We dance around this all the time, but I'm going to come out and say it again: Verizon's FIOS TV is not IPTV. Not yet, anyway. Light Reading has an interesting analysis of the current fiber-based TV services out there, and not one of them leverages the network to support a compelling interactive service beyond what POTS, high-speed Internet access and legacy RF-based cable TV services currently have available. Another smaller service provider, En-Touch, will offer a "'quad play' package of traditional ('POTS') telephone service, RF television (currently 239 channels, including HDTV), 5 to 15 Mbs high-speed Internet and security monitoring services." Oof. There's also a rugged start-up deploying fiber in the Houston, Texas area that's worth taking a look at: Optical Entertainment Network (OEN). They've got some next-gen services that the big guys could learn from.
For more on the lackluster fiber story:
- see this article from Light Reading