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Review by tired_runner

  • Location: CT
  • Cost: $106 per month (month by month)
  • Install: about 7 days
Comparable video quality to cable, consistent stable Internet, CableCARD-ready
Bullshit taxes compared to cable, less channels compared to similar cable package
Very good alternative
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

My Other Reviews

·Frontier Communi..
So I happen to live in an area served by Verizon FiOS and Cablevision for some time. After years of putting it off being content with cable, I decided to check them out.

I opted for the Preferred HD + Internet 25/25 package. Instead of getting raped in DVR and STB rental fees, I bought the compatible Actiontec router on eBay and re-used the Silicondust HDHomeRun Prime network tuner that I used with cable. CableCARD rental currently costs $5 per card/month compared to $9/month for a standard, non-DVR STB. Modem rental will also set you back $5/month. With my setup, I have three TVs and I can record content on all of them while watching something else, the same way that TiVo works. That's $51 per month in fees versus $10. You do the math.

The video quality of their TV service is nothing to brag about. To me it looks the same as cable. Same compression, same artifacts during high-action sequence. Depending on your local market and franchise agreements, you might also access local programming. I get the same local channels I had with cable with exception of cable-owned and branded news & other assorted BS.

Their true worth in my opinion is the Internet. It is consistent, over-provisioned 25/25 service that normally gets me closer to 30/30. Netflix does not stutter and neither does YouTube. I also use Voice over IP services from other providers and so far Verizon doesn't seem to be standing in the way of me using them as before. All my calls still come through and still sound loud and clear.

New York City customers can expect at least an additional $16 in bullshit taxes/fees/"Because We Can" surcharges and whatnot tacked on to your monthly bill. It's the reason why my total bill comes to $106 instead of $90 for the actual services. Promotional, non-contract customers like myself will find it delightful to call and cancel without detrimental financial consequence should the "below-the-belt" fees start rubbing the wrong way.

The install took forever and a day despite my aiding the tech in identifying which coax he could use, and where he could drill for the ONT. The tech started off nice and appeared to know what he was doing, and this was true until we needed to get the TV service working. Even though I told him on arrival I should have CableCARD's in my order, he conveniently decided to forget this and was happily ready to install STBs instead. Two hours later and a 15-minute call to Verizon repair, TV service was finally on.

Bottom line...... Internet is fast, TV works fine. Plan to give up an entire day for first-time ever installs. And don't let the tech jerk your chain. This is nothing to wet your pants about, but it's definitely a good alternative.

member for 21.5 years, 9847 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 7.2 years ago


Review by klipko

  • Location: Portland, Washington, OR, USA
  • Cost: $160 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 11 days
Reliable FiOS internet service
Week upload bandwidth with new plans
Internet worthwhile service to get
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

2014 - December update

We cut the cord for two reasons:
1) Hardy watched TV, est about 7 hours a week in front of the flat screen
2) 90% of what we watch can be received OTA

When Frontier updated their FiOS Interplans from 15/5, 25/10, 35/15 to 30/5, 50/10, 100/15, we took the plunge and dropped TV and phone service. We still can't live without a DVR so I purchased a Tivo Roamio and ported our phone to Ooma.

...Stopping. This review should move to a Frontier FiOS review type.

March / 2010 - update

Been a while since last update. So here a list of all that has happened. Dates are approximate. This is a work in process.

2010
* Mar - Updated to 1.7.1
* Mar - Added HD feed of Comcast Sports Network NW (CSN NW - ch 577). Surprised by this since it seems that Comcast will not share CSN NW (SD/HD) with any satellite or other cable providers in the NW.
* Feb - Updated to 1.7
* Jan - Added HD feed of local ION station (ch 505)
* Jan - Added HD feed of MSNBC (ch 602)

2009
* ??? - Added HD feed of local MyTV Network (ch 513)
* ??? - Added Viacom HD feeds of MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and others.
* Oct - upgraded triple bundle TV, 25/15 mbit Internet, phone, multimedia DVR and HD box for 160.00 (including tax). New bundle is $10 more plus no longer have the -$10 discount. Paying $20 more per month.
* ??? - Remote DVR now with stream HD recordings. Swapped SD box for HD box.

2008
* ??? - Verizon added boatload of HD channels
* ??? - Redid the channel lineup. HD and SD channels are now offset by 500. e.g. USA Network channel 50, USA Network HD feed channel 550. Music Choice moved to 1800, Urge Radio moved to 1900.
* Aug - Remote DVR was enabled for VHO 12 customers. Love this feature.

February / 2008 - update

FiOS TV was released in December '07 so when things slowed down a little (I just became a first time dad and boy is it ever a lifetime changing event) I went to the mall FiOS kiosk in hopes to switch from Comcast.

Background:
One requirement was the ability to port my home number from Comcast. If switching just TV my phone service from Comcast would cost $5 more and I felt that I was paying enough already. At that time my Comcast bill was ~$140 a month:
TV
* Standard Cable (includes basic and expanded basic)
* Preferred Package
* HD-DVR
* SD STB
Phone (Digital Voice)
* Phone service
* Modem rental

Switching TV and Phone to Verizon I would pay ~$140 for all three:
TV
* HD DVR
* multi room DVR w/ Home Media
* Movie & Sports package
* SD STB
Phone Service
* Phone service
Internet (installed the year prior)
* 5 Mbit / 2 Mbit

I've called Comcast various times throughout last year to see if they'll lower my bill one way or another but with no budge. In December (my second to the last call) I mentioned that I've been getting letters from Verizon about FiOS TV, they offered to cut my service right then (I didn't have FiOS TV installed nor ordered so again score one for Comcast). It was obvious that they didn't want to lower my bill at all nor keep me as a customer and I've been with them since Viacom / TCI / AT&T Broadband days. So on to Verizon.

Ordering:
Pretty much painless. The guy at the mall kiosk (Washington Square Mall) knew what he was selling and reiterated the same prices and plans schemes that was on the website. First check on of my number came back that they could not port it over. Disappointed, we chatted some more about when Comcast's new SportsNet NW network (new home to the TrailBlazers from Fox Sports Net NW) will be on FiOS (irony?) and during that time decided to check again. Bingo, it was portable so with that I ordered FiOS TV and Phone to complement my FiOS Internet. Install was scheduled between 1 - 3 pm 10 days after my order.

Before Install Date:
Inquiring on the order on Verizon's website three days before the install date it showed that it was canceled. I called about it. They had no reason why but a new one was created and schedule for the same date and time so I didn't worry. She thought it might have something to due with the number porting but that was just a guess.

Install Day - FiOS TV:
The installer called just before 10 am said that he was going to be at my house in 10 minutes. SO I left work (during a meeting). Not happy about that. Got home and my neighbor was talking to him. He had singed up for the triple service and coincidentally it was scheduled the same day so he thought the installer was at the wrong house. Result was the installer was dispatched to do both installs and decided to work on my house first because I had the ONT installed prior for FiOS Internet. (Score one for me, neighbor zero.)

He ran the new coax along side the existing Comcast cable. He was going to charge me extra to do that but ended up not because I made it really easy for him with pull strings everywhere to help speed things up.

In short description of the run:
* ONT to input of 3-way splitter
* Router (Actiontec) to 3-way splitter
* 3-way splitter to DVR
* 3-way splitter to STB

Both the DVR and regular STB boxes were fresh from Motorola. I think it took him more time to unpack them then running the coax.

Once plugged in the DVR took 10+ minutes to download the firmware, the STB 2 minutes. During that time I looked over his order and noticed that Multi-Room DVR wasn't on there. (It was on my original order.) He called headquarters and got it taken care of but not without being on hold for 20 - 30 minutes... not joking. Multi-tasker he was, he finished installing the boxes and made sure that all the channels I ordered were viewable, setup the widgets and ran an application that checks the router settings for current firmware, On Demand and TV guide are current. Once getting the OK on the phone that the Home Media DVR is "on" we tested it with success...first try.

Install Day - FiOS Phone:
Not too exciting here, my big worry was not getting my number ported over. Turned out to be a lot of worrying over nothing. On the scheduled install date the number was automatically ported which explained why my wife not answering the phone when calling to warn her about the installer coming early.

The side of the house, the ONT replaced the old box that housed the copper line from street, house phone wiring is feed from that location so all that was need was to feed the house pair to line one inside the ONT. Done. Phone was working instantly.

First Impressions TV:
Holy cow. The graphics, picture quality. Amazing. Just the menu alone is impressive. Lots of color and icons of the networks. Both boxes display the same menu baring any functions that they don't support (ie. DVR or Media Center on the regular STB).

The positives over Comcast:
* changing channels is quicker [SD and HD]
* menu graphics
* better (much much better) picture quality on SD channels
* HD looks a little better (I believe the standard HD stream of 19.2 Mbps is too much compression in general)
* NO DVR lockups
* DVR larger drive (Verizon 160G, Comcast 120G - no a lot but a little helps with HD recording)
* more channels [SD and HD]
* more music channels
* more clear QAM channels
* On Demand programming includes CBS and NBC shows
* less expensive for more programming/channels

Same between the two:
* DVR response, slow to bring up the menu after hitting the button

The negatives over Comcast:
* No HD On Demand programming at all
- I knew about this before making the order in hopes that it will come this year ('08)
* On Demand menu takes a longer time to come up
* Time on the DVR takes a while to display when changing channels or viewing recorded shows
* DVR rebooted twice while watching a show between 4 - 5pm on a weekday over a two week period

First Impressions Phone:
This is where I wish I would of done more research on. The phone service works find but I diffidently got the better deal with Comcast when it comes to features.

The positives over Comcast:
* cheaper when paired with Internet and/or Fios TV

Same between the two:
Phone
* Voice quality is the same
* Caller ID and call waiting work just fine

The negatives over Comcast:
* no online access to phone/voicemail
- this is kind of a big deal, with Comcast's system allowed a lot of control over the phone's functionality.
* $.40 more for Call Waiting Caller ID - (throw it in for free Verizon)
* Voicemail
- no online access to retrieve messages
- can't modify number of rings before VM picks up
- no option for email notification if voicemail was received
- voicemail notification does not show up on the phone (my phone [Panasonic KX-TG8232B] display "voicemail" if there is one, worked with Comcast Digital Voice and the older service Digital Phone)

Over all I am satisfied with making the switch but the phone service's lack of features does kind of suck. This was an over site on my part as I concentrated more on the TV aspect of FiOS and didn't do any comparisons between Comcast & Verizon on phone service. I will keep the Verizon phone service because it will be too expensive to move back to Comcast but I do hope that they will improve on it. I can see why people are moving their service to the Cable Co. if they all like Comcast provide a wide range of control and functions.

June / 2007 - update

Still with Verizon FiOS and I canceled service with Comcast in February '07. Much to my surprise there was no "Please don't go" or "We'll offer you this price for ..." from the Comcast rep. It was like he didn't care that I was leaving and service ended right after hanging up the phone.

Still no FiOS speed upgrade for Oregon but Verizon did say in a press release that "some of the 11 other states" will see upgrades before the end of the year (»newscenter.verizon.com/p ··· its.html) . Hopefully Oregon will be one of them but some how I doubt it. It seems like Verizon and Comcast feel no need to duke it out over speed / price in this area. Friends with FiOS or Comcast HSI service in Seattle area are seeing the same thing. It could be that most of the NW is QWEST and they pose no threat of being a real broadband leader in the near future. Question being, do I really need a boost in speed... At this time no but could prove to be useful within the next year. I've started experimenting with IPTV (ok picture quality, content is lacking) and more family members are subscribing to some kind of broadband service with the hopes of doing video conferencing (grandparents seeing their "first grand child" via IM in Jan '08). I had hopes to be able to have a device to rent HD movies via some download service but still find that market a big disappointment so that still is far off. XBOX 360 and AppleTV maybe but still lack in movies and features.

OK so back to my update review, in mid March '07 a neighbors water pipe broke near the meter and during this fix the contractor cut my fiber line. (My fiber line crosses over their water service.) The contractor called it in but didn't tell my neighbor. That evening when I discovered the cut I talked to my neighbor, he didn't know that it was cut (nor was knowledgeable in FiOS in the first place... ugh.) so I called it in. Verizon didn't have on record that my "outage" was reported before so a new ticket was created. Weak I thought. Next day Verizon was out and laid a temporary [fiber optic] cable on the ground so we could have some service and created a ticket to have their cable bearing sub-contractors come to replace the broken line.

Week later coming home I noticed the new fiber line coiled up next to the ONT. Another week went by and no transition from the temporary to the permanent so I called. Was told that they will be out in the next week to make the change. The "week" went by (it's now mid April) and my wife called me to tell me the sub-contractor was there to put in the new cable. Huh? I talked with him on the phone but his English was very limited so need less to say we got nowhere. I told my wife to just have him do what ever. We were getting tired seeing the temporary cable being a part of our landscape. Just like the other two, they managed to do a good job for the third one. No cut electrical, water, sewer and gas lines. Then finally about 8 days later Verizon made the switch to the new fiber line.

From the initial cut to the final switch over it took about 5 weeks. Even though service was disrupted three short times (when the fiber was first cut, to switching to the temp line, then to the permanent) I wasn't pleased in the time frame the way Verizon handled it. I wish Verizon could of updated me with the progress of the job via phone call or access online.

So the service is still going strong. Online speed tests show 14.8 - 15.5 Mbit down and 1.7 - 1.9 Mbit up. One part about Verizon broadband service we really like is the integration with Yahoo or MSN. We are a Yahoo family so we linked up our Yahoo accounts with Verizon. Now we have access to most or all paid Yahoo services. Unlimited email storage, POP3 access, no adds viewing email via web interface, CD quality streaming music (not quite close to CD quality according to my ears), free CA anti-virus software (if going MSN they supply McAfee), larger online briefcase storage and so on. An added benefit switching to FiOS from Comcast HSI.

Other than that, nothing else to report. At the beginning of getting FiOS I thought that signing up for the 15/2 service would be over kill but I find that the wife and I are able find ways to use that bandwidth, mostly streaming video but also streaming music and VPN. Hopefully Oregon is on the list to see the upgrades and when it does I'll post another update.

-- old review --

Fiber was laid in my neighborhood in late August early September '06. Some time in October I was illegible for service but I waited to see if Verizon would do a speed increase for FiOS customers in Oregon. At the time I had Comcast HSI ( 6 Mbps / 384 kbps) and I was hoping to move FiOS's 10 Mbps / 2 Mbps service that is offered in other Verizon states. The idea of paying $11 less a month for faster service...(drool).

Comcast HSI: $45.95 - $42.95 (for 6 Mbps / 384kbps) + $3.00 modem rental
Verizon Fios: $34.95 - 5 Mbps / 2 Mbps (10 Mbps / 2 Mbps in some states)

In late December it never happened so I called up to order the $44.95 service (15 Mbps / 2 Mbps). Thinking that I can always drop back to the lower tier of service if I felt that it's too much. Order was placed on December 23 and schedule for Jan 3, 2007 @ noon. Bonus was that install is free and I get the first three months of service for $29.95.

Dec. 26, the sidewalk, part of my landscape and walkway were marked for all underground utilities. It's Winter in Oregon and so I didn't care if a plant or two nor my bark dust had spray paint on them. It will go away.

Dec. 27, a Verizon representative stopped by the house to scout out a location for the fiber to access the house from the street. My wife was home to meet with her and they both picked a very good spot. (The way the Fiber was laid in the street it was not possible to use the same path as the old copper line.) My only requirement was to remove about 10 bricks from the walk way for the fiber cable to poke out. The Verizon rep. said that their contractor will be out as early as Friday (Dec. 29) to bury fiber from the street to the house.

Jan 2 Verizon's fiber contractor showed up around 10:00 am ish. Wife was home to meet with them and answer any questions. I did speak with one of them on the phone just to make sure that the fiber was to come out where the Verizon rep. said. He reiterated what the rep. said and I felt comfortable after hanging up. The job only took 2 hours and no damage to any of the utilities. Gas, water, power, old Verizon copper and storm/gutter drains is what they had to navigate around. (I wish I could watch them do it.) They did leave a tarp in my neighbors yard.

Jan 3. I ended up taking the whole day off so I could finish up preparing for the install. (A different and long "lesson learned" type of story.) While at HomeDepot that morning (8:00 am ish) I got a call from the Installer asking to come over at 8:15 am. Their morning install didn't have the fiber to the house yet (mix up between Verizon and the fiber contractor). No problem to come early since I had the day off.

Two guys, one has been doing installs for 20 years with Verizon, the other, an apprentice worked in sales for 5 years than moved to installs. Both very friendly and didn't mind if I just stand around and watched.

I had them remove the old POTS box ( I current have Comcast Digital Voice for phone) and place the ONT in the same location. (It was obvious that the primary installer had been do this for years. He was very cautious when drilling holes making sure that they are clear of power or other obstacles.) They coiled up the old copper and left it in the ground. They said it's required by the county or State (I don't remember) to leave it in case I wanted POTS service from some other Company (Integra, Eschelon, MCI/Verizon).

Hour later the power supply was installed in the garage and the ONT installed outside. Fiber connected to the ONT and power on...but no blinky lights. They did something out in the street and then it started working. Next, service in to the house.

I had them place the CAT5 box up in the closet of the computer room. It was the easiest since the ONT and that side of the closet are on the same side of the house. He drilled a hole for the CAT5 access and ran it along the house. (My house is pretty much light in color so the CAT isn't noticeable unless you are trying to look for it.) The computer room is on the second floor so he stapled the CAT along a groove on the exterior down to the foundation. There he ran along the foundation to the ONT. Installed the connector on the CAT for the ONT and did the same for the small service box in the computer room.

They un-boxed the router and hooked up my computer to it. Powered up the router, initialized my account and then finally ran a speed test from www.speedtest.net (Seattle server). Speed at first jumped to 15 Mbps then dropped drastically to about 4 Mbps. He said my machine's TCP/IP parameters needed to be configured to run at a faster speed so we went to www.speedguide.net and ran the TCP Optimizer. Rebooted, ran the speed test again got the advertised speed 15 Mbps down and 1.8 Mbps. Not quite there on the upload but it's still 4 to 5 times faster then Comcast.

Currently I haven't canceled Comcast service because I wanted to compare the two. What I do mostly is listen to online radio (Shoutcast or my XM Radio subscription) and work remotely. Having the jump in upload has greatly helped my speed when VPN to work and syncing files or dealing with 5 - 15 meg attachments. Once in a while I need to download a Linux ISO or software from MSDN and I get a kick seeing download speeds of 1 Megabyte per second ( ~ 1.7 MB to be more exact).

After having the service for a week now, I just love it and of course Verizon has me hook on the 15/2 service. Now my only complaint is that some servers I access have slower connections then me so I'm forced to slow down. ( oh darn.)

member for 15.7 years, 2795 visits, last login: 31 days ago
updated 7.2 years ago


SparkChaser
Premium Member
join:2000-06-06
Downingtown, PA

SparkChaser

Premium Member

FIOS service

Good review of your experience. Thanks! I tried FIOS before, now that they have TV maybe it's time for a second look.

FIOS cust
@cox.net

FIOS cust

Anon

FIOS

Most issues that I see come from ignorant people who have no right ownig a PC anyways. FIOS is awesome. Just the usual I D 10 T error from the user side.

Review by cotm

  • Location: Stephens City, Frederick, VA, USA
  • Cost: $120 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 1 days
  • No Cap
awesome bandwidth and not a single hickup in a week. unlike comast

The Fios Speeds can't be matched . My Installer was very knowledgeable . Attention to detail superb.
the price includes DirectTv with a HD package...

member for 16.6 years, 377 visits, last login: 4 years ago
updated 7.2 years ago







Review by TwinBing

  • Location: Plano, Collin, TX, USA
  • Cost: $192 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 1 days
  • No Cap
Fast and reliable
Best choice if available
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

Monthly cost includes internet, FiOS TV Extreme package and FiOS Digital Voice phone.

member for 19.7 years, 5681 visits, last login: 1 day ago
updated 7.2 years ago







Review by dennismurphy

  • Location: Parsippany, Morris, NJ, USA
  • Cost: $151 per month
  • Install: about 3 days
  • No Cap
Fast as hell, top-notch TV and voice quality
Nada
Still thrilled.

UPDATE: December 2014:
My 75/35 package is now 75/75, routinely overprovisioned to 85/85. FiOS STB's are nearly perfect - and the phone service works. Nearly as perfect a triple play as is possible!

UPDATE: OCTOBER 2013:

Still thrilled with FiOS. Upgraded my Internet package to 75/35 service, dropped one of my phone lines, and I'm still very happy with it. Rock on.

------
I moved into a new home this past July (2011) and decided it was time to ride the light -- welcome to Verizon FiOS.

After some initial SNAFUs regarding my order and phone service (they lost my old phone number in the process), the service is up, running, and fantastic.

I have the 25/25mbit package, along with 2 FiOS Digital Voice phone lines and FiOS TV service.

Excellent quality all around! The Internet service clocks in consistently at 30mbit down/25mbit up (yes, over my rated speed!), and the voice product is excellent. I'm probably least happy with FiOS TV, but that doesn't mean I'm unhappy, just that I've been spoiled by a bakers' dozen years with DirecTV. I get occasional picture glitches which have been attributed to a bug in the set-top box firmware. Hopefully the VZ folks fix that soon.

I did manage to get in on the "Free Multi-Room DVR for Life" promotion, as well as a free SD set-top box. So, even with 3 DVRs and two additional STB's in the house, and a second phone line, I'm still saving $90/month over what I was paying for Optimum Online, Optimum Voice + DirecTV. I'm happy to have more than $1,000 extra in my pocket every year.

Overall, I miss my DirecTV for television, but I'm coping with FiOS TV (I miss it, but I'd miss the $1,000 more!) The rest, however (Internet and Phone) are absolutely top notch!

Good stuff - the billing is convoluted, and you have to stay on top of it, but once it 'settles in', everything is good.

member for 19.3 years, 9583 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 7.2 years ago


Review by FDM80

  • Location: Silver Spring, Montgomery, MD, USA
  • Cost: $70 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 14 days
Very Reliable
Price has increased 75% since original installation.
Acceptable service but has been uncompetitive on price over the last few years.
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

15/15 @ $70 per month.

The service in and of itself is fine. The issue is the cost for what really amounts to the same old service continues to climb.

member for 20.7 years, 7448 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 7.3 years ago


daddytd
@verizon.net

daddytd

Anon

Verizon FIOS Multiroom DVR Problem

Verizon FIOS Multiroom DVR does not allow to set a reminder for upcoming programs
waiting4fios
join:2005-04-08
Howell, NJ

waiting4fios

Member

Re: Verizon FIOS Multiroom DVR Problem

The set reminder feature is replaced with the record program feature on the DVR. The idea behind it is that if you wanted to watch it, it will switch 1 of the tuners to that show and record it for you, you can then watch it at your leisure rather than only when the show is on. I'm pretty sure this is intentional as I don't think they just forgot to add it to the DVR as all the other QIP boxes have the feature. Also it is not a multiroom DVR problem, it is set up this way no matter if you have regular DVR or multiroom.

Cholofrances
@216.223.27.x

Cholofrances

Anon

Internet is slow at night

While I am playing video games at night and trying to do my work I get a really high ping and afterwards I lag

Boss Playa
@72.185.175.x

Boss Playa

Anon

Re: Internet is slow at night

They have a deal going in florida right now 50/25 and cable with over 250 channels and HBO or Showtime for 70 after taxes






Review by sburkhardt

  • Location: Huntington Beach, Orange, CA, USA
  • Cost: $140 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
Ordering and installation were smooth - BUT!!!!!!
Outdated equipment in building means FIOS Lite and SLOW speeds - Verizon lies about their rates
They are being fired in one week.
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)

Ordered the highest TV package and wanted high speed internet. Getting the TV was not a problem but caps in my building are 30/5 on the internet. Apparently Verizon does not want to upgrade their cabinets. I have a coax and copper drop into the unit. Verizon utilized both. I have TV coming in through the coax (attached to their router which provides internet to the boxes) and internet through an ADSL modem attached to the copper. Tee ADSL modem then attaches to their router to supply internet to the boxes as well as supply the routing for the data. This explains their cap of 30/5 do to the use of the old copper. I do not understand why they could not send everything through the coax with higher throughput? Their competition, Time Warner, is now offering 300/20 service to my unit through the coax. The drawback is dealing with Time Warner and FiOS channel packages are better. I decided to go with the better TV worse data trade-off now, but with a 30/5 cap, i am still not sure I made the right decision. I was used to 75 down with Cox before I moved.

Install process went ok but took almost 4.5 hours. They had problems with syncing and activation on their end. It took two techs and quite a bit of time for them to get it all working. In the end everything worked. The installer was courteous and apologetic. FiOS also contacted me to rate the installation and make sure everything was working. If not I could contact the installer directly for resolution... a nice touch! Luckily everything functions as intended.

I stressed to Verizon sales that they REALLY NEED to address the service caps on my building. I would like to stick with them but the jury is still out in terms of which i can live without... higher speed or more channels/HD/Etc. I ended up paying a bit more per month not to be roped into a contract so I will not be penalized for dropping them... but will still be out the $70 or so in installation/activation fees. I don't think Verizon realizes that their competition is really pulling away in terms of speed! I thought FIOS was supposed to be fast... I think they need to rebrand this FiOS lite.

UPDATE (12-3-14):

After receiving my first bill I almost fainted. I fully expected to see below the line fees but they totaled more than $20 worth not including the taxes. In addition to the made up fees, i also was paying over $35 in equipment (2 boxes) and DVR charges. To top it all off the package was $20 higher than what they quoted on the phone originally. Of course Verizon now suffers severe amnesia regarding any of the previous conversation. Their total monthly charges are over $200 for their ultimate TV and 30/5 internet.

Unfortunately swallowed my pride and went crawling back to my only other duopoly choice TW and signed up for their preferred TV/phone/300mbps package which will come out to $170 per month with the taxes, equipment (including the need to rent their modem) and the estimated below the line fees. Hmmm... no real difference in channel line ups, added phone which I don't need (but that is a cheaper package than without) and get internet that is 10x faster (at least in marketed speed) than Verizon. All this through the same Coax that Verizon is currently utilizing.

The install is in a little over a week. I will let everyone know how it goes. The good news is I had to pay the first month in advance so at least I know I will not be overly shocked.

This information is not opinion... just the way it is. It just proves that in the Huntington Beach market there really is just no true competition. At least one of the carriers has some motivation to continue to ratchet up their data speeds (and charge the same rate that Verizon charges for 30/5).

member for 18.3 years, 82 visits, last login: 2.3 years ago
updated 7.3 years ago


VashTS
@65.35.159.x

VashTS

Anon

It Happens

Every building is different, if they are using ADSL for internet they either don't have the rights to use the coax, owner of the building wont let them run fiber to every unit, or its just to much of a pain or impossible to run fiber to every unit. 75 on cables not what its cracked up to be. I have it and I don't get the full download speeds, not just on speed test but using Usenet or FTP that can go 100 or faster! When I had Fios I got the full 75 down. Loved it! Wish I could get it again.
sburkhardt
join:2003-11-05
Huntington Beach, CA

sburkhardt

Member

Re: It Happens

Not arguing the fact that they cannot run the fiber... my point is that they are utilizing BOTH the twisted pair copper AND the coax. There is no reason they couldn't run the data through the coax... they just choose not to. The coax is more than capable of handling the speeds. In fact since they are utilizing both the copper and the coax, i cannot have a second provider as there is only one drop of each into the unit... therefore i couldn't choose one provider for TV and the other for data.

VashTS
@65.35.159.x

VashTS

Anon

Re: It Happens

They cant use the coax. Any coax running in the building is not theirs. Only the coax in your apt is "yours" all the lines leading up to your apt belongs to who ever ran them. Yupp is wrong and ITIALIAN926 is right. Many apts get fiber ran into the apt right to an ONT not an MDU. Even though MDUs come in different flavors, new buildings have eithernet and or coax for MDUs. Older ones get VDSL. Not a bad option just as long as the phone wire is in good shape.

OpTiC
Premium Member
join:2014-03-08
West Covina, CA

OpTiC to sburkhardt

Premium Member

to sburkhardt
Get rid of the TWC modem and buy your own modem you will save 5.99. It would be a dual modem set up. You current modem has Internet disable and use another modem which is compatible like the Motorola SB 6183. Verizon Fios needs to lower their pricing. I also have Verizon Fios as a option up to 500/500 but I would pay for that if it's under $150. Once Comcast takes over TWC I would be with Verizon Fios for internet and phone. Comcast for only TV.

ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16

ITALIAN926

Member

Re: It Happens

Comcast for TV over FioS? Thats funny.

OpTiC
Premium Member
join:2014-03-08
West Covina, CA

OpTiC

Premium Member

Re: It Happens

I rather have that because Comcast do have Jade and Verizon has the e Version of it. I don't want that because my whole family likes to watch that channel. Here is a wiki article about it. Never mind I just found out that Verizon just got it. I might reconsider Verizon Fios TV. If Verizon has Tivo On Demand just like Comcast I will get Verizon Fios.

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ja ··· 28USA%29

Yuup
@75.80.242.x

Yuup to VashTS

Anon

to VashTS
Verizon doesn't run fiber to every apartment anyway, Their MDU Fios is just like a standard cable company. sburkhardt has a a point, they need to rebrand it to Fios lite when it comes to complexes.

ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16

ITALIAN926

Member

Re: It Happens

Theres plenty of complexes that get fiber all the way to the prem.

Review by nasadude

  • Location: Rockville, Montgomery, MD, USA
  • Cost: $102 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 5 days
speeds improved to be symmetric; was 50/25, now 50/50 but get closer to 60/60
still not cheap but paying less because we dropped to lowest TV tier, no movies
pretty much bulletproof except for one brief period
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

since last review, dropped from having all movie channels to lowest TV tier, cost went from $209/mo to 102/mo. Catalyst for change (aside from realizing movies channels, HBO etc., weren't worth the money) was new "sports fee" of $2.xx that showed up on bill; when that happened we dropped to tier without sports.

when change was made went from 25/10 speed to 50/25 speed (a few bucks more), now speeds are symmetrical at 50/50; speed test consistently shows closer to 60/60.

Still haven't had any significant issues (except one brief period) since FIOS was installed.

member for 20.4 years, 4773 visits, last login: 5.8 years ago
updated 7.3 years ago


Review by aquacalc

  • Location: Hoboken, Hudson, NJ, USA
  • Cost: $85 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 7 days
didn't have a disruption in service since day 1 (almost 24 months now)
customer service and technical support are nearly useless
quality of service is better than Cablevision
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

All in all for the past two years the Verizon FIOS internet service was excellent.

That said, a few months ago, I had decided to connect my own router (ZyXel USG200) directly to LAN port on the Verizon FIOS panel, in order to bypass Verizon MI424WR router. Verizon support personnel was ineffective to say the least -- I went through at least six technicians (and at least as many customer service representatives, including the Verizon retention department).

Finally, I got to one very good and very bright guy who was able to activate my LAN port on the FIOS panel within ~15 minutes.


member for 7.3 years, 197 visits, last login: 5.8 years ago
lodged 7.3 years ago


VZKid
@108.28.109.x

VZKid

Anon

Moca to Ethernet

That ONT port is only supposed to be changed for internet tiers of 150mbps or more which is why you were unable to get anyone to help you. Sounds like someone went against Verizon policy and switched you from Moca to Ethernet.

aquacalc
Premium Member
join:2014-11-08
Hoboken, NJ

aquacalc

Premium Member

Re: Moca to Ethernet

Good to know -- Thank you!

Review by Rax

  • Location: Floral Park, Nassau, NY, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified. (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 14 days
It works and doesn't have much downtime
It sucks for gaming and thats what I got it for and they overbill me 4 months in a row. Too expensive $157 for basic triple play
Stay away from them if you game and want a good connection. Their tech support doesn't know anything about tech support
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)

.

member for 18.3 years, 4742 visits, last login: 89 days ago
updated 7.3 years ago

speeddemon100
join:2001-02-18
West Hempstead, NY

speeddemon100

Member

When is Fios coming to this side of the city line

Time Warner is ok, about 8-9 MB DL/ 490 ul. I'm over by LNP. My concern is ul cap on email. The big players like Yahoo, and AOL have like a 10 or 16 mb limit per email. Time Warner is around 5-8. What's the ul limit over Verizon Fios?
serge87
join:2009-11-29
New York

serge87

Member

Truth

Bad routing and terrible gaming go hand in hand on Verizon and has been known for some time on here. It's unfortunate but that's how it currently is. If you want a decent gaming experience, seek a cable competitor if possible. If you do go this route, please let us know which ISP you go to and how it compares to Verizon.

Dolansux
@173.3.224.x

Dolansux

Anon

Re: Truth

If you want the truth, check out the average speed, ping and latency of any fios sub. If YOU had a problem it is very uncommon.
serge87
join:2009-11-29
New York

serge87

Member

Re: Truth

You can have full speed verified by speed tests and still have packet loss.

Dolansux
@173.3.224.x

Dolansux

Anon

Re: Truth

So because YOU have packet loss, all Verizon FiOS is no good?
serge87
join:2009-11-29
New York

serge87

Member

Re: Truth

said by Dolansux :

So because YOU have packet loss, all Verizon FiOS is no good?

Do a search for problems gaming and Verizon FIOS. It's no good across the board...