 Review by Gary A 
UPDATED: 233 days ago
member for 1.6 years, 563 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Odessa,Hillsborough,FL
 $120 per month (24 month contract)
 about 7 days
 "TV & Phone have been flawless"
 "Internet speed slowly degrading"
 "Not as happy but still glad I switched to FiOS"
| Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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**UPDATE** March 2009
For the first 16 months of the service (Internet/TV/Phone) my 10/2Mbps internet was obtaining (Speedtest.net) 10.3/1.8Mbps. Then, in February of this year, I was switched to a "new" IP block - 173.x.x.x. Since that time, my speeds have slowly & slightly declined. By late February they were running 9.8/1.7Mbps. Now, in mid-March my speeds are running 8.8/1.5Mbps. Unfortunately, the drop in speed is not great enough for Verizon to acknowledge it as a problem, therefore, they will not troubleshoot it. Read more about it here:»[southeast] New IP Block - 173.65.xxx.xxx?
TV & Phone service continue to operate flawlessly.
**UPDATE** October 2008
To date, I have not been charged for the 3 DCT700s - my billing has been correct since July. All is well!!
**UPDATE** July 2008
Got the letter telling me about the 100% digital upgrade and how to order the free DCT700 STBs. I ordered 3 and got them in about a week. I installed them myself with no problem until it came to activate them. The 'do it online' method didn't work. The 'automated telephone activation center' didn't work. I had to call the activation center and get a live person on the phone who was finally able to activate them correctly. Right now, they are working fine.
I'm waiting until my next billing cycle to make sure I haven't been mistakenly charged for them.
The only problem I've noticed with the DCT700 is an increased delay in the audio. I have 2 TVs in close proximity, one with a Motorola 2500 STB and now, one with the DCT700. When both are tuned to the same channel, there is a very noticeable echo created between the 2 sets that wasn't there before the DCT700 was installed. It appears to be normal as they all do it. I just have to mute one of the TVs when they are both on.
I do like the added ability to access all the channels I am subscribed to, with the DCT700. Without them, the TVs directly connected to the wall jacks only received free channels 2-49. Now I can view the same channels as the sets with the Moto 2500 STBs. I don't really mind not being able to access the IMG from these sets because I didn't have that ability before the DCT700s, anyway.
I'm ready for VZ to throw the '100% digital' switch!!
**UPDATE** April 2008
While my billing problems appear to be resolved (knock wood), I have been trying to figure out the root cause of a nagging issue with my Actiontec router. The Security Log is capturing bunches of these errors:
Blocked - NAT out failed First packet in connection is not a SYN packet
While they don't seem to be causing any performance problems, they're just plain annoying! Check out the thread I started - »IP Sniffer User Information
**UPDATE** March 2008
Filing a complaint with my state Public Service Commission got me instant attention from Verizon. This month's bill was finally correct and I was not being charged for calls to to the pre-FiOS "extended calling area." My simplified bill now has 3 basic charges:
FiOS Triple Freedom....................$ 94.99
Two Set Top Boxes......................$ 9.98
Taxes, Fees and Other Charges.....$ 15.14
TOTAL.....................................$120.11
Plus, during the time of incorrect billing, they gave me 2 - $25 credits for being inconvenienced. I'll take 50 bucks any day!
During the first 6 months that I've had the service, its been great. I've had no internet outage and the speeds have been right up to the service level I purchased, 10/2Mbps. The TV quality has been great and the phone service crystal clear and reliable.
This is my setup as installed by VZ in Sept, 2007 - Internet using Verizon supplied Tellabs 612 ONT, Actiontec router, model # MI424WR (Hardware Ver: C), DHCP over coax (MoCA), 1-wired desktop PC & 1-wireless (Netgear WAG511 PCMCIA card) laptop PC, both running WinXP; FiOS land-line phone service; FiOS TV w/3-SD STBs.
**ORIGINAL REVIEW**
I placed my order online at the Verizon web site on Sept. 11, 2007. Installation was scheduled for Sept. 17, 2007, and went off without a hitch. The total installation time was a little over 6 hours, but included land-line phone service and FiOS TV which required 3 set-top boxes. If I had just ordered the internet service, the installation would probably have been an hour or two shorter.
I had no wireless router previously, so I went with the Verizon supplied Actiontec, model MI424WR, connected over coax. It installed with no problem, wired to a single desktop PC. I also had a laptop PC with a NetGear PCMCIA wireless card. Once configured, it connected to the router with no problem.
After several months of running the router with its default, out-of-the-box options, I felt brave enough to change some of the settings to increase my wireless security. I changed the default router login ID and password, changed the encryption from WEP to the more secure WPA-PSK with a very long key, turned off the SSID broadcast, and set up MAC authentication.
Coming from a dial-up world, FiOS has been great! The service and performance have been stellar.
Followup comments:  
VashTS
@verizon.com
| Cry me a river First thing u need to do is call and up grade. 10/2? If U have HD then it should be 20/5. otherwise upgrade to the HD package. I hate that speed side, Here in Fios we only test our site or speakeasy.net other then that I dont beleave the speeds. being just a lil slow is nothing, its a freaking speedtest!!!!!! get over ur tragic loss. Use FTP or Newsgroups and I bet U get the full speed. Whinners always wanting the full thing, I bet u use something like Limewire to download stuff... its ppl like you that make things hard on everyone else. Get a life! | |
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Gary A
join:2008-03-02
Odessa, FL | What Is Your Problem? I do not have HD. Take a chill pill! | |
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