As residents in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., have three more weeks to petition for Google Fiber's service to come to their neighborhood, many are stacking it up against Verizon FiOS network and its existing packages.
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But because Verizon FiOS is not likely to enter the same markets as Google Fiber -- and if they do overlap, it won't be anytime soon -- it's hard to label the services as direct competitors.
Google announced in July that it would be bring ultra-high Internet speeds first to residents in the Kansas City area and will likely grow to more regions in the future (an effort that will certainly take time to build), while Verizon isn't looking to enter new states anytime soon.
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Google Fiber's offering is not only priced more competitively than FiOS, it also features impressive specs. It boasts speeds up to 1,000 Mbps, 162 TV channels including Showtime, a DVR that records up to eight channels at once, 500 hours of HDTV and a free Nexus 7 tablet that serves as a remote.
Meanwhile, FiOS -- which launched its bundled Internet, telephone and TV service via a fiber network in 2005 -- features speeds up to 300 megabytes per second, 380 channels including ESPN, NFL RedZone and Showtime, a DVR that records two channels at once and features 60 hours of HD for $318 a month.
Google Fiber offers several option packages, including Internet for $70 a month, and Internet along with television for $120. In addition, it is offering a slower 5 Mbps package for a seven-year period at no monthly cost. (Note: A $300 installation fee is required.)
But Google Fiber isn't readily available just yet and it's taking some work from potential customers to bring it to their community. In fact, those who want the service in the Kansas City area have to rally and petition for it to come to their community, which Google is calling “fiberhoods.” Each fiberhood needs a high majority of their residents to pre-register to get the service, and those communities with a high pre-registration percentage will be among the first to get Google Fiber.
Households in those communities can register for the service until September 9.
As for FiOS, if your not one of the 12 states or Washington D.C. that currently runs over its fiber-optic communications network, you probably won't ever get it, according to a Verizon spokesperson.
"Our FiOS network follows our traditional landline network, so we aren't in every state or even some pockets of states where we have connectivity," John Bonomo, director of media relations for Verizon, told Mashable. "I don't anticipate building and growing that network into other states."
This means that Verizon FiOS won't be competing against Google Fiber in the Kansas City region because it doesn't have plans to enter that market, Bonomo confirmed.
It's also been widely reported that Verizon's cable spectrum deal with Comcast, Time Warner, Cox and Bright House networks would restrict the carrier from growing its FiOS network.
However, Bonomo said Verizon does have plans to grow more within the communities in which it already has services: "We are nearing our objective to have FiOS capabilities pass through 18 million households," he said. "As we continue out, our focus is building further out into those communities where we already have TV franchises and don't have full accessibility."
To find out if FiOS is available in an area, consumers can type their home address into Verizon's site. For those with accessibility, orders can be made over the phone or online. Verizon is currently marketing to those communities with mailers, hosting local events at places such as strip malls, hiring door-to-door sales staffers and sending emails to expand its user base.
This story originally published on Mashable here.