Verizon confirms RF video choice with Motorola deal

Verizon today said it has signed a multi-year contract with Motorola to be the primary vendor of video-related equipment for its fiber-to-the-premises network. Motorola's newly formed Telecom Access Solutions business will provide Verizon project management and operational and integration services.

The deal, which includes both set-top boxes and unspecified central office equipment, also confirms that Verizon will use an RF overlay strategy for video as opposed to converting those signals to an IP format. A Verizon spokesman said today that the company isn’t talking full details on its video service yet, but part of the decision comes from the carrier’s desire to take advantage of the economics of RF technology.

"The steps here are logical for us," he said. "This will allow us to put full cable TV type video on the fiber. It’s simply a business decision. The video component of this doesn’t even compete for space with data."

Most of the equipment is actually the latest iteration of gear from Next Level Communications, which Motorola acquired last year. Next Level was among the early leaders in telco video but was unable to get larger carriers to buy in to the system in part because much of it was proprietary.

Under the architecture Verizon is planning, RF video will be sent from a national head end located in Florida through a local CO and over the fiber network to optical network terminal from AFC Communications that sits on the side of the house. From there, it will connect to existing in-home coax through a traditional RF connector.

While many in the IP video vendor community have criticized Verizon’s decision to use what they perceive as older technology, Paul Lacouture, president of the Network Services Group for Verizon, defended the decision-making process during a session at USTA’s Telecom ’04 show, saying the company wanted to take advantage of 20 years of economics from traditional cable vendors.