Summary
1. Just for starters, in early 2007, it was known that Verizon was penetrating Qwest’s territory in Oregon for FiOS. 2. It is not the “first time that one carrier has directly competed with another in its own franchised territory for residential wireline Internet services.” 3. Just as the RBOC’s current overall FTTH strategy was developed in the 1980s, plans to go outside of its area were in place late in that decade as well.
Analysis
Back in March 2007, we talked about how AT&T’s lack of aggressiveness was opening up the door to a broadband attack by Verizon. And it is not just the Dallas area that Verizon is actively deploying fiber in AT&T’s footprint. The real blow is that there is FiOS activity in San Antonio. This is the city in which AT&T started its U-verse services – despite its two trials in that city being absolute disasters.
Old-timers at Verizon will undoubtedly find the use of the term, “NOOF,” amusing. The market research firm’s referral in its press release of the “nomenclature 'NOOF' - Near Out-of-Franchise” – was coined by the RBOC back in 1989. So, almost 20 years ago, there was discussion at the telco regarding the placement of fiber for cable operations in Northern Virginia. The title of “NOOF” was given to a proposed plan of going out of its service area to the west (Shenandoah Telephone’s territory.)
