Locals who are considering ordering FiOS, Verizon’s fiber optic television, phone and Internet service, might want to wait a few weeks, especially if you have an high-definition television.
The company is reportedly running short on its HD boxes, which happen to be manufactured by Motorola. And it seems many will have to wait until March 10 for a new shipment of boxes.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, which picked up the story from Multichannel News, Verizon isn’t the only company whose hands are tied. Cox Communications also is waiting for Motorola boxes.
From the story:
Verizon blames the shortage on a kink in the supply chain of Motorola Inc., the manufacturer of the boxes. Motorola has told Verizon that for an undetermined amount of time the company won’t be able to supply all the HD boxes that Verizon needs, Verizon says. The New York-based phone company said its orders were at the high end of a range of expectations it had earlier given Motorola.
A Motorola spokeswoman confirmed that demand for the HD set-top box was “extremely strong and has exceeded expectations. We are pleased with this positive response and we are working closely with our suppliers to ensure that we meet the needs of our customers as quickly as possible.”
It’s a hiccup for Verizon, which is hoping its multibillion-dollar, fiber-based TV project will help it battle cable companies that have invaded its turf by offering phone service. Verizon’s rivals, both cable operators and satellite TV firms, also market their high-definition services heavily. Verizon had about one million TV customers at the end of the year.
A shortage of boxes is the least of their problems. I live in Mount Sinai which they have advertised on their web site for almost 2 years (not to mention countless tv ads) as having FIOS service at least until you call them and then they try to sell you on their DSL services AS FIOS IS NOT AVAILABLE. I have been signed up on their email notification service (twice) with never any notification. The best information that I’ve been able to obtain is that they build out the fiber on a block by block basis and if they can’t “complete” (or even state where in Mount Sinai they have completed service) in two years then Cablevision is probably laughing their heads off at the “perceived threat” to their business.
[...] few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported Verizon had run out of its Motorola-made high-definition cable boxes, and new subscribers were told they would have to wait until March 10 for a new shipment to come [...]
[...] we heard Verizon had run out of the Motorola-made cable boxes, making prospective subscribers wait for them to become [...]