Verizon - your high speed internet service provider

Questions are good. Answers are better.

• What is considered high speed internet?

• According to the Federal Communications Commission, the current FCC broadband definition is a minimum of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. This standard was introduced in 2015 as an increase to the previous standard of 4 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload. (The term broadband commonly refers to high-speed internet access that is always on and faster than traditional dial-up access, which is not considered high-speed.) The forms of internet service that meet this criteria include: cable, satellite, wireless, fiber-optic, and DSL internet.

  However, what people consider to be “high speed internet” is a relative term that is changing rapidly as home internet providers continue to push technological limits and offer previously unheard-of speeds. So in order to determine what your definition of high speed internet is, you need to consider what you’re looking for in your home internet service. If you’re a single home internet user who only wants to check email and do light internet research, 25 Mbps might be more than enough. But if you live in a household with several users who want to connect multiple devices to Wi-Fi at the same time, you may want lightning-fast speeds like Fios Gigabit Connection (up to 940/880 Mbps) in order to get the fast or high speed internet connection and internet plan that can accommodate everyone’s needs.

  In today’s technologically advanced world, high speed internet service providers, such as Verizon Fios, offer fiber-optic internet which is considered the fastest form of internet available. And it’s likely that as capabilities continue to expand, people’s expectations of what is considered “high speed internet for home” will increase as well.

• Is DSL high speed internet?

• In some cases, yes. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line, and describes a family of technologies used for digital data transmission and connection to the Internet. It is a type of broadband communication service available to homes and businesses that uses existing phone lines for high speed internet service without interrupting telephone use. For Verizon customers, DSL means high-speed broadband internet over a dedicated internet access line from our central office to your home on a network that is 99.9% reliable.

  Because the technology has gone through several major advances in recent years, several new DSL offerings have emerged that provide fast internet service for accommodating higher bandwidth activities. Verizon's High Speed Internet (DSL) offers internet plans for homes ranging in download speeds from .5 Mbps to up to 15 Mbps, depending on availability at your address.

  For customers who don’t have access to fiber service as one of their home internet options, DSL offers internet availability with an excellent combination of accessibility and affordability. Because DSL uses telephone lines to transmit data, the infrastructure is widespread and accessible even to rural customers. Additionally, it’s one of the most reliable home high speed internet options around. Because you’re not sharing bandwidth with your neighbors like you do with cable, you’ll get a direct connection to our central office that's 100% yours, 100% of the time.

• How does high speed internet work?

• Broadband or high-speed internet service allows users to access information via the Internet using one of several high-speed transmission technologies. Transmission is digital, meaning that text, images, and sound are all transmitted as "bits" of data. The transmission technologies that make broadband possible move these bits much more quickly than traditional telephone or wireless connections, including traditional dial-up Internet access connections.

• Is high speed internet available at my address?

• It’s easy to find internet providers in your area.

  Verizon offers two types of home internet options: Verizon Fios, the next-generation technology that provides greater bandwidth with speeds up to 940/880 Mbps; and DSL service, which provides fast speeds, proven performance, and 99.9% network reliability.

  To find which home internet service is available in your area, check availability now.