, is that the discount always runs for the full period

promised, either 12 or 24 months, even if it does not start in month one of

the service" he says. Moreover, "Software upgrades are being installed mid-

August to remedy this and to assure that for new FiOS bundle customers,

discounts are immediate and actually cover the promised period from

service activation forward with no delays," he explains. As for the other

erroneous charges, Smith attributes these to "simple data entry errors made

during the ordering process [which] should be remedied with a call for help."

The customer service representatives are clueless; they apparently are

placed in a service center somewhere where they have no idea what anyone

else at Verizon is actually doing. The average call time, and its near-

impossible to get to an actual person. One feels stuck in the perpetual phone

loop of despair. Hopefully early FiOS billing issues are a small, soon to be

resolved cost of broadband on the bleeding edge, and not a persistent

headache.

Verizon Video Performance Issues


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Verizon FiOS Video Services are great and the HD quality is very nice except

for a few drawbacks. Accessing DVR recordings remotely from a regular set

top is painfully slow. The quality is the same as watching a show on the DVR

itself, but there is a 1-2 second delay when the playback buttons are

pressed. It makes the feature useless.

Conclusion

Technologically, Verizons FiOS service is awesome. Download and upload

speeds are fantastic. Speeds are consistent, too. As an alternative to cable

high-speed Internet, FiOS gets a very, very good score of 8/10 or even 9/10.

Verizons main weakness is a confounding combination of contradictory

management policies and untrained/unintelligent support staff. Not all

Verizon support techs are detrimental to the cause, in fact some of them are

very smart and helpful, but too many low-rent reps spoil Verizons potentially

wonderful image.

It seems that Verizon is simply just too big and clumsy for its own good. If it

wasnt for the solid technical delivery of its services, Verizon would probablyimplode or get eaten up by competitors.

Organizations strategy to handle Digital

Convergence:

Verizon is currently expanding its technical department and is striving to

provide better services for its users. Currently, it has separate departments

for its Tele-products including video, audio and data facilities. The reason

behind having separate departments for its products is to reduce the load on

a particular department and secondly, it would keep departmental work

focused on their assigned tasks.


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Since the successful launch of FiOS network, Verizon has never looked back

and are continuously developing and implementing more technological

products in the field of integrated broadband services.

According to CEO Ivan Seidenberg, By the end of the year, Verizons current

fiber-to-the-premises, or FTTP, and ultra-long-haul fiber network deployments

will be more than halfway complete.

Three years after its launch, FiOS is now available in 16 states. By the end of

the year, it will be available to 9 million households, halfway toward its

ultimate goal of 18 million homes by the end of the decade. Though Verizon

is now transitioning from broadband passive optical networks (BPON) to

Gigabit PON (GPON), it is already considering future migrations beyond

GPON . By the end of the decade, well be preparing for the next generation

of [FTTP] electronics, Seidenberg said.

Meanwhile, Verizon expects to add 6000 miles of fiber this year to its all-

optical ultra-long-haul U.S. network, passing the halfway point in the planned

50,000-mile network. While Verizon is upgrading its wireless broadband

network, by the end of the decade, it will be ready for fourth-generationwireless broadband, which will open the door to a new world of applications.

Verizon recently announced that it is integrating home-energy management

into its FiOS broadband service some time in 2010. Verizon can remotely

update home routers, which means that customers can too. So once we give

thermostats and window shades IP addresses, we can turn down the heat

and schedule the shades to open or close on a daily schedule--all from our

cell phones. That's the gist of what Verizon wants to do, but the company

remains unclear on details of a release date, partnering companies, and

price.


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MLB Network will be available to all Verizon FiOS TV customers as part of the

Essentials and Extreme HD packages on Channel 86. Verizon also will offer a

high-definition (HD) simulcast of the MLB Network on Channel 586. MLB

Network -- which will air live games, original programming, highlights, classic

games and coverage of baseball events -- is expected to be available to

approximately 50 million homes on TV systems across the country, the

largest launch in cable history.

In addition, Verizon and Major League Baseball have entered into a new

multiyear agreement to provide the MLB Extra Innings package on FiOS TV,

offering baseball fans up to 80 out-of-market Major League Baseball games

per week. The two agreements mark the first television arrangementsbetween Major League Baseball and Verizon.

"We are looking forward to launching MLB Network on Verizon FiOS TV, which

is the fastest-growing television provider in the country," said Tony Petitti,

MLB Network President and CEO. "MLB Network will offer baseball fans an

insider's perspective that has never been seen before. This partnership

further expands on our ability to bring the ultimate coverage of the national

pastime to fans on a 24 x 7 basis."

Terry Denson, Vice President - FiOS TV content and programming, added,

"Verizon FiOS TV is the best place to watch sports. Baseball fans will be able

to keep up with their favorite teams and rivalries, with access to 80 games

from around the country each week. And FiOS TV's stunning rock-solid

picture will make fans feel like they're sitting right behind home plate."

Chris Tully, Major League Baseball senior Vice President, broadcasting, said,

"The MLB Extra Innings package plays a key role in our continuing effort to

provide fans around the country with access to as many MLB game telecasts

as possible. Adding Verizon FiOS TV to our roster of MLB Extra Innings

distributors provides our fans with more choice in accessing the package."


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MLB Network and the MLB Extra Innings Package join Verizon FiOS TV's

extensive channel lineup, which offers customers more than 400 total

channels, including a growing number of HD channels, with 100 HD channels

already available in most markets. FiOS TV also offers more than 11,000

video-on-demand titles each month - 8,500 of which are free of charge.

Verizon, the nation's fastest-growing television service provider, delivers FiOS

TV over the country's most advanced fiber-optic network straight to

customers' homes and businesses. Verizon's FiOS TV service was selected as

the top-ranked residential television service provider in the Northeast region

by J.D. Power for 2008. FiOS TV is currently available to more than 8.2

million homes in 14 states: California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland,Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,

Texas, Virginia and Washington.

In a bid to boost energy efficiency in new telecommunications equipment,

Verizon has unveiled a set of metrics that will be applied to new products

launched by Verizon FiOS. The company is pushing equipment manufacturers

to make new products such as broadband, data center, network and

customer premises products 20 percent more energy efficient.

According to the company, the standards are similar to the Energy Star

rating system, which often doesnt exist for the types of equipment

purchased by the company. Verizons equipment ratings are based on

formulas that measure the energy consumption of equipment in various

stages of operation.

Tested products will include optical and video transport systems, switches

and routers, DSLAM high-speed internet equipment, optical line termination

gear, data center servers and power adapters.


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"Aside from the potential cost reductions involved, as a responsible

corporate citizen, we want to be part of the drive toward greater energy

efficiency," Mark Wegleitner, Verizons senior Vice President of corporate

network and technology, said in a statement. "Part of our plan to accomplish

this is to request our suppliers' help in meeting our conservation goals."

The companys result of operations, financial position and sources in the

current and future periods reflect Verizon managements focus on the

following strategic imperatives:

Revenue Growth The companys emphasis is on revenue growth,

devoting more resources to higher growth markets such as wireless,

including wireless data, wire line broadband connections, including

Verizons high-capacity fiber optics to the premises network operated

under the FiOS service mark, digital subscriber lines (DSL) and other

data services, as well as expanded strategic services to business

markets, rather than to the traditional wire line voice market. At wire

line, revenue growth in the residential market, driven by broadband

and video services, coupled with growth in the business market

derived from strategic services, partially offset declines in the

traditional voice mass market. Market Share Gains The Company is focused on gaining market

share. In their wire line business, their goal is to become the leading

broadband provider in every market in which they operate. At

Domestic Wireless, the company continues to add retail customers,

grow revenue and gain market share while maintaining a low customer

turnover rate. Profitability Improvement Their goal is to increase operating

income and margins. Domestic Wireless also expects, from time-to-

time, to acquire operating markets and spectrum in geographic areas

where it does not currently operate.


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Operational Efficiency While focusing resources on revenue

growth and market share gains, they are continually challenging their

management team to lower expenses, particularly through technology-

assisted productivity improvements, including self-service initiatives.

The effect of these and other efforts, such as real estate

consolidations, call center routing improvements, the formation of a

centralized shared services organization, and centralizing information

technology and marketing efforts, has led to changes to the

Companys cost structure as well as maintaining and improving

operating income margins. With the deployment of the FiOS network,

they expect to realize savings in annual, ongoing operating expenses

as a result of efficiencies gained from fiber network facilities. As the

deployment of the FiOS network gains scale and installation and

automation improvements occur, costs per home connected are

expected to decline. Customer Experience Their goal is to provide the best customer

experience possible and to be the leading company in customer

service in every market they serve. The company views superior

product offerings and customer service experiences as a competitivedifferentiator and a catalyst to growing revenues and gaining market

share. Verizon continues to expand their wireless data, messaging and

multimedia offerings for both consumer and business customers and

take advantage of the growing demand for wireless data services. Performance-Based Culture Verizon embraces a culture of

corporate-wide accountability, based on individual and team objectives

that are performance-based and tied to these imperatives. Key

objectives of their compensation programs are pay-for-performance

and the alignment of executives and shareowners long-term interests.

Verizon also employs a highly diverse workforce, since respect for

diversity is an integral part of Verizons culture and a critical element of

their competitive success.


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The above mentioned strategic imperatives clearly explain the rationale of

their decision to continue implementing more broadband technologies.

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