Review by defaultPlay 
UPDATED: 168 days ago
member for 264 days, 59 visits, last login: 119 days ago
 Collegeville,Montgomery,PA
 $170 per month (24 month contract)
 about 14 days
 "Blazing fast speeds and actually reliable"
 "Price and lack of VOD content"
 "Beats Comcast any day of the week..simply the best ISP"
| Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Verizon FiOS Triple Freedom:
Verizon Freedom Essentials (FiOS Phone)
Verizon FiOS Internet Service Up to 15 Mbps/2 Mbps
FiOS TV Premier
Movie's Package
HBO & Cinemax Package
Free NFL Network
2 SD STB's
1 HD DVR STB
I terminated my contract from Comcast to switch over to Verizon FiOS. It was well worth the choice to switch and I cannot imagine going back to Comcast.
Internet speeds are extremely impressive. Getting full 15 Mbps download (max of 15.5 Mbps) and 2 Mpbs upload (max of 1.8 Mbps).
Installation went pretty smoothly. I did some tweaking after the inital installation to maximize performance from FiOS and encountered some issues from that. I switched my Internet connection from Coax to Ethernet on the ONT to use my own superior router (D-Link DGL-4500) in front of the Actiontec MI424WR. About a week after the switch the connection was restricted to 10 Mbps on the ONT several times after I had Verizon reset the ONT. They came out and replaced the ONT and I have not experienced a problem since. I recommend to anyone who has another router that can handle FiOS better than the Actiontec to switch over to Ethernet and take advantage of it.
The ONT has been my only issue with FiOS and it was a long process to elimate all other possibilities. The cause of the ONT restricting the connection to 10 Mbps is still unknown but everything works ideally now with FiOS.
The only other thing I would like to see Verizon improve upon is their VOD content. In comparison to Comcast, they have so little amount of VOD content but that is expected since they are still new to TV service. In the near future I would like to see its amount of VOD content rival Comcast and surpass it.
Besides that, I would recommend Verizon FiOS to anyone capable of getting it. It is far superior than Comcast or any other cable company, and it blows away DSL.
Don't be fooled by Comast's ads of having a "fiber-optic network". It only exists in their office and isn't true Fiber to the Home (FTTH). Fiber is the way of the future!
EDIT:
I ran my own CAT6 line from the ONT to where I wanted my router because when FiOS was installed I was set up with a MoCA connection for TV and Internet.
I called Verizon and it took a while before I got to someone who knew exactly what I was trying to do. They initially tried to pull the crap on me that there was a fee and a tech needed to come out and do it, which is a lie. Once I got one of their networking techs on the line he knew what I wanted and switched my ONT over from MoCA to Ethernet from their office.
Now, I have a CAT6 line going from my ONT to my own router, and then the Actiontec linked from one of my router's LAN ports to the Actiontec's WAN port. This way the Actiontec gets its data for the TV services and the Actiontec is still connected to coax to send out that data to the STB's.
I didn't make any special changes for any settings in the Actiontec (like bridging it) because I'm not using it as my primary router.
Additionally, I made a modification by connecting the Actiontec's LAN port to a switch that was connected to my main router. This caused the Actiontec to "loop" the signal back to my main router without making any changes in the Actiontec (DHCP is still on and so is wireless). Now I can use both routers for an access point and even use the Actiontec as a switch for additional LAN ports. Since the Actiontec is "looped" my main router dishes out all of the IP's even though DCHP is still on in the Actiontec. Honestly, I discovered this all by tinkering and it happened accidently. I think it's the easist way to keep using the Actiontec as an access point and use its LAN ports without changing its settings.
Followup comments:  
grydlok
join:2004-01-06
Richmond, VA | NFL Ticket Channel? I have never heard of that before.
I think you mean NFL Network. | |
|  | defaultPlay
join:2007-11-30
Collegeville, PA
 ·Comcast
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Re: NFL Ticket Channel? said by grydlok :I have never heard of that before. I think you mean NFL Network. Yes, I did mean NFL Network. Corrected and updated, that was a typo on my part. | |
| ZekeTheGeek
join:2006-10-15
Sudbury, MA
·Verizon FIOS
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| "Beats" Comcast ... ??? Your review, like many others, touts how "great" FiOS is but rarely is there any objective reasoning behind that claim.
You outline problems with FiOS that belies the service "beats" Comcast - problems with the router and download speeds and the lack of VOD choices. I am curious as to what exactly it is that makes FiOS "great"?
I have been a Comcast customer for several years. I have "Blast" service (16/2) which provides more than 16Mbps at all times and between 1.6 and 1.8 uploads for $52 (coupled with TV).
So I wonder, why is FiOS "far superior" to Comcast in objective terms? | |
| | Thespis
join:2004-08-03
Keller, TX
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: "Beats" Comcast ... ??? Because apparently the Comcast service in Richmond, VA is not as good as the Comcast service in Sudbury, MA...
I know my (brief) experience with Comcast in the DFW Metroplex was hit and miss as far as connection speed and uptime. FIOS has been rock-solid.
Comcast is not the same everywhere... | |
| | defaultPlay
join:2007-11-30
Collegeville, PA
·Comcast
·Verizon FIOS
| Let me elaborate on that.
With Comcast, I had the performance 6 mbps download package that was included in the triple play. I could have signed up for the higher tier "Blast" service and gotten 16 mbps download. However, the upload speed still only maxes out at 768 kbps. That alone, is a huge upload speed difference.
For me atleast, going with Comcast's higher speed tier only effects the download speed and the upload speed remains the same. Plus, cable itself is shared amongst hundreds of customers in your area so your speeds are bogged down during high peak internet usage hours. On the other hand, FiOS is a dedicated line specifically to you and just to your immediate neighbors. This elimates internet "traffic" and allows you access to your full speed at all times.
In my area, Comcast unfortunately only offers two different speed tiers, its "Performance w/ PowerBoost and "Blast". The Performance w/ PowerBoost says it offers speeds up to 12 mbps but it really only last for the first few seconds of a download and then the speeds drops down to about 6 mbps. The Blast is the fastest way to go with a full 16 mbps download available. The only problem with both of these is that the upload speed is still less than 1 mbps.
FiOS on the other hand has four different speed tiers, 5/2, 15/2, 15/15, and 30/15 (download/upload in mbps respectively). The upload speeds completely blow Comcast out of the water. FiOS's download speeds can reach double that of Comcast's if you get the larger tier.
I know speeds and packages are different for each area. However, these are my speed choices between the two companies. I think the choice is pretty clear if you want the fastest download and upload speeds.
That is why I think FiOS is superior to Comcast in my area. | |
| | itdood
join:2008-02-07
Harleysville, PA
·Verizon FIOS
| Hunt around network monitoring sites, Comcast's network is lossy, it's the very nature of transporting over coax cable via RF. It simply is inferior and its theoretical limits are well below Fiber optics. Fiber can easily scale to 100 MB +, not so for coax/RF.
The splitters and runs your neighbors put in their house can affect the transmit levels to your house, sorry that's just not acceptable to me. I lived many months with that frustration before I went to DSL then to FiOS. My DSL experience was much better than Comcast at half the speed, but I do a lot of VPN stuff and packet loss can kill it. | |
| | MrSpock29
join:2008-02-09
Hammonton, NJ
edit:
March 5th, @07:05AM
| 16/2 is not consistent, speeds vary based on traffic. And Comcast of course has the hidden bandwidth limits they refuse to disclose. And they will kick you off if you exceed those even if it turns out the issue was with hardware/wiring.
Oh, and blast goes away after the first 10 Mbs or so. So it isn't 16 Mbps "at all times". | |
| | | ZekeTheGeek
join:2006-10-15
Sudbury, MA
·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: "Beats" Comcast ... ??? No, of course 16/2 is not perfectly consistent but over the course of many weeks and months upon frequent bandwidth testing at all hours of the day and night my download has NEVER been below 16Mbps and upload, until last week, has never been below 1.6Mbps. Download typically runs between 18 and 19Mbps and last week, for whatever reason, my upload is now running between 2.8 and 3.6 Mbps. PowerBoost and Blast are two separate concepts. Blast is not PowerBoost. Nor is Blast a marketing trick, it is a consistent speed altered only by other traffic on the cable and not impacted by file size. I use DU Meter to observe exactly what is happening as the traffic transfers. | |
| | supertech315
join:2006-03-01
Perris, CA
·Verizon FIOS
| You mean UP TO 16/2 .. depends how many customer they sold the service in your node and how many plp get online at the same time you do....i was a cable tech for a mayor cable company for 5+ years... in the day time you get the advertised speed but at night hardly anybody does if you TOS and wont troubleshoot it unless u get like 350K . correct me if i'm wrong | |
| | | ZekeTheGeek
join:2006-10-15
Sudbury, MA
·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: "Beats" Comcast ... ??? No, I don't mean "UP TO". I meant I said. Please reread it.
It is now 7:40PM here and here is the up/down speed test:
Since I have gotten Blast service I have NEVER seen LESS THAN 16Mbps at anytime of day or night.
I guess I am a very lucky dude. | |
| ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16
Stratford, CT
| huh ? "Price and lack of VOD content" I find this very hard to believe. Are you sure youre using your service correctly?? Hit the ON DEMAND button on your remote !! haha. They have hundreds of shows to watch, both regular TV and cable TV.. and if you have the movie channels, there are like 100+ choices of movies for each particular movie company. | |
| | madrhino
join:2004-07-03
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| Re: huh ? said by ITALIAN926 :"Price and lack of VOD content" I find this very hard to believe. Are you sure youre using your service correctly?? Hit the ON DEMAND button on your remote !! haha. They have hundreds of shows to watch, both regular TV and cable TV.. and if you have the movie channels, there are like 100+ choices of movies for each particular movie company. You've obviously never had Comcast.When I moved from Comcast to FIOS it would have been a shocking downgrade in the VOD area if it was anything I cared about.
Verizon is like an empty desert compared to all of Comcasts free on demand goodness.
| |
| | | defaultPlay
join:2007-11-30
Collegeville, PA | Re: huh ? Agreed. Verizon FiOS does have a pretty good amount of VOD content. However, in comparison to Comcast it the difference between night and day. | |
| 
panthrprey
@cox.net
| Upload is like Nights and Weekend mins with cell phones I remember when you could talk on a cell phone from 6pm to 8am for FREE.. Then offpeak went to .25/min to help increase PEAK loads so the companies could make more money.
Now as an advertising gimmick the cell companies are now giving away nights and weekends on many plans but its like 9pm to 6am time frame.
I personally have a 3000 min plan and out of my nights and weekends mins last 3 months I used the following
Peak = 8276 mins
Off Peak = 121 mins
Weekend = 737 mins
Same is for my DL vs UL
I used LA to test (1200+ miles) if I used Dallas 180 miles away the results goes up. over 13 meg/sec with a 560 kps UL.
Ask yourself this is it worth all that extra $$$$$ for a feature you hardly use??? Do you run an FTP server?? if so why are you paying extra for others ??? if not why do you even need 2m/sec UL ??
$53-61/mo vs $42/mo for cox cable think I will save $$$ vs buying hype I don't need.
what is your actual speed on a 1200 mi test ??
www.speedtest.net | |
| | defaultPlay
join:2007-11-30
Collegeville, PA
·Comcast
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: Upload is like Nights and Weekend mins with cell phones »www.speedtest.net/result/242512111.png
»www.speedtest.net/result/242531133.png
Hmm, very interesting results.
Who says I'm paying all this extra $$$ for a feature I hardly use? I find myself maxing out my upload before I max out my download speed most of the time when torrenting.
Plus, Comcast Blast costs $53 alone for internet while my FiOS Triple Play is $112 for all 3 services (internet alone is $44). The Comcast Blast only offers 16Mbps/768Kbps so clearly the 15Mbps/2Mbps FiOS choice is a cheaper one.
I have 5 people in my home that all use the internet constantly. Not to mention we all each have our own laptop and desktop PC's plus many more spares and extras. Considering, my internet gets its money's worth each and every month. I would hate to see our actual size usage each month. When we were previously with Comcast we got cut off numerous times, most likely for exceeding those hidden bandwidth caps.
I'm even considering upgrading my internet speed to 15/15 because of how often my upload speed is maxed out. Needless to say, my case isn't the average one; but we do get our money's worth out of our FiOS Triple Play and that's what counts. | |
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