Verizon FiOS has made it easy for broadband customers to upgrade to 50/25Mbps service for $10 more a month.

Getting access to the company’s introductory Quantum tier is as simple as going to FiOS TV Channel 500 and clicking the OK button twice with your remote control. Within one hour, your speeds will be upgraded. For those who don’t subscribe to FiOS TV, you can visit the FiOS Quantum website or use the MyFiOS smartphone app.

A promotion for new customers includes an introductory offer of FiOS TV, Quantum 50/25Mbps, and telephone service for $89.99 a month with a $250 debit card rebate in certain markets.

Last summer, the company launched the Quantum brand to market its highest speed tiers: 50/25Mbps, 75/35Mbps, 150/65Mbps or 300/65Mbps.

Verizon says the company noticed an increasing demand for faster speed service because customers are connecting more devices to the Internet. Streaming multiple online videos at the same time, for example, can burden slower speed Internet services.

Verizon says the faster speeds also keep the company ahead of its cable competition, which has struggled to provide affordable faster tiers of service and remains limited on upstream speeds.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Verizon FiOS Quantum Upgrade 2-15-13.flv[/flv]

Verizon FiOS is now offering broadband customers a $10 upgrade to 50/25Mbps service just by clicking a button on your FiOS TV remote control twice.  (1 minute)

Verizon last week surprised 20 Philadelphia families scheduled for installation of its fiber optic service FiOS on Valentine’s Day with flowers, chocolates and Verizon-labeled canvas bags.

The surprise visits from “FiOS Cupids” were part of a marketing and publicity campaign to highlight FiOS in parts of northeastern and northwestern Philadelphia. Verizon has been slowly rolling out its network in the city, now reaching a potential 1.1 million households.

Although Verizon has suspended expanding its fiber optic network into new communities, it is still working to complete network builds already committed before the project was suspended.

Verizon has until 2016 to complete its FiOS network in Philadelphia.

Time Warner Cable customers in central New York will face paying higher cable bills next month as the company boosts rates.

The cable operator is raising prices on a range of services and equipment. Most customers on double-play or triple-play packages of phone, Internet, and television service will see increases of around $3 a month. Cable TV-only customers will pay $5 more.

Time Warner has been testing its new Navigator cloud-based interactive cable guide on selected set top boxes in Syracuse (and Charlotte, N.C.) The newest software also comes with a significant monthly fee for the enhanced service — $2.79 a month, in addition to usual equipment rental fees. As Time Warner rolls the new set top equipment out to other cities, customers will pay around $11 a month for the boxes, up from $9.50.

A spokeswoman for Time Warner says two-thirds of its customers in central New York are enrolled in promotional packages and are exempted from rate increases until their current package expires.

Others are not waiting for the rate increase to take effect and are departing for Verizon FiOS, where available. Syracuse resident Bill Venson is one of them.

“[When I] dropped off Time Warner Cable’s equipment at their office, I wasn’t even asked why,” he comments to the Syracuse Post-Standard. “The clerk just gave me a receipt and didn’t even tell me to have a nice day. That speaks volumes.”

Unfortunately for many Syracuse residents, Verizon FiOS remains out of reach. Verizon canceled expansion of its FiOS fiber to the home project, leaving service only available in a handful of suburbs outside of the city.

Time Warner Cable is sending apology letters to former customers acknowledging the company’s cable service has not always lived up to expectations, but improvements have been made that ex-subscribers should consider.

The effort is part of a $50 million marketing campaign that will push a 30-day money back guarantee and claims their competitors’ promised savings have not materialized.

“The Better Guarantee”-campaign will target customers who have dropped the cable operator in favor of competitors that include AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS.

Although both AT&T and Verizon offer attractive introductory rates, Time Warner Cable says the savings disappear after the promotion expires. The company’s new ad campaign will attempt to entice customers back with offers of lower rates, a $200 reward card, and better service, including faster broadband speeds and new products like online apps for video streaming and home security services.

The New York Times reports the campaign was announced one week before the cable operator releases its latest fourth quarter earnings, which may show a growing number of customers canceling their cable television service. Jeffries & Company forecast Time Warner will report 140,000 subscribers lost during the last quarter, up from 129,000 in the same quarter of 2011.

Customers are invited to sample Time Warner’s offerings for 30 days. If they don’t like the service, the company will send their money back.

That may not be enough. The American Consumer Satisfaction Index has top-rated Verizon FiOS for three years in a row. Time Warner Cable received a below average, but improving rating.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/TWC The Better Guarantee 1-21-13.flv[/flv]

Time Warner Cable’s new television ad promoting its “Better Guarantee.”  (1 minute)

Although Verizon Communications has stopped expanding its FiOS fiber-to-the-home service outside of areas it already committed to serve, its gradual rollout continues in Philadelphia.

Gradual is right. On Kalos Street in the Wissahickon section of Philly, it all depends on which side of the road your house resides. Odd-numbered customers were in luck this week as Verizon took its marketing efforts to the street, with a temporary tent emblazoned with Verizon’s logo installed on the sidewalk, giving pedestrians a few minutes of warmth from a portable heater.

FiOS tent (Courtesy: J. Chakars/WHYY NewsWorks)

Inside the tent, would-be customers are given a preview of the fiber optic service and some free gifts just for stopping by on the cold winter night. Those who took Verizon up on its offer walked away with free ice skating tickets. Those that didn’t got a refrigerator magnet and a tote bag as consolation prizes.

Verizon’s sales force, braving the weather, has made inroads in the city that is home to Comcast’s corporate headquarters.

Joanne Weill-Greenberg told WHYY/NewsWorks she called Comcast to deal for a lower rate and Comcast refused to match Verizon FIOS’ introductory offer. She is now an ex-Comcast customer, and not just for the money. She explained FiOS offers channels Comcast does not carry, and because FiOS also carries Comcast’s regional sports channel, there is nothing holding them to the cable company.

The Verizon tent does not stay in any one location too long.

In a few days, they will relocate to another neighborhood that is now primed for fiber upgrades from the phone company.

Pennsylvania residents can just be thankful the winter weather has not gotten brutal enough for Verizon to deploy its inflatable igloo.