‘Connected Home’ becomes reality

With Verizon’s new Home Monitoring and Control service, being showcased at the world’s biggest new gadgetry show, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from 6 to 9 January, you no longer need to panic if you’ve forgotten to switch off the lights or lock the doors at home. You can do it all remotely.

Verizon will showcase the new service, Home Monitoring and Control, and many other new technologies, at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show.

To take a video tour of Verizon’s home monitoring and control offering, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UbTbJdXNDA. For more information on Verizon’s presence at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show, visit http://newscenter.verizon.com/verizon-at-ces-2011/.

Beginning in January, a pilot program for Home Monitoring and Control will be conducted in New Jersey. The homes selected for the program will be outfitted with an energy reader, smart appliance switches and thermostats, a smart power strip, a smart door and window locks, motion sensors, an advanced pan-and-tilt camera, and a fixed indoor and outdoor camera.

“What we’ll be testing in these homes is just the beginning,”” said Eric Bruno, vice president of product management for Verizon. “”We’re giving customers a remote control for their homes that they can use to cut CO2 emissions and their energy bills and give them anytime, anywhere access and control of their homes. The concept of the connected home has been discussed for many years, and now Verizon’s high-IQ networks are making that concept a reality by converting customers’ homes into bandwidth-rich ecosystems that enable a wide variety of customizable options.””

High-IQ Networks Like FiOS Are Platforms for Innovation

Since launching FiOS, Verizon has pushed the boundaries of TV and broadband speed by introducing innovations that have spurred the industry’s evolution.

Verizon is the only major provider to offer ultra-high-speed symmetrical Internet service to customers, and earlier this year the company began offering 150/35 megabits per second Internet service, the fastest speeds available on a mass scale. Consumers can choose from various FiOS Internet downstream and upstream options including 15/5 Mbps, 25/25 Mbps, 35/35 Mbps and 50/20 Mbps.

Verizon also offers a Media Manager, available to all HD customers, that enables them to access PC-based personal photos, videos and music ‚ as well as search and enjoy online videos from YouTube, blip.tv and Dailymotion. DVR customers can remotely access their DVRs from any broadband connection or Internet-enabled phone. And in November, Verizon launched Flex View, a new feature that allows customers to take their video content with them and purchase, rent or watch videos on TV, online and on select mobile devices.

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