Verizon has announced their intention to expand their rollout of fiber-based broadband services to six more states. Already underway in parts of Texas, Florida and California, Verizon will deploy new fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) in parts of Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

"Verizon fiber all the way to the homes and businesses of our customers means they will have the highest-speed computer connections available from anyone," said Paul Lacouture, president of Verizon's Network Services Group. "No other company is offering this cutting-edge data service, and the reliability of fiber also means unprecedented dependability as well."

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Verizon's FiOS broadband Internet access services offer download speeds of up to 5 Mbps (megabits per second), 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps, with upstream speeds of up to 2 Mbps for the first two products and 5 Mbps for the third. The 5 Mbps service sells for $34.95 per month, when purchased with a package of Verizon services, and $39.95 when purchased separately.

This effort will involve hiring between 3,000 and 5,000 new employees by the end of 2005, and Verizon expects to make an $800 million capital investment in FTTP this year.

These plans include Loudoun County, where I (and Kevin and James) live. 2Mbps up and 5Mbps down? They also plan to provide a wide variety of services (for which I'm sure we'll pay handsomely) that rely on a fat pipe into the house.

I can't wait, although Verizon hasn't announced any kind of meaningful timeline.