Verizon Offering Faster FiOS for $309 to Outpace Comcast

Verizon Communications, the second-largest U.S. telephone company, is boosting its FiOS Internet speeds to 500 megabits a second, faster than Comcast’s speediest service and half that of Google’s.

Verizon aims to attract consumers and small businesses to its FiOS Quantum fiber-optic services, available in parts of every FiOS market today. Customers that combine Internet with TV or telephone service will pay $309.99 a month, or $329.99 for a package of all three services, according to a statement. The phone company, based in New York, is promoting speed as a competitive advantage for people willing to pay top dollar. Comcast, the largest broadband provider, exceeded Verizon last year with a service promising 305 megabits-a-second speed for $299.95. Last quarter, Verizon added 161,000 FiOS Internet customers for a total of 5.8 million. The new service is for people in offices who share connections and for families who do a lot of movie downloads, said Fowler Abercrombie, a manager of the FiOS development team.