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Review by icici 
UPDATED: 56 days ago
member for 3.9 years, 1009 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Ashburn,Loudoun,VA
 $40 per month (12 month contract)
 about 10 days
 "consistent speeds gr8 price"
 "need more knowledgable tech support"
 "worth the money"
| Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I got FiOS Internet on 12/15/2006.
.I had been waiting for since July 06 (when the ran the cables) for it to become available and enrolled as soon as I came to know that it is available. That brings me to the slightly lower rating on the presales: I had enrolled on their website to notify me as soon as it becomes available but I never got notified. I just happened to check on their website on 12/05 and learnt that I was eligible for both, Internet and TV.
Install Co-ordination: I subscribed for the 5/2 plan online on 12/5. The earliest available date was 12/14 but I scheduled for 12/15 due to my prior appointments. 1 thing I will like to note here is that I had a online chat with their CS and was told that I will get the free wireless router only if I enroll online (ie. no free wireless router if I called in to order the service). I later learnt that this is not true. Not that it mattered since the price was the same..but I felt a bit mislead. By 12/10 MISS UTILITY had done all the markings in my backyard. On 12/12 they ran the optic cable from the junction box to my wall. Nice clean work with minimal grass damage. My wife (who loves gardening) couldnt even tell that they had dug up the lawn. I got a automated call confirming the appt a coulpe of days before 12/15.
I tried to find how th installer(s) would run the wiring due to my setup but nonoe could give me a convrete answer. (the ONT is on the backwall of my townhouse and my office is on the front top floor. Finished basement and little/no attic. No ethernet wiring but Coax wiring exists). I was prepared for the installer to run a cat5 over the roof into my office. It turned out better.
The installer (fernando) came on time (9:00 am) on 12/15. Very nice, professional and helpful. He looked at my house wiring and said "no probs" since he was going to install a 612 ONT (MoCA enabled). I new Verizon were testing such a ONT but didnt know they had already deployed it. I couldnt have been more happy. That meant no/minimal drilling. He let me watch the whole process while answering all my questions. (I am in IT..so not a total novice). Installed the BBU in the basement at the location I specified. He used his laptop to set up my online account since I didnt ant the MSN/Yahoo "extra" installed on my PC.
Connection reliability: Once I optimized my PCs (1 desktop, 2 laptops), I am consistantly getting 5 mb UL and 1.8 mb DL. Sometimes I see speeds go down to 3/1.2. But I dont do any gaming. So the lower speeds dont impact me in any way. I work from home a lot and have VoIP (vonage) and havent had major issues with either since switching to FiOS.
I did have a problem with the vonage device loosing internet connection 1-2 times everyday. The only way to get the dialtone back was to power cycle the vonage linksys. I had to assign a static IP to it to fix the issue.
The verizon provided actiontec router is huge but I have had no problems getting the wireless signal thruout my house.
Tech Support: I had to call tech support only once - when I was trying to debug the above-mentioned vonage issue. They just gave a "run of the mill" answer: we dont support other VoIP devices. The "tech" guy spoke nicely but just seem to be reading all his responses from a book. He didnt even know what I meant when I asked "how long before the actiotec reassigns new IP addresses to the local devices". I wish he was more knowledgable. I ended up getting more information on the FiOS forums here.
Value for money: Worth the money. hope I never have to go bck to Adelphia/Comcast HSI. FiOS is costing me $35 for 5mb/2mb whereas I was paying $43 for 2mb/384kb with cable.
I might get FiOS TV sometime in the future. Not now. Primarily because we TBS (which th Mrs. loves) is not part of the FiOS local lineup. (TBS is included in the cable local setup that we have).
UPDATE (1/16/2009) - No complains with FiOS. Its been solid so far. Abt a year ago, I had issues with the internet (random disconnects). A quick call to tech supp and it turned out to be a dying ONT. They had a tech guy come by withing 2 days who replaced the ONT and the FiOS internet has been good since then.
The Actiontech router (Rev A) "hangs" up once in a while (maybe once a month) - all my wirelss laptops fail to connect but hte wired device (VoIP ata) works fine. I just do a power recycle and alls back to normal.
My price increased to $39.99/month after the 1 year's intro price ($35).
UPDATE (10/1/2009) - FiOS still going strong. A few months ago, Verizon sent me a new adaptor for the Actiontech (Rev A) - free of charge. I did the replacement. No complains/issues.
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