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I'll leave this short for now as I have only had the service for a couple days. Install went very well, and installer was very professional. I have the 5/2 package for right now. I am getting about 5.1/1.7, I switched off of Adelphia which was going to Comcast. Adelphia charged $43 for a HSI only connection. Comcast charges about $68 I think, so I jumped ship before they jacked the prices after the switch. FIOS came just in time since I have to change my email anyway. UPDATE: I upgraded to the 15/2 package and was offered it at $29.99 for the first 3 months. Speed was upgraded before I got home from work. I am now getting 15.5 / 1.8. Connection has not gone down once that I have noticed since it was installed on Jan 25th. The $100 gift card, which was the promotion when I signed up, arrived yesterday. UPDATE 2: 3/18/08 - Still outstanding. I have never experienced any downtime, and the speed is still the same. UPDATE 3: 8/30/2012 - Had a single case of downtime since last review. My router died, but they send me out a new one in two days. The actual service has NEVER gone down. member for 22.6 years, 1090 visits, last login: 11.6 years ago updated 11.6 years ago
(January 2008) I had 786K Verizon dry-loop DSL. Fiber came into my area, and I was visited by a door-to-door salesperson. He was knowledgeable and hammered out a package that was just what I liked. The package I ordered included 10M/2M internet and phone service with unlimited long distance in the continental US, all for $59.95/month. The pre-installation information was easy to get to and follow. I had a couple of 'special needs' questions due to the way utilities enter my home (opposite the garage), but as of install day, had no answer to, however. Part of the install was burying a line to my house from the box (flush-mount) by the street. A knock at the door, and 15 minutes later, done and gone. The cut in the lawn was barely noticeable. The cut can be seen with close inspection a month and a half later, but I suspect that once the lawn starts growing season again that it will completely disappear. Because the utilities enter on the opposite side of the house, I had some deliberation to do over where to put the Battery Backup and the Router. The Battery Backup I decided to put into a closet as close to the Optical Network Terminal as possible, not knowing exactly how far the lines to connect the two could go. The Router I decided to put on the other side of that wall, because it is a fairly central location for the house, and the supplied Router has wireless capability. To utilize these locations required me to wire two 110V outlets. I also prewired ethernet (Cat-5) cable from the Router location to the ONT location, and from the Router location to my primary computer's location. On top of that, I ran my fish tape from the ONT to where the Battery Backup Unit would be, so the technician that came to hook it all up would be all set. Enter the tech. I show him what I have set up for him, and tell him where I want the BBU and the Router to go. He balks, even with all outlets and wiring in place, saying that he wants to put the BBU on the same wall as the ONT, so he can do a straight drill through my concrete block. This would mean that the BBU (actually 2 separate boxes with wires running to power and to the ONT) would be located in the middle of my bedroom/office wall. I let him know that this is completely unacceptable, and explain the lengths I have gone to to put the appliances in the locations that I want. He grumblingly agrees, and proceeds. One of his big complaints is that I have chosen Cat-5 to connect the ONT to the Router, and the Router to the main computer. So, I punched down the Cat-5 (into the wallplates he provided) for him. About 90 minutes later, I'm surfing away, and he's back on the road. The nitpicks I have for the install are: the installer's attitude, that the Battery Backup Unit is mounted so (unnecessarily) high that I can't reach the controls for it, and that the wallplate that he installed is not level to the outlet that is 6" away. So far so good... Until I receive a bill for the old dry-loop DSL account for the first month I've had FIOS. I call, and about an hour later (par for the course I've found) get to talk with someone at Verizon to find out why. After all, the door-to-door salesman said that the account switching was "all figured out" and "seamless". I discover that Verizon needs me to pay for that month for both services, and that the next month all will be pro-rated, credited, and normal. So, the next month, I get my FIOS bill, which isn't at the rate I was quoted. I call again, wait the obligatory hour, and get things straightened out. Verizon even lowered my rate for my trouble. It was an hour well spent. Later in the month, I get another bill for the old dry-loop DSL. So I call, wait another hour, get to talk to not one but two very confused people who attempt to cancel my old DSL account, get transferred, wait another half hour, and get to talk to a tech support person, because the first two confused people managed to kill my e-mail account. The tech resolves my e-mail by resetting my password, and all is well... Until I try to change my password later in the evening as necessitated by the tech. The message I get online? "Account Suspended" This really sucks because Verizon tech support is only 9-5, M-F and of course all of this took place on Friday. So I've been without e-mail all weekend. Ah well, Monday will undoubtedly see me waiting the obligatory hour on hold with Verizon to get this sorted out... To be continued.... I called on Monday, only spent 30 minutes this time, talked to a tech who re-reset my e-mail/login account, and all seems to be well. I was also contacted by an IT guy and a billing guy from Verizon to get some info from me on "what went wrong". They contacted me in hopes that they could track down where my account "fell through the cracks." I'm guessing it has something to do with my old account having been a "dry-loop" account vs. a "phone+DSL" type account. I hope that I was of enough assistance to these gentlemen to prevent similar future occurrences. Let me say that I was very impressed that they recognized the difficulties my scenario presented to me as a customer, and that they contacted me, even though my troubles were technically already resolved. Good to see that Verizon is being proactive! One last note: the Router that was included in the install, an Actiontech, tries very hard to be user friendly, but is not. I have a fairly simple static IP LAN, that for the time being (due to the unfamiliar/quirky Actiontech interface) I have abandoned. This translates to a slower and slightly less secure system for me. Theoretically, the Actiontech should blow away my old router + software firewall, but in practicality this is not the case. I'm sure there are arguments that will certainly, beyond the shadow of a doubt, prove me wrong, but simply won't be true in the end, all things considered. I suspect that I'm a rare case in this instance, as my hardware is a bit dated for top-end nitpicking such as this. (August 2008) I must say that I am very impressed with whoever in Verizon is managing customer support. I now have a local (same city) person that I can call for any issues with their service. I have used this support option, and greatly prefer it to their old system for both account and technical assistance. At times, this person will act as an intermediary to the regular support personnel to the extent that, if there will be a long hold time involved, they will call me back when ready! Verizon's billing still makes absolutely no sense to me, but the bottom line makes some amount of sense. (March 2012) Service and connectivity have been solid throughout the life of this service, with one small hiccup. That hiccup I will pass the buck mostly onto the local power company, and a bit to Verizon's selection of battery backups. I had, over the course of a year, constant power interruptions and finally an outage which lasted for a couple of days. After all this electrical abuse, the backup battery and/or its charging system failed, leading to downtime even though everything had power. 2 days later, a tech came out and replaced the battery and charger. Rock solid service ever since. Billing on the other hand, has been an absolute nightmare. My "locked in" rate expired, and I negotiated to keep that same rate on a month to month basis. To Verizon's point of view, this apparently means that they can attempt to adjust the rate from month to month. Never less expensive, even though their base package of today offers better bandwidth than mine has. With the time spent ironing out their overcharging, this service is a tough choice at best. The only thing that kept me putting up with their billing shenanigans is that the service itself is very solid. As I'm moving out from this location, leaving Verizon will not be a hard choice. What will be a hard choice will be to go back to their terrible billing wherever I move to. Service-wise, FiOS is rock solid, par none. The only real trouble I've had is with their ActionTech router, which seems to be suffering from bad interface coding. When typing in the access password, I get a random number of characters typed per key press. Thankfully, I was able go back to my 'good ole blue box' tried and true router. member for 23 years, 4158 visits, last login: a few hours ago updated 11.6 years ago
Setup and installation was a breeze. We've had the service for over 18 months now and it's been rock solid over the Comcast connection we had prior. Streaming over a PS3, Kindle Fire and an iPad simultaneously has no latency. Downloads and uploads are fantastic! member for 15 years, 138 visits, last login: 11 years ago lodged 11.6 years ago
From the time I ordered via the telephone (customer service lady one of the best I've ever dealt with) to the time of install was one of the most pleasant times in my experience. In my geographical area Verizon has their act together. Crews put fiber on the poles in late July, and I ordered FIOS in the middle of August with installation on August 27th. It went very smooth, no problems whatever, and I am loving FIOS. I got the Ultimate Freedom package which was Internet, T.V., landline, and wireless services. I signed a two year deal and pay $183 per month for everything. The ONT is an Alcatel and the router is a Actiontec. The install took just under four hours. I requested that the ONT be installed in my basement and it was with no problem. Unlike the New York area, my ONT was grounded and bonded properly. The installation was very clean and neat. The woman who did my install was friendly and knowledgeable. I would recommend FIOS to anyone. My experience with Comcast cable was the exact opposite of my experience with Verizon. Little over one year later, and I'm still loving FIOS. Most stable service I've ever had. No down time, ever! Many near neighbors (at least five) have FIOS in their homes. I would recommend FIOS to anyone who can get it. Nothing but praise for Verizon. August 21, 2012. Still loving my FIOS. I consider myself fortunate to have FIOS service. The product has never, ever let me down. Yes, the price of my original bundle has increased, but not by much. I now pay just at $200 for the Ultimate bundle, with 50/35 internet speeds. My t.v. package is outstanding and as stable a product as can be. Quality is great. I am not a verizonboy (I happen to be 72 years old) and as far as I'm concerned, I'm a very satisfied customer of Verizon. member for 23.4 years, 7131 visits, last login: 2 days ago updated 11.6 years ago
Package is: digital voice, broadband 50/25, ultimate HD TV package. Internet reliability is tremendous. Channel lineup is better than competitors (optimum, DirecTV) On-demand selections are vast. Some initial confusion during ordering regarding available packages and prices. Installation experience was excellent. member for 11.6 years, 5 visits, last login: 11.6 years ago lodged 11.6 years ago
FiOS 50/25MBps package. Tests at 56/34. That's much faster than my previous Comcast Cable. Install technician was good--knew what he was doing, within the limits of the job, and left me his card to call for any problems in the next few weeks; that was very good. The order process was okay until they informed me at very last minute of a $60 "set up" charge, suddenly tagged onto the bill. That's an ugly sales tactic. And I found out the hard way that FiOS does not include an antivirus program in the price, like Comcast. So that was an extra $59 for the year. Service came with an Actiontect (??) modem/router, including wireless. It's a hassle to switch from Comcast--move all those email accounts. But the internet service looks stellar right now. member for 23.4 years, 198 visits, last login: 11.6 years ago updated 11.6 years ago
I knew they had to dig under my driveway and dig a small trench on my yard - but, this is ridiculous - total yard decimation. Turfed up lawn - ripped up yard - holes - destroyed swales - and oh yea, 'We spilled diesel all over your lawn - sorry'. I put a call in to the installers supervisor - so we'll see if they actually get someone out here to look at the apocalypse that was once my front yard. Some might not care, but I put a lot of hard work into getting my lawn looking nice - just to have it destroyed in a little over a 24 hour period. If I knew - I would have paid a little more and went with the Comcast 16/1 service - It's just not worth it for what I have to now deal with... (UPDATE) Verizon washed their hands of it and passed it on to the contracting company. So now I have to deal with them (not happy about that, Verizon). I also had to file a report with the federal and state EPA over the diesel spill from their ditch witch. The contracting company supervisor shows up and tells me to just 'soap it down' - um - yea, what about all the poisioned soil underneath? I held him to fixing the holes/bumps on both swails, putting sod down on a huge section of just dirt - and come Spring, to have a large section of poisioned yard (as determined by an environmental consultant) ripped up and sod put down. That last part I requested him to send me a letter - now we'll see if I actually get a letter. Luckily a family friend is an environmental lawyer who already offered to help us. This whole thing is way stressing me out - I hope they put their pen where their mouth is. (UPDATE) Connection fast and reliable. As far as the contractors - pardon my French, but they suck! They refused to return any of my calls. They were never around. I finally ended up having to fix the yard myself. I would not have gotten FiOS if I had known. member for 23.2 years, 6270 visits, last login: 25 days ago updated 11.6 years ago
----- Update 8/13/2012: ----- Called the number the previous support agent gave me (888 338 9333). After sitting on hold for about 20 minutes, talked to another representative that informed me he could not pull up my information since my account shows as disconnected. He informed me that he could not transfer me because his call center was in Arizona and that his number was not accepted at the other call center because it was outside Verizon's service area (really, Verizon can't talk to itself?). Gave me an alternate number (866 339 8188) to call. I've been on hold for about 20 minutes now ("expected wait time is 10 minutes or less") and it is past 6pm, so I don't know if there is anyone still working at this call center. ----- Update 8/11/2012: ----- After 3 years of service (just FiOS Internet, no TV), I ended up cancelling FiOS and jumping to TWC. Main cause for this was yearly price increases. First, after two years, in 2011 I got a 10% price increase (Price from $49.99 -> $54.99). Then, just twelve months later, another 18% price increase (Price from $54.99 -> $64.99). I was never notified about price increases, my credit card was just charged more (I was enrolled in autopay). After cancelling my service on 8/3/2012, my credit card got charged yesterday on 8/10/2012 for the full amount, even though I have not been getting service since 8/3. Upon investigation, the amount that was charged was for the full period from 7/28-8/27. I should have been charged a pro-rated amount for the 5 days I actually had service. I was able to get in touch with support, but was informed that the department that I need to get in touch with is only open weekdays from 8-6. Overall FiOS conclusion: The service was technically outstanding, always rock solid with consistently low pings and always delivering the promised speed. Billing/Billing Support/Pricing has been a terrible experience. I have never had such a pathetic experience with any company I've dealt with before. ----- Original Post: ---- I signed up online and was had the service installed the next day; overall, this portion went well. Speeds are good and on target. However, pings are higher than I would expect (usually, 50-90ms range). Under any notable upload (even 25% of my overall upload speed) pings jump absurdly high and become inconsistent (30ms-300ms). Billing is terrible. If you only order FiOS, they do not sent a bill ever. Further, you are automatically enrolled in auto-pay with the credit card you initially provide even though I was not informed of this ahead of time. When I finally did see a charge show up on my credit card, it was for an incorrect amount. Trying to fix this was a hassle since I didn't have a bill sent to me (and thus did not have an account number) that took a cumulative amount of over 3 hours over the course of three days (calling after work meant that when I started making progress on the first day, the service center I needed to eventually be connected to had closed). Overall, not bad service, but other customer services issues detract from this. I would say it is comparable to my local cable service. member for 21.6 years, 2242 visits, last login: 2.3 years ago updated 11.6 years ago
I've had FiOS TV + Internet for over a year now. The main competition is Comcast. I've had Comcast in the past where the product was okay, but installation was the typical horror story (5 no shows, then only partial install, etc.) and then a couple of other FUBAR events once I was up and running, so I decided to give FiOS a try. I ordered when they offered a $250 gift card (Verizon person came to our neighborhood to solicit). The install was okay, except the tech spent more time on his cell with his GF (I was the last install of the day and they were talking about their evening plans) over several calls than he did actually installing the FiOS equipment. And I guess he was supposed to walk me through a couple of things, but when the HW install was done it was well after his quitting time and he wanted to leave, so he called up a web page on my computer, did some stuff, then left it on another page and told me to read thru it (everything I needed to know was there), then he bolted. After the install, I was having trouble getting the promised GC, so I called the person who came and took my order and she said no problem, she'd get it straightened out. After that, nothing. She wouldn't answer her phone when I followed up. I never heard from her again. When I called VZ, they said sorry, the promotion I was promised had actually just expired (i.e., the salesperson should not have offered me that promotion) and there was nothing they could do since they are not bound by the salesperson's promises. *sigh* I was pissed for a bit, but no use crying over spilt milk. Oh, yeah. Trying to talk to VZ on the phone was a challenge. I have a VZ wireless cell phone (no landline), and it was listed as my official contact phone number. VZ even called me a couple of times on my cell prior to the install to verify the installation. When I called the VZ FiOS support number, it asked for my phone number associated with the account. I entered my number and it switched me to an automated message that my account was with Frontier Comm. (or maybe it was Fairpoint... I confuse those two) and I should contact them, then disconnected the line. And no, I never had a cell phone with anyone but VZW; and no, I never was in/near Frontier/Fairpoint territory (even after VZ sold assets to them). I had to use the phone number of a friend who also had FiOS in order to get through to FiOS support. (And the support folks were mystified by that, as they verified that my cell account was really with VZW, was listed as the contact phone number in my FiOS account, and they had no idea why I was being shut out of the support phone system.) It took many months to get that fixed. Since then, things have worked pretty well. My connection seems to drop for a couple of minutes every once in a while, but I'm not an online gamer so the occasional working from home Skype call that gets interrupted is about the worst that has happened to me. My internet usage is not very demanding, so it's a very low bar that they have to clear. Pretty much the same with FiOS TV. I'm not a very demanding user. My biggest complaint is that their channel guide really sucked, and the 9.0 update was worse. The recent version (9.01, I think) seems to have mitigated many of my issues. member for 21.8 years, 4014 visits, last login: a few hours ago updated 11.7 years ago
member for 23.4 years, 2393 visits, last login: 127 days ago lodged 11.7 years ago
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- Guess there's a lot more work to be done...
Sorry about your spill but isn't there a Superfund Site,"O'brien Machinery" that has already contaminated the soil and drinking water in Downington, with oil,acetone and PCb's? That sounds like it would be more of a concern to me. Had to write this since your article sounded like the Exxon Valdez crashed in your yard. 'http://loggerhead.epa.gov/arweb/pdf/154614.pdf'
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