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? |
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Thespis
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.
Premium
join:2004-08-03
Keller, TX
| 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... |
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defaultPlay56
join:2007-11-30
Collegeville, PA
 ·Comcast
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to ZekeTheGeek
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. |
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itdood
join:2008-02-07
Harleysville, PA
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to ZekeTheGeek
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. |
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MrSpock29
join:2008-02-09
Hammonton, NJ
1 edit | reply to ZekeTheGeek
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". |
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ZekeTheGeek
join:2006-10-15
Sudbury, MA
·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
| 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. |
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supertech315
join:2006-03-01
Perris, CA
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to ZekeTheGeek
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 |
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ZekeTheGeek
join:2006-10-15
Sudbury, MA
·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
| 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. |
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