Verizon FiOS

[JustinSane]

Does anyone have the Verizon FiOS? How is it? Adelphia/Comcast is sucking hardcore recently. I am getting a "Comcastic" ping of 250 as I type this. FiOS isn't available yet but as soon as it is I think im gonna make the switch.

 

[Dew]

From everything I've heard, go for it!

 

[cburwell]

Does Verizon block all incomming ports on FIOS, or just port 80?

 

[underdone]

Does Verizon block all incomming ports on FIOS, or just port 80?

Blocking all of the ports would effectively make it impossible to do anything on the internet. Most likely they just block 80,21 and whatever common ones they feel like blocking.

 

[reyalp]

Blocking all of the ports would effectively make it impossible to do anything on the internet. Most likely they just block 80,21 and whatever common ones they feel like blocking.

There are plenty of ways to block all incoming connections. I've seen ISPs that put all their customers on NAT, for example

 

[evilmonkey]

I have FIOS with the 15mbit/2mbit package. It's wonderful, especially in combination with giganews . As for ports, I have an ftp server and a webserver on ports 21 and 8080 respectively. Depending on where you are they have possibly better pricing on their high end package of 30/5. I'm in MD so i pay 50/month for 15/2 and 30/5 would be about 200/month. But I have a friend down in VA who pays 60 for 30/5, so it varies quite a bit. In general though, go for it. In gaming i'd get about 30ms ping to chicago and 5ms to dc/va. two thumbs up.

 

[Rofl-Mic-Lofl]

They offer it in 20mi from my house in both ways.. I want fios .
3/256@50/mo sucks. Escpecially since last month it went down from 9am-6pm for like 2weeks. Charter makes me

 

[MooCow]

Comcast obviously has degraded its service and does not care about its customers anymore. Its because they know they will lose to Verizon FIOS. And for the time being they will wait it out and let things be shitty for as long as they can.

 

[JustinSane]

I have FIOS with the 15mbit/2mbit package. It's wonderful, especially in combination with giganews . As for ports, I have an ftp server and a webserver on ports 21 and 8080 respectively. Depending on where you are they have possibly better pricing on their high end package of 30/5. I'm in MD so i pay 50/month for 15/2 and 30/5 would be about 200/month. But I have a friend down in VA who pays 60 for 30/5, so it varies quite a bit. In general though, go for it. In gaming i'd get about 30ms ping to chicago and 5ms to dc/va. two thumbs up.

What part of VA? Im in stafford, still no fios.

 

[Huan]

They offer it in 20mi from my house in both ways.. I want fios .
3/256@50/mo sucks. Escpecially since last month it went down from 9am-6pm for like 2weeks. Charter makes me

Talk to me when your stranded on 26.4kbps dialup.... yeah i'm bitter

 

[R1ckCa1n]

I have FIOS with the 15mbit/2mbit package. It's wonderful, especially in combination with giganews .

I too have the 15/2 package in So Cal and love it (with my giganews account too ). It is much more responsive than my cable connection ever was.

 

[JerRatt]

I've got FIOS internet and the TV package as well. I'm paying for the basic $35/month Internet 5/2 package. Sure I may only get a few kb faster download than my previous Comcast cable, but the beauty of this service shines with ping times. My Counter-strike list went from around 50 servers under 100ms ping on Comcast (with the lowest starting at 30ms and going up) to literally hundreds upon hundreds of servers under 100ms ping on FIOS (with the lowest starting at 8ms and the 8ms list running along for the first 100 or so servers). Of course, I found out that my FIOS is dumping directly into an OC192 less than a half mile away, so maybe that is the biggest reason for the ping times.

It's definetely worth it. And if you're into downloading large files you can get the bigger packages than I purchased.

 

[98EXL]

I'm loving my FiOS TV/Internet......Comsuck can lick the my taint after I sleep with my girlfriend. If I were president, Comsuck would be destoryed completely, and thier customers would not get any service until VZ laid fiber to them.

I must say, I'm not a company man, but the FiOS is teh hotness. Here is my internet speeds on the regular:



Only problem I am really having is using my TiVo with a cable box now, the stupid little IR transmitters sometimes don't change the channels correctly.

 

[darktiger]

I want FIOS to come to Austin. I have been waiting for it for months. My friends in Dallas have FIOS. Me sad

 

[98EXL]

I want FIOS to come to Austin. I have been waiting for it for months. My friends in Dallas have FIOS. Me sad

not to rub it in, but you should be sad

 

[slickmitch]

This is Fios wireless

 

[zrac]

Comcast obviously has degraded its service and does not care about its customers anymore. Its because they know they will lose to Verizon FIOS. And for the time being they will wait it out and let things be shitty for as long as they can.

yes your facts are excellent and back up your truthful statement in every way possible

 

[98EXL]

yes your facts are excellent and back up your truthful statement in every way possible

there was a lot of sarcasm in his post, but it's the truth. From TV quality, to internet quality and speed to telephone, to tech support to installers, Verizon spanks Comsuck in every way shape and form possible. Period...at least that goes for the Maryland area, dont know about the rest of the country, but none of the other providers come close to what FiOS offers us....even thetech support people on the phone.

 

[zrac]

there was a lot of sarcasm in his post, but it's the truth. From TV quality, to internet quality and speed to telephone, to tech support to installers, Verizon spanks Comsuck in every way shape and form possible. Period...at least that goes for the Maryland area, dont know about the rest of the country, but none of the other providers come close to what FiOS offers us....even thetech support people on the phone.

I've been in this game for both business and home class of networking connectivity from both ISP's , all I can tell you is that general statements that he made and that you seem to agree with are not true.

"It all depends" , not the answer people like but it's true.

People have to stop being afraid to try a service and then cancel if it does not meet their expectations, but asking online leads to nothing unless you find someone down the street who has had both and can give you an honest answer... even then you aren't any better off..

tech support varies from call to call, prices change often, quality of service can change every 10 feet down the line

:shrug:

 

[98EXL]

I've been in this game for both business and home class of networking connectivity from both ISP's , all I can tell you is that general statements that he made and that you seem to agree with are not true.

"It all depends" , not the answer people like but it's true.

People have to stop being afraid to try a service and then cancel if it does not meet their expectations, but asking online leads to nothing unless you find someone down the street who has had both and can give you an honest answer... even then you aren't any better off..

tech support varies from call to call, prices change often, quality of service can change every 10 feet down the line

:shrug:

from having Comsuck, to Verizon, I have had not 1 problem whatsoever with Verizon. Granted I've had Verizon for 6 months now, but time period to time period, Verizon still has been better. It's my opinion, and I have always thought that broadband/telephone/tv proividers suck, but all that has now changed with Verizon stepping in and doing things correctly, like it should be.

 

[MooCow]

yes your facts are excellent and back up your truthful statement in every way possible

What, you think I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about?? I had Comcast, I've known people who've had Comcast, their Tech Support is crap. Here... we once had a problem where we couldn't hit a certain website. People on DSL, and other ISP's NOT FROM COMCAST could all hit it. We called tech support and they start reading shit off a script probably in a three ring notebook binder. AM I RIGHT? I'm asking you this cause you seem to be a former tech from Comsuck. The people on the phone start telling us to install Comcast's software, which we did, but it didn't solve the issue. Then they start telling us "CMD" ok now "Ipconfig and tell me what you see" type of general crap. Eventually... "sorry we can't help you".

Second issue when I was doing a job at a client's house with Comcast. The connection went down, I reset cable modem, etc. Still get flashing LED activity lights indicating that something is CLEARLY WRONG WITH COMCAST'S END. I told the woman that she had to call up Comcast and demand a tech come to the place because its not our fault. They came, and they fixed it. The cable lines weren't giving enough signal strength. But you know she had to go through loops and bounds on the phone to nag them to get a tech to her house, cause they always assume its our fault and we didn't do the magical "ipconfig" crap.

Third. Digital TV service. It sucks. All blocky at random times. This is definatly Comcast at their best. I have Cablevision/Optimum online and they have 4 times the upload rate that Comcast has to offer, AND their Digital TV doesn't crap out nearly as much.

People have to stop being afraid to try a service and then cancel if it does not meet their expectations, but asking online leads to nothing unless you find someone down the street who has had both and can give you an honest answer... even then you aren't any better off..

Yeah, and sometimes Comsuck is the only option in someone's area, and what they charge for their services is crap. That is why I want Verizon to come in and actually bring good service, so people actually have two options You seem to be the only one here actually defending Comcast and not know how bad they suck.. you a noob or something?

 

[98EXL]

^^^^ +1 on all of that

 

[zrac]

alrighty, must be nice to speak for all comcast customers, lol, I have 1000 horror stories about Verizon DSL and FiOS as well as their other services and another 1000 about comcast , you missed my point completely

have a nice day!

 

[altima97]

What, you think I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about?? I had Comcast, I've known people who've had Comcast, their Tech Support is crap. Here... we once had a problem where we couldn't hit a certain website. People on DSL, and other ISP's NOT FROM COMCAST could all hit it. We called tech support and they start reading shit off a script probably in a three ring notebook binder. AM I RIGHT? I'm asking you this cause you seem to be a former tech from Comsuck. The people on the phone start telling us to install Comcast's software, which we did, but it didn't solve the issue. Then they start telling us "CMD" ok now "Ipconfig and tell me what you see" type of general crap. Eventually... "sorry we can't help you".

Second issue when I was doing a job at a client's house with Comcast. The connection went down, I reset cable modem, etc. Still get flashing LED activity lights indicating that something is CLEARLY WRONG WITH COMCAST'S END. I told the woman that she had to call up Comcast and demand a tech come to the place because its not our fault. They came, and they fixed it. The cable lines weren't giving enough signal strength. But you know she had to go through loops and bounds on the phone to nag them to get a tech to her house, cause they always assume its our fault and we didn't do the magical "ipconfig" crap.

Third. Digital TV service. It sucks. All blocky at random times. This is definatly Comcast at their best. I have Cablevision/Optimum online and they have 4 times the upload rate that Comcast has to offer, AND their Digital TV doesn't crap out nearly as much.

Yeah, and sometimes Comsuck is the only option in someone's area, and what they charge for their services is crap. That is why I want Verizon to come in and actually bring good service, so people actually have two options You seem to be the only one here actually defending Comcast and not know how bad they suck.. you a noob or something?

Amen Brother! But it is true that the comcast service varies from area to area. I live in the atlanta area and even from county to county it changes here. The reason is they bought up all the old cable companies but did not change them to their new stuff. So its still basically the same as the old companies. In fact when i moved from Gwinnett county (NE atlanta) to Clayton county (South atlanta) i had to cancel my account and create a new account with comcast?!?! Which of course included new deposits and all. When i was in gwinnett the internet was very fast, but the tv was crap. In clayton county the internet sucks and so does the tv. i finally got tired of outages and had to get rid of my vonage phone and get a traditional phone line (argh). I also got directv which looks 1000 times better and is much cheaper. Im still stuck with their craptastic internet until dsl is in the area (verizon said that georgia wasnt even on their radar for installs). Comcast has THE worst customer support as stated above. you did forget the other great tip they give you every single time, "did you reset your modem?" lol..

and thats not even mentioning the ever-rising prices. thank god georgia has almost passed the bill to deregulate cable. Then the prices should come down and i can switch to another internet service. in short I HATE COMCAST lol..

 

[TechLarry]

I am getting constant requests to sign up for FIOS from Verizon They even want to install it for free!

Oddly, I'm one of those that is quite happy with my current Cable ISP, Cox Cable in Northern Virginia. Especially since they got it all to digital (and after the bugs were worked out - there were a few months there a few years ago that were, um, on my nerves )

I have the 15/2 service and it costs $58 a month.

I actually get MUCH better than that, consistently. When I use the speakeasy.net/speedtest link, and test with the Washington DC site, I get thruput of:

Download - around 27mbit/sec.
Upload - around 2.1mbit/sec.

Consistently.

If I happen to hit a good download site, I can see in excess of 3MB/Sec download speeds.

Can you hit that same test server and let me know what you get? Do it after 9pm or before 8am as that's when I test.

I know the testing isn't perfect and won't match up perfectly, but it will give me an idea...

IF there was a cheaper FIOS service, say 2mbit-5mbit download for around $20 a month I'd sign up for it as a backup if nothing else, and still keep the cable. I can't afford both at the high speed cost though.

I work from home 100% and I need very fast, very stable connections as I service 1000's of computers around the country via VNC and RDC all day long.

I have FIOS with the 15mbit/2mbit package. It's wonderful, especially in combination with giganews . As for ports, I have an ftp server and a webserver on ports 21 and 8080 respectively. Depending on where you are they have possibly better pricing on their high end package of 30/5. I'm in MD so i pay 50/month for 15/2 and 30/5 would be about 200/month. But I have a friend down in VA who pays 60 for 30/5, so it varies quite a bit. In general though, go for it. In gaming i'd get about 30ms ping to chicago and 5ms to dc/va. two thumbs up.

 

[TechLarry]

Also, do they let you use YOUR router? I have a DGL-4300 that I have no desire to keep up, and I need 100% control of my port forwarding as well.

I have FIOS with the 15mbit/2mbit package. It's wonderful, especially in combination with giganews . As for ports, I have an ftp server and a webserver on ports 21 and 8080 respectively. Depending on where you are they have possibly better pricing on their high end package of 30/5. I'm in MD so i pay 50/month for 15/2 and 30/5 would be about 200/month. But I have a friend down in VA who pays 60 for 30/5, so it varies quite a bit. In general though, go for it. In gaming i'd get about 30ms ping to chicago and 5ms to dc/va. two thumbs up.

 

[Menelmarar]

No comcast problems in TN.

Just regular high speed service, they upped us from 4 to 6, then to 8, then to 12, end of last year they upped us to 20.

Read 19-21mbps down but still only 384 up =( Can get numerous Can get several 600-700KB/s downloads going if from multiple servers. It's pretty hot.

Still at 8mbps in Atlanta =(

 

[MooCow]

What a bump, but that zrac guy is banned, probably for being too much of a noob.

 

[jeepfun]

Don't think, run and get Verizon FIOS if you can!!

I always get sub 10ms pings and 5mb/2mb is really 5mb/2mb!. I've never experienced a slow down and in the 6 months I've had it, it has never been down. Can't say that about Adelphia/Comcast I had previously.

Also - when they came out and configured, they gave me a NIM so that I could use my DGL-4300 instead of their ActionTec router. NIM is required for their boxes to get TV Guide info. Make sure you request to do that when they come out if you want your own router in place. (Your luck may vary depending on installer)

I'm in Leesburg, VA where Adelphia (now Comcast) is. I also have the Verizon television service and it's hands down much better then Adelphia/Comcast here at least. I can not tell the difference between OTA HD and Verizon HD whereas OTA HD was about 2x-3x better then Adelphia's HD channels.

 

[Redshirt #24]

Having had FiOS in some form or another for over 18 months (first phone/broadband at launch in 2005, then TV last March)...honestly, from an operational standpoint thus far it's been very nearly beyond reproach. There's been the odd random disconnect on the network side (15M/2M), more so right after they installed it when the kinks were being worked out, but nothing crippling since (unless you're in the middle of an instance run in WoW and the random disconnect hits)...and there have of course been no problems at all with phone service. And the TV side, well...just for the fact that HD channels no longer break up in a stiff breeze (previously used Comcast, though I think they may have installed some new hardware in the area post-FiOS install) I love it. Minus some quirks with the DVR, anyway. The one thing I miss, though, about my DSL setup pre-FiOS was that it was DHCP-based and never dropped a connection. Ever.

The one thing I hate, upon reflection, is the interface box (ONT) they have to install on the side of your house. After they dig a trench through your lawn to run the fiber-optic cable to the side of your house. Everything goes through the ONT. In the event of a sustained power outage, once the battery backup for the ONT dies (in theory, after four to eight hours) you're screwed--no phone, no nothing. If you're okay with that, however, and you can get a good package deal on everything...yeah, I think I'd have to recommend it.

EDIT: to answer a question asked above--you usually get a router with the FiOS installation (originally D-Link, but now they've gone with Actiontec), but you can swap in your own router without any problems. My ZyXel X-550's been rock-solid with my connection, for instance.

 

[dopee123]

I too have the 15/2 package in So Cal and love it (with my giganews account too ). It is much more responsive than my cable connection ever was.

where in so cal???