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Review by rebus9 See Profile

  • Location: Tampa Bay
  • Cost: $50 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 9 days
Fastest internet ride available in the area
Static IPs are ridiculously expensive
You get what you pay for
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

--- Update: 2/2/2013--

Still outstanding service, stable, speeds fluffed to consistent 26/31 on a 15/5 connection. Price went up to $57.99 but it's still a good value as long as the fluff remains.

--- Update: 11/8/2010--

It's been about 15 months and the ride is still sweet. Speeds are still faster than advertised, and my upstream is actually faster now than 6 months ago.

The downside, and it's a BIG downside, happens when you have a problem. I was suffering with horrible packet loss, on the order of 50%. VZ sent a field tech who did everything he could from this end, including replacing the ONT and cleaning every fiber connection between premises and the hub several blocks away. But even while he sat there with his VZ laptop plugged directly into the ONT and was seeing 50-60% packet loss to the default gateway (first hop outbound) and speedtests were barely hitting 2 Mbps, the tech he was on the phone with at the Fiber Support Center was telling him there was nothing wrong with the connection. Worse, the FSC tech said the default gateway was "on the general internet" (WRONG!!!) and packet loss to it was beyond VZ's control (WRONG AGAIN!!!). FSC also said it was a Qwest issue. (WRONG YET AGAIN, because we don't have Qwest in this region... and what would Qwest have to do with the local FIOS service anyway?) And worse yet-- if it could get any worse-- there was already a "group ticket" open for a rash of complaints with their Digital Voice service (which rides the IP network) as well as complaints from other subscribers connected to the same CO regarding heavy packet loss.

The FSC techs apparently have a serious problem with denial, even when presented with widespread complaints of the same issue. I posted in the VZ Direct forum here, and got some responses. I don't know if that's what got the ball rolling faster, or if it was just coincidence, but several days and 2 major downtimes later (one for ~75 minutes, then 2 days later another one for ~45 minutes), the problem was finally resolved.

I'm updating my rating to reflect the superb speed, but horrible tech support (except for the field tech who came out, who gets an A+, and the helpful rep in the VZ Direct forum, which is why I gave 2 stars instead of 1).

------------------------------------

So far, the connection is substantially faster than the advertised speeds. How often do you get MORE than what was promised, especially from an ISP?

The install went smoothly, and our router (we didn't use Verizon's junk) grabbed an IP address and started passing traffic almost immediately-- no fuss, no muss.

Price is good compared to cable, for the speed you get. Knowing that VZ keeps raising prices, I took the 2 year agreement (and the price was of course lower than a 1 year contract). If they come out with better packages, we're allowed to switch mid-term. The early termination fee only applies if you cancel entirely.

I'll update the review for a more long-term viewpoint, once time has gone by. Today, I'm just enjoying the speed which is a huge improvement over 7/512 Road Runner-- which was A+ reliable for 7-1/2 years but just too slow by today's standards compared to FIOS.

The reason I dinged them 1 star on Install Coordination is the only info I got was a single email (9 days in advance) indicating the install date, and there were no followups. They gave no indication whatsoever of what time the installer might arrive, so be prepared to take the whole day off work in case he doesn't show up until afternoon. They could at least give us a 4 hour window like the cable company does.

member for 21.9 years, 4006 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 9.1 years ago


sneumann55
join:2002-07-27
Hendersonville, NC

sneumann55

Member

wow

Wow somebody dropped the ball big time with your order, i know when mine was installed many automated calls and a few emails to confirm.The install however was excellent. Its a good product, no if cs could be as good.........

rebus9
join:2002-03-26
Tampa Bay

rebus9

Member

Re: wow

I wonder if the difference was Residential vs. Business. Mine is a business connection.

I wasn't very impressed with the sales end. I placed the order at the VZ website first thing in the morning and got an order confirmation email, but when I used the status checker webpage it threw an error. When I placed the order I did not provide my Social Security Number (I don't give it out online) which the order page said was OK-- just that someone from VZ would call me to verify the order was not fraudulent.

After 8 hours of nobody calling me, I called them just before 5 p.m. to verify the order was in process. I got passed around to several different departments (..grumble..) and when I finally got the right person, she said there was no record of my order in the system. She checked by order#, phone# and name. So she created a new order over the phone. Another 20 mintues of my life wasted, and she said there was a problem-- the system would not take my order. (maybe because the first order really DID exist?)

I finally got the verification call the next morning-- for the original web order-- asking for my SSN. Minutes later I got another order confirmation with an install date 9 days into the future.

After that, I didn't hear a word until the ground crew showed up the day before installation to bury the fiber. Then first thing the next morning the installer showed up. I had a specific location on an interior wall where I wanted the jack and I was told the installers would only drill through exterior walls, so I did my own attic climbing, wire fishing, and RJ-45 jack installation, and left the other end in the utility room where the equipment was going to be mounted.

All the installer had to do was screw the ONT to the side of the house, snap in the fiber connector, mount the power supply, attach my pre-installed Cat-5e cable, and activate.

He never even came inside the house, and was here-and-gone in about 1 hour-- probably the fastest, easiest install he did all day.
antioch
join:2007-10-06
Pomona, CA

antioch

Member

Re: wow

Sadly it seems a lot of our business sales office is still learning about the FiOS order writing. I'm sorry you had so many problems with that.

rebus9
join:2002-03-26
Tampa Bay

rebus9

Member

Re: wow

said by antioch:

Sadly it seems a lot of our business sales office is still learning about the FiOS order writing. I'm sorry you had so many problems with that.
Well, it wasn't so much problems; it was lack of communication and bad information.

1) Online orders apparently go into a queue that is not visible to the phone reps, which is why the woman I spoke with couldn't find it. (and would also explain why the system rejected the order when she tried to enter it manually) The morning after the online order, I got the promised phone call asking for my SSN, so the online order process did work-- just not same-day.

2) The "communication problem" was not knowing when to expect the installer. I knew the date, but no idea if morning, noon, afternoon, or evening.

3) The only other complaint was my inability to get the online-access account established-- the one where you pay the bill, manage email, etc. The system wanted a 13 digit order# and zip code to create the account, but my order# was only 10 digits and the system wouldn't accept it. I phoned the helpdesk but was told I'd have to wait until I got my first invoice which would contain a "code number" to key in. (???_say WHAT_???) So I went almost a month with no access, and no way to create email accounts. And when the bill did arrive, it contained no such magic number.

It finally took a LONG phone call, being passed around to several reps (and waiting in-queue each time) before I was connected to an exceptionally friendly and helpful lady who immediately solved the problem. A+ to her, grade F to the others.

The phone support departments need a LOT of work. Every call so far got me bounced around person to person, having to sit in queue each time. Very poor. But the FIOS service itself has been A+.
NYC Girl
Premium Member
join:2007-02-04
Bronx, NY

NYC Girl

Premium Member

50.00 per month is nothing!!

I wish my bill was 50.00.