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buckweet1980
join:2011-12-31
Saint Petersburg, FL

buckweet1980

Member

Moving.. Dallas/Fort Worth FIOS availability

Currently I live in Pittsburgh and have FIOS. I'm looking to move to Dallas/FW area and would like to find an area that has FIOS.

Is there any available maps that anyone knows of? I saw a listing for Pennsylvania at one point, I was hoping there is something like this for TX.

Anyone know of anything? General cities in the metro area would suffice too.

Thanks!

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

1 edit

ilikeme

Premium Member

DSLR has a user contributed map. The ones that I know mostly have it are:

Denton
Lewisville
Southlake
Carrolton
Plano
Garland
Coppell
Irving
Colleyville
Rowlett
Keller
Flower Mound

All of these areas have Verizon (EX GTE) copper landline service also. If it is an AT&T area, there will be no FIOS. I might have missed a few cities, I was just going off of Google maps for areas that I know are Verizon.
McBane
join:2008-08-22
Wylie, TX

McBane

Member

Wylie, Murphy, and Parker, parts of southern and all of western Allen have it and far eastern Richardson and Garland.

The map lays it out pretty well here
»/gmaps/fios

Just don't pay attention to the one off dots, just the groupings of them and that's pretty much the fios layout of Dallas.

More Fiber
MVM
join:2005-09-26
Cape Coral, FL

More Fiber to ilikeme

MVM

to ilikeme
said by ilikeme:

If it is an AT&T area, there will be no FIOS.

That's not strictly true in Texas. There are very limited areas where VZ did an overbuild in AT&T territory.

wesm
Premium Member
join:1999-07-29
Seattle, WA

1 edit

wesm to buckweet1980

Premium Member

to buckweet1980
Y'all missed the original FiOS city, the only city where Verizon has a local franchise for TV instead of the statewide franchise: Keller.

Service is also available in:

- Watauga (east of US 377)*
- north Fort Worth (generally Timberland Blvd south to North Tarrant Pkwy, west to 35W and east to 377/Denton Hwy excluding the Trace Ridge Pkwy neighborhood); any portion not served by AT&T, Verizon did not overbuild in AT&T neighborhoods in Fort Worth
- Roanoke
- Northlake
- Grapevine (southern Grapevine is *)
- Double Oak*
- Copper Canyon (parts east of Copper Canyon Rd)
- Denton (excluding small areas in eastern Denton served by CenturyTel)
- The Colony (along Plano Pkwy)
- Frisco (limited availability west of Tollway)*

Oh, and Westlake, but unless you make a billion dollars per minute or are VERY old money for the D/FW region, you won't be living there.

Areas marked with * are where AT&T is the incumbent carrier. You might consider these more than other areas because they feature newer GPON hardware that's guaranteed to get the "FiOS Quantum" speeds. Older installs, including most of the original build out in Keller, are BPON and will be limited to 75/35 (I know, first world problems).
aguen
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Grants Pass, OR

aguen to buckweet1980

Premium Member

to buckweet1980
I know Keller, Tx. has some Fios deployment, it is where the SHE (Super Head End) is located for all of North Texas is located. It is probably as far west (Tarrant County) as you could get to Ft. Worth and hope to find Fios. Unfortunately, VZ in Texas, has not created a localized list of fios availability as was done in some other states like PA., MA., etc.

Good luck on your move.

wesm
Premium Member
join:1999-07-29
Seattle, WA

wesm

Premium Member

There are only two SHEs (nationwide video downlinks), one in Florida and the other in Illinois. Keller used to be the home of VHO1 (video hub office, or the TV signal distribution point for a region) but I think that has moved to Irving.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme

Premium Member

said by wesm:

There are only two SHEs (nationwide video downlinks), one in Florida and the other in Illinois. Keller used to be the home of VHO1 (video hub office, or the TV signal distribution point for a region) but I think that has moved to Irving.

Its actually in Carrolton. I work for a TV station and have to deal with them occasionally.
ilikeme

ilikeme to wesm

Premium Member

to wesm
said by wesm:

Areas marked with * are where AT&T is the incumbent carrier. You might consider these more than other areas because they feature newer GPON hardware that's guaranteed to get the "FiOS Quantum" speeds. Older installs, including most of the original build out in Keller, are BPON and will be limited to 75/35 (I know, first world problems).

Denton is eligible for quantum.
texastown
join:2008-04-25
Plano, TX

texastown to buckweet1980

Member

to buckweet1980
One thing to check: If you will be moving into an apartment complex check with the management before assuming FIOS will be available even if it's in one of the mentioned cities. I'm in Plano and a while back a poster asked the same question for his sister and tho it's available here, her complex had a contract with another provider and she couldn't get it.
Shay
join:2010-07-29
Dallas, TX

Shay to buckweet1980

Member

to buckweet1980
There is a small area of Dallas proper that has FIOS. It is bounded by Preston on the western edge and Frankford on the south. I am not sure how far east it goes.
pappy97
join:2007-03-12
El Paso, TX

pappy97 to buckweet1980

Member

to buckweet1980
OP: Are you going to buy/rent a house or get an apt?

I ask because if you are going to buy/rent a house, it is easy to use the FIOS website to see if they have FIOS there. I did that when I was house-hunting when I moved from CA to DFW in 2009. Had to make sure I got FIOS, it was our #1 priority besides cost. (That's how we ended up in Wylie, cheapest new/newer homes that have FIOS and not a ghetto area).

Apartments though are a whole other ballgame. Just because an apt complex is in FIOS territory, doesn't mean it has FIOS. You need to verify with them.
buckweet1980
join:2011-12-31
Saint Petersburg, FL

buckweet1980

Member

said by pappy97:

OP: Are you going to buy/rent a house or get an apt?

I ask because if you are going to buy/rent a house, it is easy to use the FIOS website to see if they have FIOS there. I did that when I was house-hunting when I moved from CA to DFW in 2009. Had to make sure I got FIOS, it was our #1 priority besides cost. (That's how we ended up in Wylie, cheapest new/newer homes that have FIOS and not a ghetto area).

Apartments though are a whole other ballgame. Just because an apt complex is in FIOS territory, doesn't mean it has FIOS. You need to verify with them.

Definitely a house.. Housing is very very cheap down there compared to up in this part of the states.. I appreciate the advice too!
buckweet1980

1 edit

buckweet1980

Member

Can anyone recommend good areas?? Plano or Murphy is the current targeted areas.. They seem like upper-scale areaa which is what we're looking for.

Also another question for you folks. I know that most of Dallas/FW metro is BPON currently (pockets of GPON I've read). Most of the homes I've checked on the FIOS website show bundles up to 75Mbps, meaning BPON. What I'm curious about is if you go to just internet service it lists 150/300 on the site which means GPON... When I was buying in Pittsburgh if you couldn't get the service it wasn't listed.

Thoughts?

I really appreciate the feedback everyone has given, it helps a lot! My wife and I are very eager to get to a warmer climate! The Fall nastiness is setting in here in PA.
Springbok
join:2002-09-13
Leander, TX

Springbok

Member

Depends on your job location. South Lake and Colleyville are very nice areas with excellent schools.
RonPaul
join:2011-08-03

RonPaul to buckweet1980

Member

to buckweet1980
The thing about schools is that Texas does not share property taxes with poorer districts like other states. So pretty much most of the schools on the north side of Dallas proper are decent.

Plano is huge and has it's "bad parts" if you can call it that, but overall is nice. Most of the gigantic houses appear as you head out towards Flower Mound and up towards Frisco.

A friend can get 300mbit in NW Plano, but there are two Plano CO's I think. Most of the rest of North TX is BPON except for Denton and some others I may be forgetting.

Just remember to factor in $200/month for all the tolls you will hit on the north side.
Shay
join:2010-07-29
Dallas, TX

Shay to buckweet1980

Member

to buckweet1980
Like the others have stated, where is your job? Does your wife work if so where is job? Do you have kid(s)? What is your price range? How are open to commuting?
buckweet1980
join:2011-12-31
Saint Petersburg, FL

buckweet1980

Member

I will actually be working from home and the wife is a Nurse. No clue as to which hospital she'll be at yet though.

No kids, just dogs. Right now we're looking for a 4+ bedroom home, especially since the interest rates are down in the 3.25 range. We are going to buy a house that will suit us for any need that we can think of.
McBane
join:2008-08-22
Wylie, TX

McBane

Member

I live in Murphy and I'm on GPON (Only because I forced through an upgrade on a business order, though, but I know at least my neighborhood has it because of me )
buckweet1980
join:2011-12-31
Saint Petersburg, FL

1 edit

buckweet1980

Member

I have 150meg service in PGH right now, honestly I don't need it. I'll be fine with 75/35.

Who is the cable company in the area? Is it time warner? It would make sense why it hasn't been upgraded to GPON yet.. It seems like the Comcast areas get more attention because of Comcast pushing the speeders higher than FIOS. TW hasn't done that yet, that max they offer to my knowledge is 50Mb.
McBane
join:2008-08-22
Wylie, TX

McBane

Member

Yeah cable is TWC for Dallas
buckweet1980
join:2011-12-31
Saint Petersburg, FL

buckweet1980

Member

Is real estate taxes around 2.5% everywhere in the DFW metro area??

I know there is no state income tax, but higher taxes on other things. I assume the real estate taxes make up for the difference? Sales tax is around 8% isn't it? 8% isn't too much higher than here in PA.
RonPaul
join:2011-08-03

RonPaul

Member

It's around 8% but some places have lower. Part is set by the state and part is set by the City. There is no tax on food though (groceries, not restaurants).
pappy97
join:2007-03-12
El Paso, TX

pappy97 to buckweet1980

Member

to buckweet1980
said by buckweet1980:

Is real estate taxes around 2.5% everywhere in the DFW metro area??

I know there is no state income tax, but higher taxes on other things. I assume the real estate taxes make up for the difference? Sales tax is around 8% isn't it? 8% isn't too much higher than here in PA.

You said you are targeting Plano and Murphy, both of which are Collin County, whose taxes are higher than nearby Dallas County or, say, Rockwall County, but good luck trying to find FIOS in those counties.

My house in Wylie has a tax assessed value of $197k or something like that, and this year our property taxes (county, city, etc combined) is still over $5k for the year. My parents in Cali in their home where I grew up has a tax assessed value of over $500k, but they pay thousands less. But then again, they pay high CA state income tax, and their house in a 1970 something 3/2 1800 sq ft, while my house is 2005 6/3.5 (with an additional room for huge HT), 3700 sq ft. I don't blame you for coming to Texas, and if you find Plano/Murphy too expensive, just come down the road to Wylie, which is just East of Murphy. Houses here are cheaper than Murphy.
McBane
join:2008-08-22
Wylie, TX

1 edit

McBane to buckweet1980

Member

to buckweet1980
Yes, Texas makes up a majority of the state income tax with property taxes. That's usually how it ends up in most non-state income tax states. It's great if you rent (But you're still losing that rent money instead of gaining any equity from it), but even owning a house it's still cheaper in the long run from the much lower cost of living in Texas than from living on the east/west coasts.

I live in Murphy and love living here. Murphy is pretty much just an extension of east Plano (Although we do have much larger lots than Plano residents for the same house prices). My biggest gripe about living in Texas is it is the bible belt... You'll be surrounded by a red bible state, but Dallas is probably the most diverse city in the South so that is somewhat buffered here than in most southern cities. My other biggest gripe is Dallas needs a better night life, but I'm into my 30s and raising a family now so it's not like I still have time for that anyway.
buckweet1980
join:2011-12-31
Saint Petersburg, FL

buckweet1980

Member

Thanks for the comments guys.. It helps. We definitely want a nicer area and will look at Wylie a bit too.. We just need to get down there and nail down the final area.

We're just excited to not be freezing our asses off during winter. While it does get chili down there, it's not going to be the nastiness like up here. I don't know how people can live further north that even here, lol.. Every year I get older the more I hate it.

We're just excited to be able to have In-N-Out and Grimaldi's Pizza whenever we want!!
kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA

kes601

Member

You'll probably be asking yourself how people can deal w/100+ degree temps every day during the summer next year
buckweet1980
join:2011-12-31
Saint Petersburg, FL

buckweet1980

Member

Hehe..yeah there is that opposite extreme.. My brother lives in phoenix and I've been there during the summers several times. We were in Texas in August in both Dallas and Houston. So I'm familiar with the temps.

I can deal with hot more than I can cold
joelsplace
join:2005-09-19
Roanoke, TX

joelsplace to buckweet1980

Member

to buckweet1980
You can't really trust the online address checker. In Keller my neighbor had it 6 months before I could convince them to sell service to me. They kept telling me it wasn't available even though the box was in my front yard, I got fliers in the mail constantly and my neighbors had it. I have a customer in Lewisville on 121. He had a box on the street also and they insisted service wasn't available. He managed to get in touch with the area manager and had him come out. He said "I guess we do have service here" and got it hooked up for him.
stewlevine
join:2002-05-28
Plano, TX

stewlevine to buckweet1980

Member

to buckweet1980
I moved from Mt Lebanon to Plano. It'll be an adjustment.

As people said before, make sure you look at school district boundaries as well as city boundaries, they won't be the same.

By the way, there are Steeler bars in Plano!