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Verizon FiOS Internet Service

M

Miss Marty

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
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Thinking about upgrading to FIOS
What is your opinion of FiOS

On the date of your installation, a Verizon professional
will come to your home and install Verizon FiOS Internet Service.
They will need access to your home computer and will perform the following:

Install special data wiring to your computer.
If necessary, they will install any required wall jacks.
Install the Verizon home networking router and software.
Get you connected to the Internet.
Migrate any voice services on the current billing account to the Verizon FiOS network.
There is no additional cost for this, and it will not affect your current monthly charges.
Provide a Verizon FiOS Welcome Kit with information about your FiOS connection, Verizon Central and online services.
 
I would double check the cost. We had the triple package. Phone/internet/TV. It was costing us so much more than optimum because of the taxes. The Fios internet is definately faster, but not enough faster for us to spend another $100.00 per month.
 
I have it and I prefer it over Comcast which kept dropping my Internet connection. It is $39 a month. I have vonage for my phone at $19 and Comcast for the tv at $58. Don;t know how that compares to the bundle price... I do like it very much.
 
I switched everything (TV and Internet. I don't have a land line) to FIOS from my local cable provider. My package is cheaper, faster and more reliable than what I was paying the cable company. Note that there are 3 speeds offered for inernet. I have the slowest (and cheapest) internet which is still faster than I was getting from my cable provider. If I recall correctly, the monthly prices for internet in my market are $39.95, $49.95 and $59.95 depending on speed. My TV package is also cheaper and better for me. I get channels on FIOS that were not available from my cable provider at any price (Example: NFL channel, TVG and HRTV). Movies on demand are priced at $2.99 and $3.99.Other than from Electric Company power outages, neither FIOS internet or TV have never been down.

GEORGE
 
We got Fios for our phone and internet. We don't notice a difference in speed at all - if anything it takes longer for the internet to come up on our computer (we used to have broadband through the cable company). But the customer service seems to be pretty good. Be careful with first bill - they tried to overbill us by like $50 until they called them on it and they credited back the money ("oops our mistake")
 
When FIOS was just about in our area, they distributed a channel listing and complete pricing list, so a group of us sat down with the pricing from Optimum (Cablevision) and FIOS (Verizon) and compared the two head to head.

In our case the channel listings were virtually identical.
(only difference is FIOS had BBC America)

Internet speed for FIOS was about 10% faster on paper but if speed was critical, Optimum offered a Boost service that doubled the speed, but for comparison we didn't include the boost.

We each figured out the cost based on the number of sets we each have, what channels we have, whether they are HD, any DVRs, etc...

Some were cheaper on FIOS and some cheaper on Optimum (including me).

Most of us converted to the one that was the cheapest for us and we have all had about the same level of service. Both pretty stable and both with relatively poor customer service (a sign of the times :shrug: ).

We have since even run some speed tests and eventhough FIOS is about 10% faster on paper... we didn't see much difference, and each fluctuated enough that it is hard to say one is actually faster than the other.

One vendor was cheaper is you use more HD sets, or more DVRs, or one was even cheaper if you had a basic channel lineup but it swings to the other as you added more channels...

So there is no one definitive answer... if I were you, I would come up with a list of what you need and price it out for both options and pick what is best for you.

One note... we all saved money by getting the discounts of having all three services from one provider.

As far as technical comparisons, they are both VoIP so if you switch over your voice services, neither will keep the phone up during a power failure. Either get a UPS/battery or keep your cellphone charged. They are both fiber to the pole outside your house and they are both copper from your PC/TV/Phone to the interface box in your home. The stretch of cable from the pole to the interface box in the house is fiber under FIOS and copper coax from Optimum... not much difference.

Hope it helped... Good Luck
Pete
 
Can anyone comment on the speed of FIOS TV on demand menus. I find that on Comcast, the menus for on demand take SOOOOOOO long to work that I never use it.
 
Cable tv box operations (changing channels, on-demand, menus) can be affected by the specific cable box you have. There are definite differences in the responsiveness in newer boxes compared to ones that have been in service for a few years (older models). Since Verizon FIOS is pretty new, I'd expect all their boxes to be current-line models.

Jeff
 
JeffW said:
Cable tv box operations (changing channels, on-demand, menus) can be affected by the specific cable box you have. There are definite differences in the responsiveness in newer boxes compared to ones that have been in service for a few years (older models). Since Verizon FIOS is pretty new, I'd expect all their boxes to be current-line models.

Jeff
Click to expand...

I thought the speed depended on the server at the company. Since so many houses are on the one server, that would dictate the speed. Not the box.
 
I got a mailer today from Verizon regarding Fios in my area. So I call the number listed on the card.

After a very short wait I got a rep on the phone. I tell her I just want to know if Fios is available right now and get some info about it. She asks my phone number. I give it to her and she says, "oh I see your a Verizon local and long distance phone customer". I say yes. She then asks me to verify my name and address etc. I do.

She asks me to get my phone bill. I tell her that I get my bill via email and dont have the latest bill. She says she cant pull up info without my account number on it. I tell her she just told me that she sees I'm a Verizon customer so she obviously can see my account.

She says she cant talk to me about Fios with regards to my account without me having my bill. I'm just asking for general info I tell her. Sorry she says.
She tells me to call the Verizon business office and to request a copy of my bill and then call back.
I told her she made my decision to stick with cable much easier.
 
mepiccolo said:
We got Fios for our phone and internet. We don't notice a difference in speed at all - if anything it takes longer for the internet to come up on our computer (we used to have broadband through the cable company). But the customer service seems to be pretty good. Be careful with first bill - they tried to overbill us by like $50 until they called them on it and they credited back the money ("oops our mistake")
Click to expand...
That's interesting because they made a mistake on our bill too and were very prompt and courteous in correcting it. We love the FiOS connection (middle package) because our DSL was much slower than what we were supposed to get and now we get the true or very close to 15 Mbps/2 Mbps speed when I test it.

After reading some of the posts here, I don't know if we should get a complete Verizon package now. The offer is for the slowest speed and the calls are not free for out of the country anyway plus we like DISH.
 
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We would love to switch to Fios, since Comcast (we have cable TV and Internet) is gouging us. Have had ads in the local paper since January saying Fios is available in our town, but, everytime I check with them, they say it is not available in our area. We have had Verizon for land line, Long distance and cell for many years. Would have switched to Direct TV earlier in the year, but, the Fios ads gave me hope.

I can accept that, however, no one there can tell us when it will be available. They also can't answer why their ads say it is available in my town, and it is not.
 
We got FIOS 15/2 Internet the week it became available and love it. It has never failed in the two years since, and occasional speed tests show it very close to rated speed. Since few servers on the Internet actually spew bits your way at 15Mbps, it's plenty fast. We have three simultaneous users most evenings.

15 was the slowest speed offering at the time, but if they offer 5 it might be enough for you. You can upgrade with a phone call, there's no difference in the hardware.

As we have Verizon phone service, it is also delivered on the fiber, but the interface box converts it to copper at the house.

I don't think the bundle is worth it. It's hard to tell, they quote it at 99 or 109 dollars "plus other charges", but who the heck needs a landline with unlimited calling? The only reason I still have a landline at all is because too many people have the number. Still, sometimes a week goes by without an incoming call. Anyway, the bundle price apparently does not include the price of the TV boxes, which is $5+ each depending on whether it's HD and/or DVR. So it didn't look to me like there was any saving at all.

Does either system require a contract? I think FIOS did, and cable didn't, so that might matter -- an easy out if you're not satisfied.
 
Another piece to check out before signing up for the FIOS Triple Play package is whether you actually get FIOS TV service. My parents had signed up for the FIOS internet. They then received a flyer about the triple play package and how much money they could save. They went through the process of signing up, etc. In the end, Verizon told them that FIOS TV is not available in their area, so they had to use DirecTV and verizon would bundle that into their bill and give them a slight discount. In the end, they aren't really saving money to cover the aggrevation.
 
At least the guy who sold me the FIOS was honest about suggesting that we stick with our Dish network for our tv because we "had the best monthly pricing" he'd ever seen. We've been with Dish for about 6 years and we get a lot of pay per view (like fights), and we have the football and hockey ticket. He told us that DirectTV has the license for the sports tickets through I believe 2009, or maybe 2008? Anyway, FIOS can't offer those yet so even if the pricing was a little better my husband wouldn't want to give up his sports tickets.
 
Don't let them remove your copper wires to the pole. There was just an article in the paper saying that if you don't tell them to leave it, they will take it. This created problems if you want to cancel it in the future, or if you move.
 
davesdog said:
Don't let them remove your copper wires to the pole. There was just an article in the paper saying that if you don't tell them to leave it, they will take it. This created problems if you want to cancel it in the future, or if you move.
Click to expand...

I believe this is the line that is used for DSL. So, you can't go back to DSL without having the line reinstalled. I see this as forcing you to the more expensive FIOS after the phone/internet/Fios $99 package for 2 yrs expires.
 
We've had FIOS for over a year now, and we've been really happy with it. We've only paid $35/month. We're upgrading to FIOS TV and phone; installation is next week.
 
davesdog said:
Don't let them remove your copper wires to the pole. There was just an article in the paper saying that if you don't tell them to leave it, they will take it. This created problems if you want to cancel it in the future, or if you move.
Click to expand...

Two observations. First, they left all the wires to the pole. They actually came in on the other side of the house with the fiber. Second, I dumped my land line about 3 years ago and have never missed it. There must be a good reason but for the life of me I don't know why anyone keeps a land line.

GEORGE
 
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