I'll pay a little more, it's worth it
Written: Oct 02 '07 (Updated Mar 10 '09)
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For years I have hated my cable companies.. In different places I’ve lived I’ve dealt with Comcast, RCN and Cablevision. And I have had service problems with them all. The way cable companies treat customers has become the fodder of TV shows and movies. They never show up on time for appointments. And their technicians are usually contractors who get paid by the job. Their interest is in getting it done fast (not right) and moving on to the next customer.
I strongly considered Satellite, but wanted high speed Internet which Satellite does not offer. Also I heard too many stories from friends who said their picture would go out in heavy rain or snow storms. When FIOS came into my area as an alternative, I jumped on it. You will only be able to get FIOS if Verizon has cabled (wired is not really accurate), your neighborhood for it. You can check at www22.verizon.com/content/consumerfios/.
Installation:
One thing I liked about Verizon was the professionalism of the installers. These are the same Verizon employees (union) that we knew and trusted to install our phones. They have been trained in the new technology and have all the knowledge to do the job right. They are paid by the hour (not the job) and in my case where dedicated to making sure everything was set up correctly.
Verizon will need to run a new fiber optic line from the junction box to your home. In my case this was pretty easy and they didn’t even really disturb my grass much. They will disconnect the old copper line going into your house. After I had my install done, a friend told me I could have requested for them to leave the copper in, in case I ever wanted to go back to the old service. Not sure why I would, but you may want to consider that.
They will need to install a (powered box) inside your house to covert from the Fiber to Coax (which is what will run through your house for high speed data and TV service). It has a battery backup which should last 7 hours. One downside of this service is if the power goes out for longer you could be without a land line. I figure I’ll use my cell if there is a longer power outage. I'm also not sure what happens when that battery needs to be replaced, but even if I have to replace it myself, FIOS is worth it to me.
When I signed up installation was free and I did not need to sign any long term agreements. My installers showed up on time and made sure everything was working before they left. It was the complete opposite of every Cable install I have ever had done.
Video Service:
On HD channels, I can’t really notice a difference from my old Cable HD. I have a 5 year old 37 inch RCA cathode ray tube HD TV. I have read elsewhere that the FIOS HD signal is non-compressed (vs compressed for the cable companies) and is superior. But I can’t really see a difference. On all the other channels (non-HD) the picture is far superior to what I got with Cable. I believe it is because cable sends an analog signal over coax to all the homes in your neighborhood (with resulting signal loss). All Verizon channels are digital and it shows especially in the non-HD channel picture quality.
I've got the DVR they offer ($12 a month) and it is pretty much the same as the DVR the cable companies provided. Perhaps the user interface is a little nicer on the FIOS box. The one from the cable company had to be rebooted (unplugged and re-plugged) every now and then and that was very annoying if I was in the middle of a show. The Verizon DVR has only had to be rebooted once in two years (far superior to my experience with Comcast).
Verizon just recently offered a home media center which would allow you to see your recorded shows from any room in the house. It sounds great as I think you could start watching a show in the Media room, and the continue watching say in the kitchen while you make dinner. But I have not yet decided to upgrade to this service.
One downside for FIOS. You can hookup a cable ready TV directly without renting a set top box, but you will only get a few channels (Major networks, weather, public access and a couple of others). With most cable companies you can get 60 - 70 channels without any converter box. I made peace with the fact I need a converter box on all my TVs. Upside is I can watch video on demand from them all as well.
And since I mentioned video on demand, let me say I found this feature almost unusable with Comcast. It took too long to load. FIOS takes a few seconds to load and I’m enjoy the video on demand for the first time.
High Speed Internet (ISP):
Although cable companies tout higher broadband speeds than FIOS, I found going to FIOS greatly increased by web browsing speed. I think it has something to do with latency. Latency is the amount of time after you send your request to the ISP they send the content back down. Speed test often don't factor in latency and for my money I have a much more responsive Internet experience with FIOS.
FIOS has two speed offerings 5MPS and 15MPS with different price structures. I do a lot of downloading and I have yet to use up all of my 5MPS so I think getting and paying for the 15MPS would be wasted. Cable companies are now advertising up to 12MPS, but remember your true web surfing speed will be impacted by latency. Also, that is a local area network pipe you share with your neighbors. When the kid next store is downloading prodigious amounts of porn, your speed will suffer. Your FIOS pipe (5MPS or 15MPS) is dedicated and is not affected by others in your neighborhood.
Verizon does throw in a free wireless router, which I believe most cable companies do as well.
Voice:
No difference here from what I had before (service or price). I have the cheapest basic phone service as I use my cell or Skype for long distance calls. I have no features like call waiting or even long distance service. For me the wired phone is for local calls and as a back up to my cell.
Reliability:
I have had the service for two years with only one service interruption. That was when the cable company cut the Verizon FIOS fiber line in my neighborhood (supposedly by accident). I called Verizon and they had a team out to fix it in less than an hour. And they called me back afterwards to make sure I was up and running.
With cable periodic TV or Internet outages where common, especially on weekends.
Price:
Promotions change prices on these services all the time. For a while Comcast was offering their triple play (bundled TV, Internet and phone) for $100 and that seemed a great deal. Of course you only get that price for 12 months and thereafter are raised to the regular prices. I see Verizon (in my area) is now matching that, but those offers are only for new customers. I pay about $165 including taxes for TV (all channels they offer except Cinemax and International), 1 standard set top boxe and 2 DVRs, Internet at 5MPS and very basic phone service. Another review said you would pay 20% - 30% more in phone taxes and that is not true (for me). I do pay the same local taxes and fees I paid for cable. He had switched from Satellite and I suspect that is why the fees and taxes where new to him. If you have cable, I believe they will be the same.
I've priced out cable and with the promotions I could save a couple of hundred dollars for my first year switching back. After that the price would pretty much be the same. But here is the punch line, I'd pay more for FIOS. The service is that much better.
Update: June 2008 I did have one very annoying issue with them. I wanted to trade in one basic set top box for a DVR. I called and they said they would send me the DVR with a sticker to return the set top box. The DVR came, but there was no sticker or return instructions in the box. Returning the set top box and getting it removed from my bill was an odyssey through endless calls to 800 numbers (at least 10 calls) with mis-information and broken promises. I think it has finally been resolved and I'd still stick with FIOS for all the reasons above, but it did take a little away from my enthusiasm for the service.
Update: March 2009 I still think the service and features can't be beat. Technical support is excellent. Billing support is awful. I've had a problem viewing my bill on-line for 2 weeks. The number that deals with it has been busy for most of those two weeks. Today it was open, but I had to wait 45 minutes on hold to get someone. She could not help me, but is going to send my issue to a tech. I really expected better from Verizon. I'm knocking them down a star.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
moreyada
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Reviews written: 18
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