Friday, June 4, 2010

Verizon Marketing "Digital Voice" in 11 States and District of Columbia

Verizon now is marketing "FiOS Digital Voice" in FiOS markets in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Pennsylvania and California, marking Verizon's initial wave of efforts to transition customers off the legacy voice network and onto the packet voice network.

The transition process could easily last a decade or more, requiring Verizon to maintain dual access and switching infrastructures for the interim period, before being able to decommission the old switching network completely, along with the legacy copper access network.

Verizon touts an easy-to-use, online account-management tool as a key element of FiOS Digital Voice, enabling customers to conveniently use a broadband-connected computer to access and manage the service's integrated features. Customers also have the option to add another FiOS Digital Voice line, with its own assigned number and all the same features, for $9.99 a month.

The service comes standard with 22 features including "Live Voice Mail Screening," which allows users to hear voice mail messages as they arrive and then decide whether or not to take the incoming call.

Call logs list the caller name, telephone number (if available), date, time-of-day, location and duration of every incoming and outgoing call. Users can easily transfer contact information directly into their FiOS Digital Voice personal address book.

"Caller ID on TV" allows FiOS TV customers to see incoming caller ID information displayed for several seconds in the corner of their TV screen.  They can decide to pause their TV programming to answer the call or let it go into their FiOS Digital Voice mailbox.  The feature can be turned on or off from the customer's set-top box.

"Locate me" allows users to program up to three numbers where they might be reached when not at home, and incoming calls will ring at each of those numbers, one at a time. Unanswered calls are sent to voice mail.

Simultaneous ring, do not disturb, voicemail with email notification and virtual numbers also are available.

New customers who sign up by July 24 for FiOS quad- or triple-play bundles that include broadband, TV and FiOS Digital Voice also will receive a guaranteed monthly rate for two years and a $20 monthly discount.

No comments:

Where Will AI Prove an Existential Threat to Whole Industries?

Right now, we all speculate about the potential changes artificial intelligence might bring, as well. Predictions range from the existential...