National and regional players have spent the past few years building significant brand equity for their premium bundled offerings. Perhaps the most successful at this has been Verizon with their FiOS brand. They’ve been quite successful in establishing the perception of FiOS as a compelling product offering – one that builds great anticipation for prospective customers and their communities. Comcast recently signaled their attempt to follow this strategy with the launch of the Xfinity brand.
But these premium branding strategies aren’t only for large national players. We highlighted Cincinnati Bell’s Fioptics branding strategy last year. Even smaller companies are joining this movement as well. Canby Telcom, a small ILEC based in Canby, Oregon, has launched a similar effort – FOz. Canby’s Fiber Optic Zone, or FOz is a FTTH based triple play offering. It offers broadband tiers of 20 Mbps down/10 Mbps up, 40 Mbps down/20 Mbps up, and 60 Mbps down/30 Mbps up, IPTV, and voice services.
Canby says they are “one of only three Oregon companies whose fiber network is certified by the national Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Council.” Canby says the ‘majority’ of Canby, Oregon is now FOz ready, with significant FTTH investment to occur in 2010. Canby competes with Wave Broadband, who also offers a triple play package.
So FOz joins the ranks of FiOS, U-verse, Fioptics, Optimum, and Xfinity (and others not listed) as a premium bundle brand. It’s a great example of how service providers, large and small, are implementing competitive strategies, both with products and marketing.
