US Telco Support > Verizon > Verizon Fiber Optics > Verizon is using Sandy as an excuse to force people to FiOS

Verizon is using Sandy as an excuse to force people to FiOS

I point to »A Look at Verizon's Decimated NYC Network

reply to CGMason14
A lot of Verizon's copper was damaged in that storm from the water. I know what you mean about the ONT and the battery back-up and all, but the fiber is supposed to be more reliable as far as outdoor elements go. They just better honor the same price she has now.

The area is question is all overhead wiring. Its a no brainer if it was a similar situation to Lower Manhattan. All things considered, the copper phone line service was the most reliable utility in the area after that storm.

reply to CGMason14

reply to CGMason14
She will keep her price and plan. There are many areas in NY and NJ where the Plant (lines and poles) were completely wiped out. In those areas the company in NOT re-installing the copper plant. They will be FiOS only.
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“My horse fights with me and fasts with me because if he is to carry me into battle, he must know my heart and I must know his or we shall never become brothers.
-Plenty Coups, Chief of the Crow”

reply to CGMason14
In addition to what PoloDude said, phone service has been provided on (at least some) fiber based facilities for decades. The fact that it will be all fiber on the fios platform will not change anything from a price perspective. If anything, I think she'll get better service.

reply to CGMason14
why you complaining that copper only has an 8 hour back-up. I remember in 2002 when the east coast lost power, my phone service went dead about 7 hours after the lights went out. their battery backups went dead too.
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Email/MSN: Michael at hardwaregeeks.comAIM: MikeR35292

reply to CGMason14
I side with Verizon on this. When they (VZ) want to upgrade their infrastructure they can't because people don't want to change. When they do upgrade the infrastructure many don't change because they're fine with what they have now. They get the shaft in both aspects, so where's the incentive to change and bring new services?

If they provide you with the same SLA and service quality then what is the issue? As long as they provide the same quality of service it doesn't matter how its brought to your door. Also how can one expect all services to work in the case of a natural disaster? I think you should be lucky to have any services at all.

I'm also with buckweet and Verizon on this one (And I rarely side on the telco side with any issue). I don't want my fios bill increasing to maintain a century old technology when we have fiber available now. Replace that copper and good riddance!

reply to CGMason14
So what?

As pointed out here:
»www.theverge.com/2012/11/17/3655···ne-sandy

Where is this totally inaccurate info coming about that Copper is more reliable?

quote:

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Verizon’s taking the opportunity to rewire with fiber optics instead. Service has been restored to FiOS customers for over a week — unlike copper, fiber optics aren’t damaged by the water

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quote:

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A delicious combination of high-energy physicists, engineers, and computer scientists from Caltech and the University of Victoria have broken the world record for sustained, computer-to-computer transfer over a network. Between the SuperComputing 2011 (SC11) convention in Seattle and the University of Victoria Computer Centre, Canada — a distance of 134 miles (217km) — a transfer rate of 186 gigabits per second was achieved over a 100Gbps bidirectional fiber optic link; 98Gbps in one direction, 88Gbps in the other.

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reply to CGMason14
Hell around here on the west side of town everything is fed off a ATT CEV ( controlled environment vault). All copper runs to a mux in there and then its all fiber back to the C.O. They have a generator hookup at the CEV if its without power long enough for the mux batteries to die. We are on an old oc3 ring at our office where they drop off a ds3. All of our copper t1's have about 10ft of copper before they go to the mux and are fiber back to the C.O. Just because something is copper doesnt mean it is for much or all of the path back to the C.O.

reply to CGMason14
I have a relative in Woodbury, NJ (not a major hit area for Sandy - just a lot of rain and wind with not a lot of downed trees in his immediate area). After the storm, his POTS service went down the toilet. If you call him, you ether get 2 rings and a fast busy signal, 1 ring and static or the call may go through normally. He can call out reliably but the connection has a lot of hum and static on it.

His DSL (provisioned at the 768 level) has dropped to somewhere around 386 - varies. V* has been out on the street in his area with techs in the Copper splice boxes trying to fix the problem (for a lot of their subscribers in the area) but there has not been much progress.

He talked to one of the techs and the guy said that POTS was a real mess with a lot of wind-driven water damage all over the place and that they were not sure how good the service would be after many weeks of repairs.

There is FiOS already in his area but my relative has been resistant to the change because he thought it would up his bill. He just found out that he'll get 3/1 Internet & FiOS DV for about $5 less than he's paying now for basic POTS (no included long distance) and 768 DSL I'net so he's finally making the switch. FiOS is supposed to be installed next Wed. He's having the ONT put inside his basement and I'm going to be there to hold his hand for the technology shock I expect he will show.
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Never raise your hands to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected. -- Red Buttons

reply to CGMason14
This is the very definition of a first world problem. How dare they replace their ancient copper with fiber, I mean seriously.

reply to CGMason14
Verizon is not going to force anyone, but if they want their Service Restored quickly FiOS is available. Both Copper and Fiber have their Pros and Cons, but Copper has to be replaced and Fiber is available. I keep saying Copper is an aging Infrastructure, connected to Old Equipment that has to be replaced by New Equipment that uses Fiber. Verizon is a Company and yes they want to make a Profit, but not at the Customers expense. Companies like Verizon have to use their Resources wisely, and Fiber and FiOS is the Future.

reply to chomper87

Do you think the CO just magically runs without electricity? The OLT still needs a huge amount of power. The ONT draws less than 30 watts....

reply to nothing00