A Verizon press release states that the company's wicked-fast fiber optic broadband service, FiOS, is now available to residential customers in Bergen, Mercer, Camden, Morris, Somerset, and Monmouth counties in New Jersey. The Verizon FiOS pages allow you to check your phone number or address to see if you qualify for the new service.

According to their about page "Verizon FiOS is the latest in fiber-optic technology. It delivers laser-generated pulses of light, riding on hair-thin strands of glass fiber, all the way to your front door. When FiOS meets your computer, you can get broadband Internet at blazing-fast speeds."

FiOS Packages include:

1. Up to 5 Mbps (megabits per second) downstream and 2 Mbps upstream. Suited for Internet surfing and basic computer functions. $34.95 a month as part of a calling package, or $39.95 a month stand-alone.

2. Up to 15 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream. Appealing to families that have multiple computers and various needs such as media downloads and the ability to access or share large files. $44.95 a month as part of a calling package, or $49.95 a month stand-alone.

3. Up to 30 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream. Designed for communications-intensive power users with significant bandwidth needs, such as telecommuters or work-at-home households and avid online gamers. $179.95 a month as part of a calling package, or $199.95 a month stand-alone.

What's even better is that the service includes Verizon FiOS TV and the basic package has 17 high-definition (HD) channels including: TNT HDTV, ESPN HDTV, ESPN 2 HDTV, NFL Network HDTV, HD Net, HD Net Movies, Universal HDTV, Discovery HDTV and Wealth TV HD.

Whoa, a 30 Mbps fiber optic channel and HDTV?! It looks like the battle between the telcos and the cable/satellite providers is really going to heat up now.