It’s official.  Verizon Wireless will welcome Apple’s iPhone to its network next month, but in a glaring omission, company officials refused to discuss data pricing for the all-important data plans that will power the wildly popular smartphone.

The official announcement of the iPhone on Verizon came late this morning in New York at a press event hosted by Verizon’s president Lowell McAdam.  Joining him was Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer. Neither Steve Jobs or Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg were on hand for the event.

“Late in 2010 we started offering the Apple iPad and today we are extremely gratified to announce that the iPhone 4 will be available early next month,” MacAdam said. “Our relationship with Apple has developed over the last two years. Back in 2008 we started talking about bringing the iPhone to a CDMA network, and we spent a year testing.”

“All of Apple is very excited to bring the iPhone to Verizon’s customers,” added Cook.

The new phone will be available for pre-orders, exclusively for existing Verizon Wireless customers Feb. 3.  A week later, anyone can reserve the Verizon iPhone at Verizon Wireless or Apple stores, or online.  The new phones will cost $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model with a new two year contract.  The phones will work on Verizon’s 3G network, but not on their new LTE/4G network.

Verizon is so confident its network can handle the traffic, it is bundling, for free, a mobile hotspot with the phone that will allow up to five devices to share the iPhone’s 3G connection over Wi-Fi.  That means you can use a laptop or home computer with a wireless card and connect to Verizon’s 3G wireless broadband service without any additional equipment.

But Verizon’s press event left some questions unanswered, starting with whether the company would sell unlimited data plans to accompany the phone.

“We talked about the device pricing, but we’re not going to talk about the pricing for the network for that connectivity,” Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said. “We’ll have announcements in the future.”

Another downside: the Verizon iPhone will not be able to multitask.  If you make or receive calls on your phone, your data connection is suspended for the length of the call.  This is common on CDMA cellular networks, and it currently affects other smartphones used on Verizon’s network as well.

As far as Apple sees it, that isn’t much of a problem so long as the phone works on Verizon’s network.

“I can tell you that the number one question I’ve gotten is when will the iPhone work on Verizon,” said Cook. “I couldn’t be happier to tell people that. They will make those sorts of trade-offs.”

[flv width=”576″ height=”344″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/AP Verizon to Start Selling iPhone Early Feb 1-11-11.flv[/flv]

Lowell McAdam makes the official announcement.  (2 minutes)

No significant expansion for FiOS in 2011, say company officials.

A Verizon spokesman has confirmed Verizon will not be expanding its FiOS fiber to the home service into new areas in 2011, except in those communities where the company already signed franchise agreements.

It’s the second year of Verizon’s hold on fiber expansion, instituted because of objections by Wall Street, a difficult economy, and a less optimistic view by Verizon’s new management that fiber has the capacity to quickly return on investment.

For upstate New York, the end-effect of Verizon’s decision is an odd patchwork of partially-built FiOS-capable communities, mostly in suburbs amenable to Verizon’s franchise terms. Some suburbs have access to FiOS broadband and phone service, but not television.  Others have access to all three services, while many other areas have nothing but Verizon’s ordinary copper phone lines.

“If you are big on fiber, there are some outlying towns with real estate agents that list whether or not their properties have Verizon FiOS, and whether that includes television service,” says Lysander, N.Y. resident Jeff, who reads Stop the Cap! “Our town was just glad Verizon picked us for upgrades and we didn’t ask too much of the phone company, quickly agreeing to a TV franchise agreement.”

But residents in the city of Syracuse are less happy — they won’t get competitive video from Verizon and are stuck with a Time Warner Cable wired monopoly because the city “dragged its feet” on franchise negotiations.

“When it comes to bigger cities, they see Verizon’s knock on the door as an opportunity to cash in on freebies from the phone company, like upgrading their video studios for government access channels, paying substantial franchise fees, and agreeing to carry channels the city government wants on Verizon’s cable system,” Jeff says.  “When the first cable systems came to town, it was the same story; some communities dragged their feet for years trying to extract more.”

Of course, cities don’t have to wait for Verizon to take care of their growing broadband needs.  They can build their own fiber networks and deliver world class service themselves, or open the new networks up to private competitors to deliver bigger bang for your broadband buck.

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WSYR Syracuse FiOS availability not planned for Syracuse during 2011 1-6-11.flv[/flv]

WSYR-TV in Syracuse reports it will be a long wait for many in central New York waiting for fiber to the home television service. (Warning: Loud Volume) (1 minute)

Disgruntled AT&T customers, and those with infinite patience for Apple’s iPhone on Verizon Wireless’ network — your long wait appears to finally be over.

After nearly a year of speculation, Verizon Wireless is expected to announce the imminent arrival of the coveted smartphone on the nation’s largest wireless carrier at a press event tomorrow.

The Verizon version of the iPhone could come at a price premium, with some anticipating the entry level version of the phone could be priced as high as $249 — $50 higher than with AT&T.  The usual two year contract applies.

Analysts predict a muted stampede, at least at first, by unhappy AT&T customers.  As many as two million customers itching to dump AT&T could jump to Verizon in 2011, but they’ll pay dearly to do so.  First, their existing AT&T iPhone won’t work on Verizon’s network, so that means a new phone and a new, two year contract with Verizon to get the best price.  Second, AT&T locked many of its customers into two year contract extensions with the release of the last iPhone in June.  No amount of whining by iPhone users, which has worked to score early upgrades and discounts in the past, will get AT&T to make the price of divorce less expensive.  The company’s price to sever ties: more than $200 for most in-contract customers with the latest version of the popular phone.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/CNBC Verizon iPhone Package 1-10-11.flv[/flv]

CNBC discusses the pros and cons of Verizon’s adoption of Apple’s iPhone in these two reports.  (8 minutes)

Verizon iPhone users will also give up something else: an iPhone that can multitask.  AT&T’s GSM network allowed customers to browse web pages and run applications while you talked on the phone.  Verizon’s CDMA network doesn’t support that.  As long as you talk on your phone, your data applications won’t update.  It’s an either/or proposition, at least for now.

Still, expect the iPhone to be a Verizon hit like none other.  Carl Howe, an analyst for the Yankee Group, expects Verizon to sell 16.5 million iPhones in 2011, with more than half — 9 million — coming from Verizon’s own subscriber base.

The question is — can Verizon’s three bedroom house support the entire extended family showing up on their network doorstep?

AT&T’s network suffered from the onslaught of data-hungry iPhone devotees.  As millions of Americans adopted the phone, an AT&T exclusive, the company’s wireless network groaned under the usage.  With calls dropping, data trickling, and customer service irritating, AT&T scored rock-bottom in consumer ratings.

Some wonder if the same fate could afflict Verizon’s network.  Verizon currently has the lowest percentage of smartphone customers using its network among the four major carriers.  Verizon’s pricing is typically considered the culprit.  Customers insisting on the iPhone ended up with AT&T.  But those seeking Android phones had more choices — Sprint’s unlimited data plans at aggressive price points, T-Mobile’s value-oriented family shareplans, or Verizon’s robust network coverage at Cadillac pricing.

Putting the iPhone, already a premium-priced phone some consumers can’t live without, with Verizon’s reputation for high quality service, is expected to be a winning combination, and 16.5 million customers joining Verizon’s existing 30 million smartphone customers in a single year could have a dramatic impact.

“Unless Verizon has done a lot of network upgrades in advance, it may see many of the same capacity problems that have plagued AT&T,” Howe says.

The news AT&T is about to lose its exclusivity for the phone was taken in stride by some company executives, one who used the occasion to take a swipe at Verizon’s slower speed 3G network.

AT&T public relations head Larry Solomon pointed out Verizon’s 3G network relies on 3.1Mbps EVDO Rev. A technology while AT&T delivers 7.2Mbps on its HSPA 3G network.

The iPhone is built for speed, but that’s not what you get with a CDMA phone,” Solomon told Electronista. “I’m not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane.”

Verizon Wireless is expected to unveil the new phone Tuesday morning, with its in-store availability expected within a few weeks.  For fans of unlimited usage, there is one more piece of good news: Verizon is expected to continue offering unlimited data usage plans to its new iPhone customers.  AT&T cashiered its own unlimited data plan last spring, forcing customers to keep usage under 2GB per month if they don’t want an even higher bill.  Verizon is reportedly confident its network can sustain the traffic, and will leave its data hungry customers alone… for now.

Apple Insider produced this chart comparing Verizon and AT&T's smartphone pricing.

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WTTG Bloomberg Verizon iPhone Package 1-10-11.flv[/flv]

WTTG-TV in Washington delivers the news about the imminent arrival of the iPhone on Verizon’s network in a consumer-friendly fashion, while Bloomberg delves deeper into exactly what impact the move will have on existing and future customers of both AT&T and Verizon.  (9 minutes)

Seconds count. If your house was on fire, would you wait a minute or more for Time Warner to handle your 911 call?

Time Warner Cable’s digital phone service may be risking lives of the customers who use it to call 911 for emergency services.

That statement from Madison County, N.Y. 911 Director Paul Hartnett comes after the cable company bungled the handling of an emergency call reporting a house fire in the town of Clayton, Jefferson County, causing delays for emergency responders.

Even worse, the problems could be wider in scope, potentially putting many Time Warner Cable phone customers at risk of a delayed 911 response when seconds count.

At issue is an ongoing upgrade of the cable company’s E-911 database, begun after Time Warner dropped Sprint as their 911 vendor in favor of Intrado.  As the slow upgrade continues, customers dialing 911 could end up having their calls routed to a national 911 call center Intrado runs in Colorado.  The process often takes several minutes from the time the caller dials 911, someone in Colorado answers, and the call is eventually transferred back to the originating county, at which point the caller has to repeat information to a local 911 operator they could not reach directly.

Jefferson County’s 911 Director John Pumber told WSYR-TV news they first noticed the problems about a week ago. “I can see this thing escalating extremely fast, in talking to other cohorts around the state, some of the other centers, it’s becoming more and more of a problem,” he said.

Monday, a 911 call reporting a house fire in the Jefferson County town of Clayton was re-routed to the call center in Colorado. The call was eventually forwarded back to Jefferson County’s 911 center, 44 seconds later. By the time the nature of the emergency was given to the local operator, the house was fully involved in fire.

“If your house is on fire, and especially this individual was calling from his house, so we are leaving him in harms way to get the information and get him help [for] whatever the amount of time it took to get through the call center in Colorado and then through our procedures here,” said Plumber.

“Whether it’s medical, fire, law enforcement related – seconds do make a difference,” said Hartnett. “They’re putting public safety in jeopardy because they’re delaying calls. We’ve had medical calls, and other calls. We’ve dodged a bullet so far.”

This call, recorded by Madison County 911 last week, illustrates the problem:

911: Police communication?

Intrado: I’m calling from Intrado, a call center for Time Warner Cable, I have a subscriber on the line that dialed 911. They’re trying to get through to you, they have a medical emergency.

911: Okay, what’s the address madam?

Intrado: They need an ambulance at 4289 Canal Street.

911: Could I speak with them, or?

Intrado: You sure can, it’s going to be a female with difficulty breathing. Do you want their call back or mine?

911: If I’m going to talk to her, I’ll get it from her.

Intrado: You’re going to talk to her husband, his name is John. John your dispatcher is on the line.

911: Hi Sir, how are you?

Caller: Not good, you need to get a f***ing ambulance here right now!

Time Warner Cable Regional Communications Manager Stephanie Salanger released a statement last week addressing the issue:

“TWC has deployed a state-of-the-art E-911 system that offers several key advantages over more traditional systems, including real-time address validation. Our solution complies fully with FCC rules and industry standards, and it also is based on the same technology the federal government is considering mandating for “Next Generation 911″ services, so we will be well-positioned to comply with any new rules as soon as new standards are implemented.

In the very rare cases where errors in routing 911 calls or when errors in the 911 address database occur-which happens from time to time under any 911 system-calls are routed to the Emergency Call Relay Center managed by TWC’s E911 partner in Colorado, rather than to the default or incorrect 911 answering location. This call center allows TWC to determine the customer’s location and route the call to the appropriate emergency answering center. This has happened only in a extremely small number of cases since TWC began transitioning to its new 911 system. TWC has been continually working with local 911 authorities to ensure they understand the details of TWC’s 911 system and will continue to do so.

TWC has always been and remains committed to providing the highest quality E-911 services for its customers. We will continue to work with local E-911 officials and agencies to ensure they are aware of, understand and are satisfied with TWC’s E-911 system and all of its functionalities.”

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WSYR Syracuse TWC phone glitch delays emergency responses 1-4-11.flv[/flv]

WSYR-TV in Syracuse ran two reports over two nights documenting more than 40 recent incidents where Time Warner Cable dropped the ball in properly managing 911 calls from their customers.  Warning: Loud Audio! (8 minutes)

Wood

Roku CEO Anthony Wood told a cable trade publication he is not worried that providers will kill the market for his online video set-top box with Internet Overcharging schemes.

Wood told Multichannel News the broadband industry faces enough competition to prevent one or both traditional providers from implementing usage caps and metered pricing for broadband service.

“What we see from a practical point of view in the marketplace is that there’s enough competition from cable, telcos and wireless so that in every market there’s an unlimited option — and the price is competitive,” he said.  “Unlimited sells — it’s just a good marketing strategy.”

Wood may want to inform broadband providers of that, because several American phone and cable companies are experimenting with slapping usage limits on their customers, making his web-streaming set top box an expensive proposition.  For customers of Frontier Communications in Elk Grove, Calif., using too much Roku could mean broadband bills as high as $300 a month.

With some HD movies consuming 2-4 gigabytes per title, some companies experimenting with usage limits as low as 5GB per month would make online video the primary culprit for consumers blowing through their monthly usage allowance.  After one bill with overlimit fees arrives, the Roku box will be the first thing to go.

Netflix, a major investor in the Roku box, could see its plans to shift to online distribution of its massive DVD rental business stymied by large phone and cable providers, many of whom see Netflix and other online video services as competitors who use their broadband service to send movies to consumers.  Some cable and phone companies contend Roku, Netflix, and other online video streamers are freeloaders — using their networks “for free” and demanding additional compensation to keep carrying their content.

Wood discloses another reason why cable and phone companies could potentially adopt a hostile position towards his 100-employee operation — “cord cutting.”

Wood told Multichannel News about 12% of Roku customers say they have canceled cable or satellite TV after buying the set-top while another 12% said they reduced their service level.

The cable industry is trying to retain customers by putting an increasing amount of cable content online for subscribers who maintain their cable-TV package.  Roku gives subscribers one more reason to downgrade or cancel service, a problem that could be stopped with an Internet Overcharging scheme that makes using the product an expensive proposition.

Some Roku watchers believe Wood is making a mistake underestimating the telecom industry’s willingness to protect its turf.

Two years ago Roku VP Tim Twerdahl said the company was not worried about Comcast’s 250GB download cap.  But since then, other providers have proposed far lower caps.

Roku is best known for letting Netflix subscribers stream the video rental firm’s online titles direct to television sets.  But Roku also delivers access to Hulu, Amazon video, and a growing number of new “channels” delivering classic movies, music/music videos, news, and user-created programming.

The company offers three set-top models: HD ($60), which delivers up to 720p video; XD ($80), which adds support for up to 1080p and 802.11n Wi-Fi; and the XDS ($99), which offers dual-band 802.11n and component video and optical audio outputs.  The top model occasionally sells for as little as $79.99 when on sale from Amazon.com or direct from the manufacturer.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Introducing Roku.mp4[/flv]

A brief video introduction to Roku.  (1 minute)