Starting July 21, 2014, Verizon FiOS residential customers will receive upload speeds that match their download speeds.

That is a significant change for Verizon, and many of you will rightly attribute the change to the need to respond to Google Fiber’s symmetrical bandwidth policies. But Verizon, which is seeing much higher take rates for faster access services, also seems to believe symmetrical bandwidth now is increasingly important to a growing percentage of customers.

Verizon now says 40 percent of FiOS Internet customers buy services at 50 Mbps or faster.

Verizon says it will “transition qualifying current residential customers to higher upload speeds for free throughout the coming months.”

Additionally, all FiOS Internet services will boast equal download and upload speeds at current prices. Later this year, existing and new FiOS small-business customers also will receive this upgrade.

Verizon notes IDC research indicating that more than 20 percent of U.S. broadband households are “power users” who upload nearly as much content (video and music) as they download.

And as typically happens, today’s power user is tomorrow’s “typical user.” IDC estimates that the population of power user households will grow 60 percent growth by 2017.

The level of upload activity on the FiOS network is expected to double by late 2016 and continue to grow from there, according to Verizon’s projections.

Customer upgrades to equalized download and upload speeds will continue throughout the fall, starting with customers enrolled in My Rewards+ or who join the program now.

Customers do not need to do anything to receive the new upload speeds. However, if customers don’t want to wait, they can visit the Verizon My Rewards+ page here to sign up for the program.

When completed, more than 95 percent of existing FiOS customers will enjoy the upgrade.