Here at Verizon, we’re getting ready for Shark Week early this year.  In anticipation of the 25^th anniversary of the Discovery special, we are gearing up for the August 12^th premiere with special programming, fun online trivia and a special sweepstakes that rewards a grand prize winner with a trip for two to the Atlantis Resort!

In addition to an extensive video-on-demand folder that includes 25 shows from each of the 25 years of Shark Week, special “Jaws” programming and the premiere episode one week before Shark Week officially begins, customers can head over to our Facebook page to enter the sweepstakes and share a Shark Week memory. The grand prize is a 4 day/3 night trip to the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas including round trip airfare, your hotel room, a “Walk with the Sharks Adventure” package for two, airport/hotel ground transportation, and a $500 resort credit. Other prizes include commemorative DVD sets, t-shirts, hats and “Jaws” on Blu-ray DVD.

It’s a special Friday edition of What to Watch today, because it’s our Olympics edition! Later tonight, people around the world will be glued to their seats, waiting to see what London has in store for us with the Opening Ceremony. Here's a look at a selection of Olympics events airing on TV during the coming week, along with a few other programs that might be of interest. 

Friday:

Opening Ceremony – 7:30 pm on NBC (chances are if your television is on, you’ll be tuned to this)

Saturday:

Archery – 11:15 am on NBC Sports Network (move over Katniss, there’s a new archer in town – he’s legally blind and a two-time gold medal winner!)

Women’s basketball (Team USA vs. Croatia) – 1:30 pm on the Olympics basketball channel

Swimming finals, men’s gymnastics qualification and Team USA beach volleyball – 8 pm – 12 am on NBC (don’t miss 14-time gold medalist Michael Phelps' first swim in London – will he beat reigning world champ Ryan Lochte in the 400m individual medley?)

The recent release of the Federal Communication Commission’s report on broadband speed testing, really is as FCC chairman Julius Genachowski stated, “good news for consumers and our economy.”

We were particularly gratified for our customers because the FCC test results showed Internet providers that use fiber technology like our all fiber-optic FiOS network received the highest percentage of advertised sustained download speed during peak hours.

The FCC’s report “Measuring Broadband America July 2012” affirms the strategic decision we made years ago to deploy a fiber-optic network the likes of which no other company had introduced.

 Ok, so my title is a poor attempt at a tongue twister, but I can promise you that this post is short, sweet and valuable. We will be tweeting tips every Tuesday so we can help you navigate and understand some of the cool features of FiOS TV from our @Verizon handle.  (If you don’t have Twitter yet, I seriously recommend it—follow us and see what we’re up to when it comes to the latest and greatest in the tech world)

Have you ever deleted (or had your spouse delete) a show on the DVR that you didn’t see, yet?  This happens in my house all the time.  But here’s the great thing for FiOS  customers you can restore that show in a few quick steps!

The countdown has begun! We’re just five days away from the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. With more than 5,535 hours of Olympic programming from NBCUniversal, including content that is live and on demand and across multiple platforms, FiOS TV customers won’t miss a beat – whether you’re at home or on the go.

The Opening Ceremony will air this Friday at 7:30 pm ET on NBC. During the Games, you’ll find coverage on NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo and Telemundo. All of these channels will feature an on-screen interactive application that pops up on the TV screen. The app offers real-time medal counts, athlete bios, team USA reports, Olympic news and more. So whether you want to see if Michael Phelps is adding to his medal count or LeBron James and Kevin Durant are leading the charge on the basketball court, FiOS TV’s Olympic content has you covered.

It’s Friday and time once again to get ready for the next week of TV. Have you found any new summer shows? Any old favorites? Here's a look at a selection of TV shows and sporting events airing during the coming week. 

Friday:

House Hunters World Tour – 9 pm on HGTV

Whale Wars – 9 pm on Animal Planet (season finale)

Fashion Police – 10 pm on E! (guest star is former The Hills star turned fashion designer Whitney Port)

Saturday:

British Open – 7 am on ESPN (third round – final round airs Sunday morning)

30 Greatest NBC Olympic Moments – 8 pm on NBC

American Gypsies – 10 pm on National Geographic (if you missed this new series, check out the first episode Saturday at 10 and catch a new episode on Tuesday at 9 pm)

UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao (order on channel 1000 or 1001 in HD)

It’s no surprise that FiOS broadband service is still the cream of the crop, something that more than 5 million of our customers experience every day.

We’re always looking for ways we can improve our customers’ experience.  For example, while our FiOS services are revolutionizing Internet and TV for customers, our fiber network has proven to be much more reliable than our copper landline network.

In areas where we operate both networks, and the copper landline service hasn’t been the most effective at delivering quality service to some of our customers, we’re offering to transition customers to our all-fiber-optic network.  There is absolutely no charge to make the transition, and our customers keep their same voice service at the same rate. 

From the customer’s point of view, the fiber-optic network provides excellent reliability and crystal-clear quality.  From our point of view, the fiber network has many advantages over our existing copper facilities.  For example, it is less susceptible to inclement weather.  It’s a win-win for both of us.   

It’s that time again! Time for my favorite blog post – what’s free on FiOS.

I mentioned in Friday’s “What to Watch” post that MLB Extra Innings is currently offering a free preview for FiOS TV customers. If you didn’t catch it this past weekend, make sure you check it out this week. The package, which is free through this Thursday, July 19, features up to 80 out-of-market regular season MLB games each week in both SD and HD. FiOS TV customers can find MLB Extra Innings on channels 1470-1474 in HD, and 1475-1488 in SD.

The next free preview is for all the soccer fans.

It’s Friday and that means it’s time to talk TV. Here's a look at what’s airing on TV during the coming week. 

Friday:

Baseball! – MLB Extra Innings is free on FiOS TV from July 13-19

Comic Store Heroes – 8 pm on National Geographic

Hollywood Heights – 9 pm on Nickelodeon

Randy to the Rescue – 10 pm on TLC

Saturday:

An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars – 8 pm on NBC

The Firm – 10 pm on NBC (series finale)

Are you normal, America? – 10 pm on OWN

George Lopez: It’s Not Me, It’s You – 10 pm on HBO

Tonight at 10 p.m.ET, a new series premieres on HISTORY. I't's called "Picked Off" and it's like a scavenger hunt for amateur antiquers. If you are a FiOS TV and Internet customer, you can use a very cool feature that enables you to buy replicas of some of the items on the show just by using your FiOS TV remote.

There has been a lot of coverage over the last couple of days regarding the DNS Changer computer virus, a term that previously may not have meant much to a lot of people. Here’s some clarification.

First, a very, very small number of Verizon customers have been affected and we’ve been reaching out to those affected customers in a number of ways – from emails, to letters, to voicemail messages. We wanted to make sure they knew there were steps they needed to be taking to remove the virus from their computers.

If you think you may be one of those affected by the virus you can find simple ways of checking your computer by visiting www.dcwg.org – a website maintained by an Internet provider industry group. 

The FBI also maintains a website -- www.fbi.gov/dns-malware.pdf -- which provides detailed background on the computer virus.

It’s Friday – time to get ready for the weekend, including swimming, barbecues and, of course, some TV. Here's a look at a selection of TV shows and sporting events airing during the coming week. 

Friday:

WWE Smackdown – 8 pm on Syfy

Say Yes to the Dress – 9 pm on TLC (Olympic skater Johnny Weir accompanies his friend)

House Hunters – 10 pm on HGTV

Saturday:

NASCAR: Sprint Cup Series in Daytona Beach – 7:30 pm on TNT

Dog Whisperer – 8 pm on National Geographic (Cesar Millan’s final season)

NYC 22 – 8 pm and 9 pm on CBS

If you have a daughter under the age of 13, chances are you've heard of Big Time Rush. The Nickelodeon born music group sensation is taking their show on the road this summer and FiOS is joining them with a sweepstakes sure to make all the tween girls swoon!

Beginning today, you can visit www.verizon.com/btrsweeps for exclusive tour content and to enter a Verizon sweepstakes for a chance to meet the band and see them perform live! Obviously FiOS, America’s fastest Internet, is the best way to keep up with the band while they are on tour this summer and this contest just sweetens the deal.

We’re making solid progress in restoring services to wireline and wireless customers affected by the June 29 storm that cut a swath from Virginia to New Jersey.

On Monday of this week, we resolved the remaining issues that affected calling to northern Virginia 911 centers in Fairfax and Prince William counties, and Manassas and Manassas Park. 

All centers are now fully operational as company officials continue to work with 911 center staff to ensure their needs are met.  We regret the inconvenience this storm has caused our customers.