Lehigh Valley residents in the Bethlehem and Upper Macungie Township might soon have another option for their internet service.
A Verizon spokesperson said Friday that the company plans to expand its Fios service in the Lehigh Valley, and about 1,000 new households in Bethlehem and the Kuhnsville section of Upper Macungie Township should be qualified for it each month.
Michael Von Vital, senior director of field operations for Verizon Wireline, said Verizon has been expanding its Fios network, starting with Allentown, for a few years now.
Fios expanded to Bethlehem not too long ago, and recently the company has begun building its network up more in the city. Verizon claims Fios, or fiber optics, provides the fastest internet connection available. Its entry level speed is nearly twice as fast as the average download speed in country, according to the company.
While it’s not immediately clear where in Bethlehem residents might have access to Fios, Verizon trucks were working this past week in West Bethlehem.
Von Vital said people may sign up on Verizon’s website to be notified when it becomes available at their address. More information may be found at verizon.com/home/internet.
“I really do believe truly that is the best product available,” Von Vital said, adding that people seem to be clamoring for it. “We’re excited to provide it.”
Verizon is the latest internet provider expanding in the Lehigh Valley, which has had its internet and cable largely provided by Service Electric and Astound for several decades now.
Comcast announced its expansion into Bethlehem late last year. It also provides service to other areas in the Lehigh Valley, including Coopersburg, Emmaus, Fountain Hill, Freemansburg and Hellertown.