Bandwidth on Demand is being launched today in the New York City metropolitan region, where Verizon has tested the service in a year-long technical trial. The service will be expanded to additional cities over the next several years.

Offered through Verizon Partner Solutions, the business unit that serves U.S.-based wholesale customers, the new Bandwidth on Demand service can reduce the time it takes to establish DS-3 high-capacity circuits as well as SONET and Ethernet circuits from weeks to hours and, in some cases, minutes. With Bandwidth on Demand, wholesale customers can quickly order and establish additional capacity to meet dynamic end-users' bandwidth needs.

In addition, Verizon has modified traditional ordering-and-billing processes to accommodate the flexibility of Bandwidth on Demand.

Once Verizon wholesale customers establish the initial circuit with the Bandwidth on Demand capability, they will be able to order and be billed for bandwidth that remains entirely on the Bandwidth on Demand network when they require it for as short a period as one day. Previously, customers had to purchase a dedicated, private-line facility over a longer period of time.

"One of our top priorities is finding ways to continually improve how we serve our customers," said Verizon Partner Solutions Vice President Quintin Lew. "This once again demonstrates that Verizon is able to create tailored and innovative solutions to our customers' evolving needs."

For additional information please see Verizon press release.

Verizon FiOS Internet, delivered over the nation's most advanced, all-digital fiber-optic network straight to customers' doors, has been rated No. 1 in a national ISP survey. Computerworld magazine reports that the results of its recent survey of more than 1,100 broadband users of the nation's top six broadband services show that Verizon FiOS Internet stands "head and shoulders above the rest."

"There's little doubt as to the best U.S. broadband ISP, according to our readers - Verizon FiOS wins by a wide margin," the magazine reports.

Verizon FiOS was the only broadband service that scored first in all eight of the survey's categories: overall satisfaction, connection reliability, download speed, upload speed, customer service, technical support, value and e-mail service. FiOS Internet service is now enjoyed by more than 1 million customers nationwide and is growing every day.

"The comments from this survey strongly speak for themselves," said John Wimsatt, senior vice president for Verizon Telecom marketing. "Computerworld readers know technology, and we're honored by their overwhelmingly positive assessment of FiOS Internet service. The results of this survey validate what we've known all along: Verizon customers appreciate the difference our all-fiber network brings by delivering faster speed, better reliability, more advanced services, and superior entertainment and online experiences."

In reporting the survey results, Computerworld noted that Verizon FiOS "really stood out" in connection reliability and speed, with readers rating it 4.8 (on a 5.0 point scale). "If there's any doubt that the future of broadband is fiber optics, just take a look at the favorability ratings for connection speeds and reliability of Verizon FiOS," the publication reported. "Connection reliability was rated excellent by a mind-boggling 86% of those who responded."

Computerworld added that, "FiOS users practically crowed about their download speeds, with 92% rating them excellent or good.

"So it's clearly the reliability and speed of the FiOS connections that made Verizon FiOS customers give it top ratings for overall satisfaction (84% excellent and good combined) and value (78% excellent and good combined)," the magazine said.

The publication also noted that "Verizon FiOS customers are exceedingly happy with the value they get," and that when it came to satisfaction with value "no one else came close" to Verizon's FiOS ratings.

Verizon FiOS Internet seems to be earning high marks from its Web-savvy users, as the service recently ranked first in PC World's latest 'Best and Worst ISPs Survey' and the service to achieve top ratings in each of the survey's nine categories: overall satisfaction, connection reliability, download speed, upload speed, customer service, technical support, e-mail service, spam blocking, and antivirus/security.

"PC World is one of the most trusted and well-regarded computer magazines in the world, and we're honored that FiOS Internet was ranked No. 1 in its ISP survey," said John Wimsatt, senior vice president for Verizon Telecom Marketing. "Customers appreciate the difference our all-fiber network brings by delivering faster speed, better reliability, more advanced services, and superior entertainment and online experiences."

Verizon FiOS Internet also was recently named in the top five of PC World's 100 Best Products of 2007. The only Internet service to make the prestigious list, Verizon FiOS Internet was ranked fourth on the roster of what the magazine called "the finest products and services of the past 12 months" -- "based on exemplary design, features, performance and innovation."

Read more in the Verizon press release or find out if Verizon FiOS is available through ConnectMyHighSpeed in your area.

If you are thinking about upgrading from dial-up to high-speed Internet, a whole new online world will open up to you once you have made the switch. However, the Web can be a scary place. If you aren't careful, roadblocks like spam, computer viruses, and phishing scams can take the fun out of surfing! Fortunately, Internet service providers understand this and many of them have taken the lead in trying to make the Web a safer place for their customers.

For instance, recently Verizon announced an agreement with Goodmail, an e-mail certification service that will help customers fight against the dangers contained in spam.

In addition, Verizon offers other tools available to help Verizon customers to fight spam:

• Verizon Spam Detector - A feature available to users of Verizon's e-mail service that identifies suspected spam and either eliminates it before it reaches the mailbox or routes it to a folder designated by the user for spam messages.
• Blocked Sender List- A Verizon e-mail feature that allows the user to designate specific senders or e-mail domains, and messages from those sources are automatically blocked.
• Sub-accounts - Enables users to establish e-mail sub-accounts or addresses for online transactions and keep their real e-mail address private. This will help keep spam from showing up in their real e-mail folders.

Read More About Verizon High-Speed Internet Service

Getting e-mail from friends and family is one of the many ways to enjoy your high-speed Internet service. However, if you are still getting more than your fair share of irritating messages in your inbox, Verizon recently offered some tips to help you cut down on spam and enjoy a safer Internet experience.

• Use Additional Filters - Programs like Outlook Express and Netscape® Messenger give users the ability to filter incoming e-mail so that it can be placed in special folders, throw away unwanted junk mail, or even send an automatic response to certain senders.
• Guard E-Mail Address - Be careful about disclosing e-mail addresses. Spammers use programs that search chat rooms, Internet sites, newsgroups and other online sites where e-mail addresses can be found and use that information to compile their mailing lists.
• Disguise Your Address - When including your e-mail address in online profiles or on a personal Web site, disguise your e-mail address by writing it in plain English, such as "PamB at ConnectMyHighSpeed dot net." That way, your address is still intelligible to people but not e-mail gathering software.
• Shopping Sites - Beware of pre-checked boxes when registering for online services or shopping. These typically indicate you will accept e-mail from that organization. Uncheck those boxes if you prefer not to receive such messages.
• Report Spam - If you are using a spam filter but continue to receive unwanted e-mails, report the messages to your Internet service provider (ISP). Verizon customers can do this by sending the messages as attachments to spamdetector.notcaught@verizon.net. All Internet users can forward unwanted e-mails to spam@uce.gov.

For more information on stopping spam, check out the Consumer section of the FTC's Anti-Spam site.

Sending vacation photos over a dial-up Internet connection can seem to take longer than the vacation itself. Verizon is making it easier for families to upgrade from slow dial-up services to a speedy Verizon broadband connection before summer vacations get started.

"Nearly 30 million digital cameras were sold in the U.S. last year, and summer is the season for family photo-taking," said William Foshay, Verizon's general manager for the New Jersey region. "We're making it easier for families to quickly share digital photos and stay more connected . . . Now families can stop struggling with slow dial-up service by getting Verizon broadband with connection speeds up to 20 to 50 times faster for a price that's comparable to, or less than, what they already pay."

In addition to faster photo sharing, Verizon High Speed Internet offers families many advantages over dial-up services, including the ability to be online and use their phone at the same time, so they no longer miss important calls while enjoying the Internet. Unlike Internet service that is delivered over a network that's shared by everyone in the neighborhood, Verizon High Speed Internet comes directly into a customer's home on a dedicated line. The service includes an extensive collection of features and services, all enabled by Verizon's network that 100 million people rely on every day.

No matter what speed or plan you choose, Verizon High Speed Internet includes 24/7 live customer support, nine e-mail accounts and 10 MB (megabytes) of personal Web space.

Learn more about Verizon High Speed Internet service.

Verizon FiOS TV and consumer broadband customers will soon have easy access to premium user-generated video content from Revver, a marketplace for viral videos. Revver content will launch on Verizon's Surround broadband entertainment portal by the end of the first quarter and on FiOS TV later this year, and it will be free to Verizon FiOS TV and broadband subscribers.

Verizon customers will now be able to stream premium Revver videos whether they're in their living rooms, on their computers or on the go. Through a separate agreement, Verizon Wireless already makes Revver videos available to Verizon Wireless customers with V CAST-enabled handsets.

"We're joining with Revver to bring the user-generated video phenomenon to the TV set," said Marilyn O'Connell, Verizon senior vice president of video solutions. "Backed by Verizon's technology, we'll make it easy for our FiOS TV and broadband customers to enjoy the best of the cutting-edge videos that Revver is known for. This is just another way that FiOS continues to distinguish itself from old-fashioned TV."

Verizon FiOS TV and broadband subscribers, including both FiOS Internet and Verizon High Speed Internet customers, will have access to some of the best content from a variety of Revver's video creators. The content will be chosen from categories on Revver.com such as Editor's Picks, Viral Video Classics, Extreme Sports, Laughs, Animation and Cute Overdose. Revver will provide the best user-generated video clips daily to Verizon.

In addition, when users access other videos of interest on Verizon's Surround broadband entertainment portal, they will be presented with related content from Revver. For example, when a customer browses through movie downloads, the service will display Revver videos that relate to those movies. Similarly, someone watching sports, accessing games or listening to music will see Revver videos related to that content.

For more information, check out the press release Verizon to Offer Revver User-Generated Content on FiOS TV and Consumer Broadband Services.

As part of Verizon's continuing commitment to provide Spanish-speaking customers with in-language support, the company recently began offering an updated version of the installation kit for the company's high-speed Internet access service that includes the option to select instructions in Spanish.

Customers now can select either English or Spanish as their language of preference when they install and register Verizon High Speed Internet. For example, once customers insert the installation kit's CD into their PC, they can select "Espanol" on the first screen to upload the software and go through the entire installation process in Spanish.

"Through market research, we've found that Spanish-speaking broadband users feel more comfortable with an end-to-end in-language experience," said Jeff McFarland, director of multicultural marketing for Verizon. "The new Spanish-language installation kit offers consumers an added-value service when installing Verizon High Speed Internet."

Alejandra Martinez, senior manager of Hispanic marketing and communications for Verizon, said, "We are providing content in Spanish because we understand that it's easier to follow technical instructions in-language."

Verizon has launched a series of Spanish-language Web sites to better communicate with Hispanic consumers, including a redesign of its first bilingual Web site to recognize Hispanic achievements and to enable U.S. Hispanics to experience and express their passions about their culture.

Verizon has been a strong supporter of the Hispanic community and joined the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and Scholastic Inc. to launch Lee y seras® (Read and You Will Be), a national Latino early literacy initiative that engages parents and communities in the literacy development of their children. Since 2004, the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, has provided more than $24 million to programs and organizations that support the Hispanic community.

Verizon is warning customers to watch out for a new wave of e-mails that ask consumers to supply personal information on fake Web sites designed to look like legitimate Web sites of Verizon and other major companies.

The personal information—for example, social security numbers, driver's license numbers and credit card numbers—can then be used to commit identity theft. The scam is often referred to as "phishing," and recently it has been on the increase.

"Verizon never sends e-mail messages asking for this type of information," said Jim Matteo, Verizon Security team leader for cyber security. "This is an old scam, but lately we've seen more of it with more sophisticated phony Web pages that consumers could take to be legitimate."

Verizon security personnel take quick action against the bogus Web sites as soon as possible after becoming aware of them. The company also works to educate consumers on how to avoid being victimized by these scams.

"Through our own fraud investigation team, we're constantly on the lookout for illegal Web sites and phishing scams." Matteo said. "In addition, there are a number of ways a consumer can check to see if an e-mail is legitimate. One way is to look for misspelled words in the original e-mail. Second, if the Web site reached via the e-mail link asks for personal information, such as your mother's maiden name or bank account information, it's probably a fake. Verizon does not ask for that type of information in that situation."

For more on protecting yourself online, check out our article Avoiding Identity Theft.