As rumored, Verizon is raising the speeds of its fiber optic internet packages. The company is revamping its pricing tiers, getting rid of some of the lower levels and doubling the speed of the fastest package. As of sometime next month, the top speed on Verizon's FiOS network will be 300Mbps down and 65Mbps up, compared to the current "ultimate" package of 150 / 35. The 150Mbps tier will remain, as will the slowest package of 15 / 5, but Verizon is scaling up the plans in between, offering 75Mbps and 50Mbps downstream speeds instead of 35 and 25. The upstream speeds will remain the same as before, at 35Mbps and 25Mbps. That confirms almost everything we'd heard previously, although Verizon didn't give a specific launch date for the new tiers.

If you're in an area that offers it, Verizon provides some of the fastest residential service in the US, and this new top speed is pretty exciting. That said, it's likely to be significantly pricier than even the current $199.99 a month you'll pay for 150Mbps FiOS. Verizon says it will release prices next month, and we're not sure whether rates will be bumped only for the new tiers (which are just different enough from the old ones to justify an increase) or whether we'll also see a new minimum price for the 15 / 5 bundle, which is currently $54.99 a month or more, depending on location. Either way, we certainly wouldn't expect fiber to get any more affordable in the coming years.