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Is Verizon Fios better than Comcast Cable?I was just wondering before I get Comcast High Speed Internet if Verizon Fios was better than Cable? I was about to sign up for Comcast's 6Mbps deal and I found out that verizon is putting up fios lines now and I should be able to get it soon. So is Verizon Fios at 5Mbps better than Comcast High Speed Internet at 6Mbps? I know Comcast says its higher but I though fios might be better cuz its fiber or whatever. Also, I know Comcast has to share its LAN with whoever has internet close to you so that may mess up my speed. Dose Fios have its own dedicated service for consumers? |
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ctaul5
join:2004-03-09
Dallas, TX |
ctaul5
Member
2006-Jul-5 2:14 am
yesssss verizon has a 15/2 plan that is the same cost as comcast.....i jumped ship from comcast the day fios was availible in out area and now have fios tv to and have no regrets |
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 buckinghamDoylstown Pa
Premium Member
join:2005-07-17
Buckingham, PA |
to OG_Monkey
Look at the uplink speed, too...Verizon is twice as fast. Important if you do any kind of uploading or telecommuting. Comcast's service is also "shared" much closer to you, so you'll see more variability in performance throughout the day and night...theoretically, at least.
I moved from Comcast's HSI to Verizon DSL a couple years ago. Despite the purported "higher speeed" with the cable service, when I ran them parallel for a month, I found the throughput much better on DSL...and that was before it kicked up from 1.5mbs to 3mbs. |
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FIOS speeds are more reliable whether you go with the 5/2 or 15/2 because they are not shared until it reaches the CO, and once it reaches the CO the speed is limited to being shared between no more than 32 customers. Cable on the other hand is shared much closer at the node where it can be divided off to service 200 hundred people if need be. Also, Verizon has much more bandwith availible at the shared point so it is unlikely that any 32 customers would exceed that bandwith limit. For now anyway. Until speed gets faster, in which case some of Verizon's equiptment will be updated. i.e. the lasers ect. edited for mispelling weather  |
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bigjimc
join:2003-04-21
Middleboro, MA |
to OG_Monkey
Yes Yes Yes...Go with FIOS.
Comcast is SHARED Bandwidth.
If you and your closest 15 neighbors (and their children) are all on line and streaming video and audio and VOIP and voice chat and and and.....The bandwidth of the node which you are all on is shared.
FIOS is 15 MB down and 2 MB up. Comcast is lucky to get 384KB up. I carefully use VOIP.
I am getting FIOS once I convert my wife's email from Comcast to Gmail.
RECOMMENDATION!!!!
Do not use emails provided from an internet service provider you subscribe to. Use a "free" or even pay an annual fee for your own email accounts. Once you have many people and companies etc.. emailing you, it is tough to transition.
I use Gmail and yahoo mail.
Just me 2 cents. If I am wrong, please be nice and don't flame me too hard. |
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nshulga
join:2002-06-06
Morrisville, PA |
to OG_Monkey
I spent 2 years on cable, almost a year on FIOS. There's no comparison. FIOS has better upload speed, low latency and lower price. Speeds are close to advertised. There have been no outages so far.
With Crapcast, I had bad latency, actual d/l speeds about half of advertized, and pretty much any issue (like, using my credit card for billing. I kid you not.) had to be escalated to shareholders relations. I ended up getting rid of both cable and Comcast stock.
YMMV, obviously, but so far the statistics seems to very much favour FIOS over cable. |
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to OG_Monkey
Most definitely Verzion is BETTER (technology as well as value)! I just switched from Comcrap to Verizon and have not been happier. I just got the 5/2 plan and since I had the cable/internet plan from Comcrap, I had the $10 savings that Comcrap offered so right now its pretty much a wash since I was probably paying about $35 for the Comcrap Internet w/ that package. I pay $34.99/mo. /w the 12 mo. commitment for VZ FIOS Internet. You get the free installation and the free wireless router w/ the 12 mo. commitment, plus one month free if you sign up online. VZ has better customer service, 24x7, and is always going above and beyond to make you a happy customer. |
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to OG_Monkey
Same experience here.
I dropped Comcast for the VZ 15/2 package. I also dropped Comcast phone service for SunRocket. All said, the switch saves me $15/mo. My speed is stable - always within 10% of advertised speed (lowest I get locally is 13.7/1.8). |
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 cdruGo Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN |
to John1989
said by John1989:FIOS speeds are more reliable whether you go with the 5/2 or 15/2 because they are not shared until it reaches the CO, and once it reaches the CO the speed is limited to being shared between no more than 32 customers. Cable on the other hand is shared much closer at the node where it can be divided off to service 200 hundred people if need be. Also, Verizon has much more bandwith availible at the shared point so it is unlikely that any 32 customers would exceed that bandwith limit. For now anyway. Until speed gets faster, in which case some of Verizon's equiptment will be updated. i.e. the lasers ect. You are partially correct, partially incorrect. Your fiber node is split between up to 32 connections in the field. It is not split at the CO. The direct comparison with cable would be the splitting 200 ways although that number can vary greatly depending on how the cableco wants to set up their network. With FiOS, 622mbits down and 155 mbits up are split between all 32 customers. This is defined by the BPON standard which Verizon is currently using. This speed however is only between you, your 31 neighbors, and the CO. Once at the CO, your node of 32 subscribers is combined with all the other nodes to go out on a really fat pipe, usually some type of an OC-XX type connection. Verizon does not pay for every customer to have 100% of their bandwidth allocation being used. There is no way that they can afford to do that for $40 a month per subscriber. Cable companies, DSL companies, satellite companies, etc all do this. Verizon currently seems to be better off though by not having too high of an oversubscription ratio. |
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to OG_Monkey
Hi,
I have had both Verizon FIOS and Comcast cable. In terms of quality of service Verizon is much better. Even though I have Verizon fiber in my house & had the service for a year, I currently have Comcast cable HSI because of their promotions. Once the promotional price ($20/month) expires, I will switch probably back to Verizon FIOS. |
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 danclan
join:2005-11-01
Midlothian, VA |
to OG_Monkey
is the earth round? is the sky blue? does gravity suck?
30/5 for 10$ more than i paid comcast...no brainer....and better no down time thats noticable by me or my pc(s)... |
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Thanks for the info and corrections!  |
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 aa
@blazenet.net |
aa to cdru
Anon
2006-Jul-7 8:22 am
to cdru
You are partially correct, partially incorrect. Your fiber node is split between up to 32 connections in the field. It is not split at the CO. The direct comparison with cable would be the splitting 200 ways although that number can vary greatly depending on how the cableco wants to set up their network.
With FiOS, 622mbits down and 155 mbits up are split between all 32 customers. This is defined by the BPON standard which Verizon is currently using. This speed however is only between you, your 31 neighbors, and the CO. Once at the CO, your node of 32 subscribers is combined with all the other nodes to go out on a really fat pipe, usually some type of an OC-XX type connection.
Verizon does not pay for every customer to have 100% of their bandwidth allocation being used. There is no way that they can afford to do that for $40 a month per subscriber. Cable companies, DSL companies, satellite companies, etc all do this. Verizon currently seems to be better off though by not having too high of an oversubscription ratio.This is correct. As we see Verizon in more Comcastic areas of the country things are likely to change. When verizon starts using Iptv like I suspect they will, Comcast will more than likely move toward switched video from the hub/plant which in esscence is the same thing as verizon is doing. Cable companies like Comcastic have the ability to utilize switched video in order to establish connection speeds of up to 100mbps upstream and downstream to a tap/house. The question is will they use this technology to provide good competition with FTOP like Verizon? Just my 2 cents |
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99664227 (banned)Heavily MODerated
join:2002-11-21
USA |
to ctaul5
said by ctaul5:yesssss verizon has a 15/2 plan that is the same cost as comcast.....i jumped ship from comcast the day fios was availible in out area and now have fios tv to and have no regrets What he said.... However, I don't have FiOS TV. Still using Comcast for basic cable only. |
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thanks |
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danclan
join:2005-11-01
Midlothian, VA |
to 99664227
i was going to cancel my movies due to price increases but they offered me via the web all the movie channels for 6 months at 59.99$ which even adding all the other costs is still 50$ less than i was paying for more channels...so in another 6 months i will try to quit again and see what they do for me |
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I have been using FIOS for about a year now and I haven't had any problems. I never like the idea of having all my eggs in one basket so I started out using DSL for Internet and using cable for entertainment etc. I had an accident at my house when a tree fell from outside of my house and broke both my FIOS Service and cable. The telephone company had my service up the next day. The cable company told me to wait 10 days. I waited the 10 days and when they came they told me because it's raining so they have to reschedule. I said fine but asked how much more I had to wait. The guy said 10 days. That was enough I have been using satellite ever since and guess what it came the next day. |
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As opposed to the other posters in here largely (for whatever reason) recommending FIOS while insulting Comcast by calling the company names, I, even though I'm a *happy* CHSI customer (and cable TV customer) will recommend FIOS for one reason (and one reason alone): bang for the buck. FIOS Internet 15/2 service is the same price as CHSI 6/384k for cable TV customers (whether you need the upload speed or not, that is *still* a no-brainer). If you game *at all*, their lack of lag makes FIOS Internet an even better deal. If you want FilePlanet/IGN Founders' Club, get it standalone for $69.95 (billed annually), which is cheaper than monthly billing (I have heard of the Verizon Gaming Network, which is similar in a lot of respects to Founders' Club; can someone fill us in on what VGN is, and how it compares to Founders' Club?). FIOS TV compares favorably to Comcast Digital Cable, and offers channels that Comcast does not. |
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1 edit |
to OG_Monkey
My choice was easy. With Comcast, I was limited to 2GB download a month from their usenet server. With Verizon, I get unlimited downloads. I never really had any problems with Comcast, except for maybe a few more dropped packets than I would have liked. I used streaming TV, and it would have occasional hiccups with Comcast. That same device had no issues at all with Verizon FIOS. Just for the record, I was in an upgraded area, and had the 6/.768 speeds with Comcast. For $2 more a month (actually, its about the same since there are no taxes or franchise fees for FIOS), I now get 15/2. -John PS> If you are talking TV, FIOS is miles ahead in picture quality. |
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use_ssh
Premium Member
join:2005-11-16
Reston, VA
1 edit |
to OG_Monkey
I couldn't really decide. I like the fact that Comcast doesn't block incoming port 80. I also like the fat pipe FIOS offered. Bang for the buck and overall bandwidth definitely favors FIOS. I decided to keep both. U_S |
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to OG_Monkey
I would have to go with Verizon FIOS because of good customer support and I know ppl at my work who had bad experiences with Comcast. Verizon FIOS have a 20/5 package for $45 and Comcast had started their 12Mbps connection for around $60-$65 but I heard the 12Mbps is an overload connection that only works on files bigger than 100MB |
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ebubman
join:2002-01-17
Mechanicsburg, PA |
to OG_Monkey
our comcast hsi service has been pretty reliable but what i really want is competition. we booted our verizon landline out 3+ years ago. however when fios comes to this part of town, i'll give it a look for isp & tv. it comes down to whoever gives me the better deal. bub |
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BarneyBadAssBadasses Fight For Freedom
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
00001 |
to OG_Monkey
OG,
Well... your quesition is similar in nature to someone walking up asking which is better the Corvette or the Ferrari, and not if the Corvette is better than a Mack Truck.
In the case of the Corvette :vs: Mack Truck; not in the same class, so other than both having the ability to be used to transport somone from point A to point B theres not much to discuss other than the application each is intended to be used.
In the case of the Corvetter :vs: Ferrari, it boils down to personal preference with to a lesser degree how you intend to use it. To be fair, there are pro's and and cons in each of the technologies.
So use which ever technology you choose... you can salt and pepper it to taste as you make your internet soup. |
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 ThespisI'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.
Premium Member
join:2004-08-03
Keller, TX |
Thespis
Premium Member
2006-Jul-16 9:54 am
[homer]mmmmmmm... Internet soup....[/homer] |
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