FIOS absolutely rocks. We don’t do their tv but if it works for you, it’s a great deal for a year. They don’t have all the sports channels my guys need. But the speedy internet cannot be beat. We do have their phone service too, which we barely use, but feel we still need for emergencies or little kids who don’t have cell phones.
Box is required for each tv. Honestly, the worst my Mother had to deal with for FIOS was a really bad installation. Cables literally stapled to the wall from the FIOS box to her computer and TVs.
Service was fine, her connection was slower than my cablemodem but it didn’t make much difference to her.
Myself, I use a magicjack with wireless handset (20 a year), Earthlink cablemodem served by Time Warner and I’ve got a dual tuner HD Homerun that decodes the QAM (unencoded digital tv) from the same cable line.. Total cost $45 a month.
My SIL in FL has fios and has nothing but good things to say about it.
If you have an alarm system, Please, please, please have your alarm company check the landline phone connection to your alarm system anytime you change phone providers.
We have Fios for phone, TV and Internet. The internet isnt lightening fast but it works. As new hd channels are added we seem to lose them to new addon packages for more money but they have quite a few in the basic package. My review is mixed but so far Fios does work.
Customer service has been fine and it isn’t worth changing right now to save the few dollars we would save. If we continue to lose channels we will change service providers.
You need to ask Verizon regarding some of your questions, such as downstairs and upstairs boxes, etc. They should be able to run the cables the same place where you have your Comcast cable run. I recommend you call up not just their sales department, but also their tech support, hopefully they’ll talk to you.
A good friend of mine dropped that same type of service for FiOS and when I told him I wanted to do the same he said to not do it. He liked the DirectTV service, packages, and other amenities better and was disappointed in the FiOS TV.
I got that same package (Phone, TV, and Internet)when FIOS first landed two or three years ago. Installation was no problem with only one cable needing to be run. As someone else said, it rocks on the Internet side, TV is weak to ok depending on your choice of channels, and the phone is good with no long distance in the lower 48. One STB(Set Top Box) per tv, but you have several flavors to choose from. Way better then Comcast, and cheaper too. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Yes, all the channels (even the “basic service” channels) are encrypted. Therefore, you need some variety of cable box per TV. You can get boxes pretty cheap...and they do support cablecards if you have a TV so equipped, but they will try to talk you into getting the HD boxes and DVR boxes, and those come with a fairly hefty monthly pricetag.
The ONE BAD THING about FIOS is that you need to have electrical service up and running for it to work. They provide a battery backup, but it only lasts for 6-8 hours. If you have a hurricane, tornado, ice storm, etc., that causes an extended power outage, you will be without home telephone once that battery backup dies (unless, of course, you have a generator and power that battery backup from it). (Of course, that includes loss of cable TV and Internet access, as well...but we’re all used to having phones even if the power dies)
That is not a reason to do without FIOS, but if you need a phone for some mission-critical reason (medical, security, or whatever) and are in an area subject to losing power, you need to plan ahead for what to do if and when you lose electricity for a long period of time.
The others are absolutely right, though, as far as the quality of service. Blazing fast Internet, high quality TV pictures, noise-free phones (with, by the way, nationwide no long distance charges), and so on. I consider it to be well worth it. But don’t forget the downside above.
I have FIOS, we were one of the first neighborhoods to get it in my area. I’ve had relatively few problems and connection speeds walk all over DSL.
I would not ever consider Comcast...their CEO is an 0bama bedfellow, hosted a 10-35k plate dinner for him here in Philly a couple of months ago. I vote with my wallet every chance I get. Goes for GE, GM, Comcast, Hollywood...even Google (use BING)
By the time you get through, the combined service will be in the $140+ area. Separate set top boxes, difficulty in recording programs, and some goofy glitches with the on-screen programming guide combine to baffle all but the most dedicated technophiles.
Good Internet service, though.
I had Verizon DSL for phone and Internet, no TV. THey kept buggin gme to change to FIOS. I finally did, just to get them off my back. The bills are rarely consistent, to the point where I called the other day and told them I wanted the DSL back. They’ve been billing me $5.00 a month for 3-way calling. Since I never use that, I wanted it removed. We’ll see if they do...this time.
I don’t notice any significant performance difference. Stick with the DSL.
I had the same set up - Verizon DSL & Comcast Cable (which was totally unreliable) and made the change about two years ago with a $99 / mo deal.
Haven’t regretted it one bit - FIOS is much faster than my DSL was - they brought fiber to the house and just reconnected the Cat 5E cables I had already installed.
Dropping Comcast saved us about $125.00 a month intially but the FIOS package has crept up to about $175 / mo total but we’re still saving money overall.
We did lose FIOS during Irene because the router requires 120 volts.
I don’t have FIOS but I do have Verizon DSL—and our area just suffered a five day outage—no internet for five days.