Verizon today announced it is upping the ante in the broadband wars starting today by offering connectivity at 150/35mbps rates. And Actiontec Electronics followed that announcement by revealing that its wireless broadband router is helping to support the new service.

"The role of the home gateway is evolving from a simple router to become the focal point for home entertainment and emerging broadband services. Our latest router characterizes this shift; its increased performance enables seamless access to multiple enhanced services and gives consumers greater entertainment and communication choices," said Dean Chang, CEO of Actiontec.

According to Actiontec, a previously announced FiOS vendor, its new gear helps to support in-home networking speeds of up to 1000mbps wired and 300mbps wireless. The router can handle multiple media streams – including standard and HDTV-based video programming– at the same time. It also feeds personal video recording functionality from multiple HD set-top boxes or other digital storage devices to multiple TVs in the house. The new router also delivers includes simple diagnostic tools to aid in performance management and trouble shooting. It reports any errors to the end user, offering a description of the problem, suggestions on how to repair, or contact information for technical support. 

As reported earlier today by TechZone360,Verizon says the new speed provides 50 percent faster downloads than the fastest options offered by its cableco rivals Comcast and Cablevision, and 200 percent faster than the fastest downstream speed offered by Time Warner. Cablevision and Comcast didn’t immediately return TechZone360’s calls this morning seeking comment on this claim. However, DOCSIS 3.0, the next iteration of the large cablecos’ broadband access technology, promises to deliver speeds of up to 100mbps, according to TechZone360 sources.

“By offering the fastest mass-market Internet service in the nation, we’re supporting the immediate and future speed needs of bandwidth-hungry consumers,” said Eric Bruno, Verizon vice president of product management. “The new 150/35 Mbps FiOS Internet offer establishes a new benchmark for high-speed Internet in America, and paves the way for a flurry of emerging bandwidth-intensive applications to reach mainstream status.”

Edited by Tammy Wolf