Verizon is moving ahead with plans to double speeds for FiOS Internet subscribers up to a maximum of 300 megabits per second. Customers can pick from five speeds, starting with a basic 15Mbps plan. All of them can be acquired as standalone services or in double or triple-play packages, ranging in price from $65 to $175 a month, except the 300/65Mbps plan which is only available by itself for $210 a month.

The entry-level 15Mbps download, 5Mbps upload plan remains unchanged for those with more modest needs, while the 25/25 Mbps option has been bumped to 50/25 Mbps, the 35/35 Mbps to 75/35 Mbps, the 50/20 Mbps to 150/65 Mbps, and the previous maximum of 150/35 Mbps is now 300/65 Mbps. The four faster tiers have been renamed FiOS Quantum and are priced as follow:

Speed Standalone Douple-play Triple-play
15/5 $69.99 $84.99 to $129.99 --
50/25 $84.99 $94.99 to $134.99 $109.99 to $149.99
75/35 $89.99 $99.99 to $139.99 $114.99 to $154.99
150/65 $99.99 $154.99 to $159.99 $169.99 to $174.99
300/65 $209.99 -- --

You can save around $5 a month on your subscription by signing a two-year contract.

Verizon claims the two highest downstream speed offers - 150 and 300 Mbps - and the new 65 Mbps upstream speed are by far the nation's fastest, mass scale residential Internet speeds available. Keeping up with growth of home broadband consumption, the 300 Mbps tier will allow for the download of a 1.5GB standard-def movie in less than 40 seconds and a 5GB high-def film in 2.2 minutes.

Existing customers can upgrade to the new tiers with no service fee, but their bill will probably go up about $10 to $15 a month. You can visit Verizon's website to determine if it is available in your area.