Verizon Announces Trial of Eco-Friendly FiOS Set Top Boxes in Select Markets

A trial of “eco-friendly” FiOS set-top boxes is among green initiatives Verizon unfolded Monday as part of the company’s 2010 sustainability program aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of its operations. Verizon said it teamed up with Motorola for the pilot in select FiOS markets. Verizon hasn’t joined the Energy Star set-top box program for service providers. Only four providers, including AT&T and DirecTV, have offered to buy or deploy enough Energy Star boxes to qualify for certification for the set-top box program that started in January 2009.

Asked why Verizon has chosen not to join Energy Star, a company spokesman said “we are only in the trial phase at this point and for Energy Star we need to move beyond the trial phase.” An announcement on Verizon’s Energy Star plans is likely this week, he said. The Motorola QIP model that will be tried uses “significantly less energy than existing models,” Verizon said. A DVR model will feature increased digital video-recording storage capacity, the company said. Packaging for both models will be 100 percent recyclable and made from 75 percent recycled cardboard.

Verizon plans to add this year 1,600 alternative energy vehicles, including hybrid and compressed natural-gas powered aerial trucks and vans, it said. In the smart grid area, Verizon is helping utilities “ramp up” deployments, it said. “The company’s intelligent IP and wireless network provide an ideal foundation for the smart grid’s control and metering functions.” Verizon’s “aggressive” energy reduction and recycling measures reduced the company’s CO2 emissions by more than 793 million pounds in 2009, it said.

Verizon’s 2009 sustainability initiatives included the opening of a lab in Columbia, Md., for federal customers interested in optical LAN services and technology, it said. Passive optical network technology can reduce power use by as much as 75 percent because it requires no additional regeneration of power for up to 12 miles from a campus data center, the company said. Energy efficiency standards were set for Verizon suppliers of network gear, resulting in savings of 91 million kilowatt hours of electricity and avoidance of 114 million pounds of CO2, it said.