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chomper87
join:2012-02-22
Clearwater, FL

chomper87 to CGMason14

Member

to CGMason14

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

So what?

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

Where is this totally inaccurate info coming about that Copper is more reliable?
quote:
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
Fiber infrastructure is virtually immune to:
Water
Magnetic fields
Electric fields
Lightning

And fiber has:
minimal loss of signal over long distance
bandwidth transfer of 100Gb+ per second:
quote:
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.

»www.extremetech.com/comp ··· d-record

This is a no-brainer decision. This is why Fiber is used ubiquitously in enterprise data connections, undersea transcontinental connections, etc, etc, etc.

nothing00
join:2001-06-10
Centereach, NY

nothing00

Member

said by chomper87:

And fiber has:
minimal loss of signal over long distance
bandwidth transfer of 100Gb+ per second:

...

This is a no-brainer decision. This is why Fiber is used ubiquitously in enterprise data connections, undersea transcontinental connections, etc, etc, etc.

And Verizon gets to shift a huge amount of their electric bill to the end user! No more paying for the electricity costs to support the network. Every user now gets to power their own ONT.

Totally selfless move by Verizon.

nycdave
MVM
join:1999-11-16
Melville, NY

nycdave

MVM

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....

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

1 recommendation

Thinkdiff to nothing00

MVM,

to nothing00
said by nothing00:

And Verizon gets to shift a huge amount of their electric bill to the end user! No more paying for the electricity costs to support the network. Every user now gets to power their own ONT.

Totally selfless move by Verizon.

Wow.. That's the best argument against FiOS I've seen yet. You really have Verizon all figured out. Spend billions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades to save pennies on their electricity bills.

They should keep repairing 50-100 year old lines.. or you could, you know, use one less lightbulb somewhere in your house, but you're right. That would totally be screwing you over.

alchav
join:2002-05-17
Saint George, UT

alchav

Member

said by Thinkdiff:

said by nothing00:

And Verizon gets to shift a huge amount of their electric bill to the end user! No more paying for the electricity costs to support the network. Every user now gets to power their own ONT.

Totally selfless move by Verizon.

Wow.. That's the best argument against FiOS I've seen yet. You really have Verizon all figured out. Spend billions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades to save pennies on their electricity bills.

Come on Man! Don't you guys know how a Central Office works. There is Talk Battery on Copper Lines, a -48V powered by Batteries on an AC Float System, but there is no saving from the Power Company, a Fiber Network still needs Power. The ONT needs AC Power, more than the C.O. could accommodate.

nothing00
join:2001-06-10
Centereach, NY

nothing00 to Thinkdiff

Member

to Thinkdiff
said by Thinkdiff:

Wow.. That's the best argument against FiOS I've seen yet. You really have Verizon all figured out. Spend billions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades to save pennies on their electricity bills.

They should keep repairing 50-100 year old lines.. or you could, you know, use one less lightbulb somewhere in your house, but you're right. That would totally be screwing you over.

I'm all for FIOS, have it myself and love it. But there's a scale, efficiency and moving responsibility of power and maintenance to the user that people frequently dismiss - like you did. "Gee, it's only 30-watts!" Well, gee, it's only a $3.99 bogus line fee on your bill too. Multiply that by millions of customers and soon you're talking real money. It's the 30 watt bulb that always on. The ONT doesn't even qualify as a vampire device since it is always on and never in a power saving state. (Well, that I've noticed anyway.)

In any case, energy wise, FiOS is far less efficient for providing voice phone service to homes when it comes to power. It's much more efficient to keep lines energized in a limited number of locations than it is to distribute mini (and far less robust - 8 hours tops) backups all over the place. And have the customer maintenance the backup too. I'm sure Verizon will see significant drops in the power required to run this system when consumers foot the electric bill for most of the network. Long term, that's part of the reason it's more efficient [for them]. These are the gifts that keep giving once the buildout is complete.

And yes - I do believe that they should be repairing and replacing copper until there's something else that's AS RELIABLE in EMERGENCY situations as copper is. The whole point of regulations requiring high availability service was for safety of life, not because I was without power for two days, felt lonely and wanted to chat with g-ma. It's because I was without power for two days and my idiot neighbor was using candles for light and NOW THEIR HOUSE IS BURNING. And Verizon has neatly escaped this with FiOS. They've basically said, "we're no longer responsible for providing reliable phone service".

I think FiOS is a GREAT product. Suggesting that it replaces POTS is a bridge too far. We don't have anything nearly as reliable that provides safety of life service.

However, in the aftermath of Sandy people have noticed and are considering performance standards for wireless, etc.

So no, I don't think Verizon is screwing people for requiring some equipment in the home to use the Internet or watch TV. But to suggest that it's a nice and neat replacement for POTS is incredibly unnerving.

PoloDude
Premium Member
join:2006-03-29
Aiken, SC

1 recommendation

PoloDude

Premium Member

So you believe that Verizon should rebuild BOTH the copper and FiOS plant in areas that it was wiped out?
And if you believe that FiOS should be made as reliable POTS ? Many could argue that that except for the power limitation, FiOS is FAR more reliable than copper.

nothing00
join:2001-06-10
Centereach, NY

nothing00

Member

said by PoloDude:

So you believe that Verizon should rebuild BOTH the copper and FiOS plant in areas that it was wiped out?

I believe there should be something as reliable as POTS. Be it POTS itself or ...?
said by PoloDude:

And if you believe that FiOS should be made as reliable POTS ? Many could argue that that except for the power limitation, FiOS is FAR more reliable than copper.

This sounds right. It's probably the power limitation that's holding FiOS back from being a suitable replacement.
trudy
join:2013-02-15

1 recommendation

trudy to nothing00

Member

to nothing00
Plus, the customer has to pay for a new battery when the battery reaches its end of life, and they get to install it themselves. The local cable company replaces the battery free and does it themselves.
nyrrule27
join:2007-12-06
Howell, NJ

nyrrule27

Member

Comcast is going to start charging for the battery too

»Comcast to Start Charging For XFINITY Voice Backup Batteries