Verizon Communications’ fiber-fed FiOS platform kept the momentum going into the fourth quarter, as the telco added 126,000 net new FiOS Internet connections and 92,000 new FiOS video customers.
With those factored in, Verizon ended 2013 with 6.1 million FiOS Internet and 5.3 million FiOS video customers. From a penetration standpoint, FiOS Internet rose to 39.5%, versus 37.3% in the year-ago quarter, while FiOS Video grew from to 35% from 33.3%. Verizon said its FiOS network passed 18.6 million homes at the end of 2013.
FiOS customers continue to gravitate to Verizon’s higher-end tier, as 46% of FiOS Internet customers subscribed to Quantum, a tier that provides speeds from 50 Mbps to 500 Mbps, up from 41% at the end of the third quarter of 2013. By the end of 2013, 55% of consumer FiOS Internet sales were for speeds of at least 50 Mbps, the company said.
FiOS Internet subscriber gains were enough to overcome the continued shedding of DSL customers. Verizon said it net broadband connections increased by 20,000 in the fourth quarter, meaning it lost about 106,000 DSL customers. The telco ended 2013 with just north of 9 million broadband connections.
