Technology Reviews and Perspectives
I swapped out my DSL for FiOS since it is now available in Sarasota. See if it is available in your area here: Verizon FiOS Internet Service. After using FiOS for over 3 months I can’t find anything bad to say about this service. What so good about it?
SPEED
While I only signed up for the 5Mbps download / 2Mbps upload plan, I couldn’t be happier. Many people will want faster download speeds, to make those downloads go a bit faster, which comes in especially handy if you download a lot of video, or music. Once you get up to 15Mbps or more, download speeds will more often depend on the website you’re downloading from rather than the FiOS connection.
The upload speed is even more impressive. Makes uploading files, videos, etc so much easier. It’s hard to believe that you can get download speeds AND uploads speeds FASTER than a T1 line (1.5Mbps up/down) for less than $40/mo. A T1 line costs $400-$1000 per month! And what does cable offer? Usually 3-8Mbps down and 768kbps up for$50-60 per month!
By the way, these are the plans currently offered by Verizon (may vary by location):
- 5Mbps down/ 2Mbps Up - $39.95 /mo
- 15Mbps down/ 2Mbps Up - $49.95 /mo
- 30Mbps down/ 2Mbps Up - $179.95 /mo
OK, 30 Mbps is just rediculous.
RELIABILITY
Residential FiOS may not be business grade service like a T1; well I’ve yet to experience any downtime since day one. I’m not sure if the internet will stay on in a power outage, since I’ve heard that the battery backup installed with the Optical Network Terminal (see detailed installation info on the FiOS TV Review) only provides backup power for the phone line. However, I’ve yet to confirm this. Of course you would need to have the router on a battery backup as well, and you’d have to work off a laptop, but it could come in handy during a hurricane.
I haven’t noticed degraded service or slower speed during peak hours. Hopefully this will not happen once everybody gets on FiOS. I think cable may be in trouble. They still depend on coaxial cable for the last leg of distribution, and all of their systems are designed that way. Well, fiber doesn’t have many limitations like copper, and Verizon is investing billions in converting the last leg of distribution to fiber. They can serve phone, internet, TV and keep up with the increasing bandwidth demands, all over a single fiber.
FEATURES
Most people will install the software that comes with the installation package, and they’ll have access to the Verizon Entertainment Portal, virus and spam protection, 2GB for email accounts, etc. Personally I prefer not to install any software that might slow down my computer. The router itself provides enough features for me. Most people probably don’t realize that 99% of the time, you don’t have to install the software provided by your ISP to enable service.
Now back to the router. It’s the Actiontec MI-424-WR. Connect a cat5 cable to your computer and your set to go. It takes up to four cat5 connections. Want to connect your laptop via wireless? The SSID and the WEP key is on a label on the outside of the router; just punch it in and your set to go. You don’t even need to login to the router admin area. If you want to login to the router administration, you won’t be disappointed. I’ve never seen a router with so many options and capabilities. Complete firewall control, parental settings, traffic monitoring, extensive port forwarding to name a few. Check out some of the screen shots below to get an idea. If any router can do it, this one probably can.
PRICE
Did I mention that FiOS is $39.95 per month? If you don’t use internet very much, then I would suggest sticking with DSL, since it is cheaper: Verizon Online DSL offers unlimited high-speed Internet starting at $9.99/mo. But for the level of service you get with FiOS, there simply is nothing better. Oh and for a mere $10 more per month you can jump from 5 Mbps to 15 mega bits per second!
For more details on the installation, be sure to check out the post on FiOS TV. I would love to hear other experiences with FiOS internet. Is it as good as I cracked it up to be?
PHOTOS
Yes this router is huge! Look at all the status LEDs!
Actiontec Router Main Menu
Connection Summary Page
Firewall Main Menu
Traffic Monitoring Page
Advanced Settings Menu
Speakeasy speed test from my location (Sarasota) to Dallas.
Speakeasy speed test from my location (Sarasota) to Washington DC.
Published April 16th, 2007
4 Responses
Cable Guy
April 17th, 2007 at 9:13 am
1Oh how I wish I lived in an area that had Fios. It’s like having your connection subsidized by a company that’s trying to inch out the dominant player. Is there a place where you can see the coverage map?
I have to wonder though - when thousands more sign up will it get slower?
Duane
April 17th, 2007 at 10:14 am
2I don’t believe there’s an official map. Most people should know when FiOS is coming because Verizon will be digging all over your neighborhood. To have an idea where it is now, I suggest checking out the individual user reports mapped out at http://www.dslreports.com/gmaps/fios.
As for capacity when many people sign up. I would hope that Verizon stays on top of any issues. Since the network is based on fiber, it should not be difficult to dramatically increase bandwidth if necessary. The limitations are always going to be the expense for equipment at each end of the fibers.
James
April 28th, 2008 at 10:51 am
3I called Verizon FIOS to order phone, internet, and cable prior to my move in. My Consumer Order Summary was dated 3-28-08, and the scheduled installation date was 4-7-08. I reviewed the e-mail and all looked well. I move into my new house and install date comes. They setup an 8 AM-noon window. I already had the Optical Network Terminal unit (ONT) in my house, so I figured this would be cake for them. I am a Sys Admin at an ISP, so the internet stuff I could do myself with ease.
On install day, no one showed, no one called. I had my mobile with me at ALL times. So around 1:30 PM I called Verizon to see what was going on. If something came up, I had a week off to move in and if they needed to come by in a day or two, I was totally cool with that. After about an hour on hold I got in touch with a “state level” dispatcher. That said that there were “no facilities available for my order” and I was called. Nope, I wasn’t called; they did have my cell (which I had with me all of the time) in their records. I wanted them to come out later in the week if possible since I was home. They said that their next available time for me was 4-12-08, which was a day where I was going to a wedding. The next available time after that was at the end of the month, on a work day for me.
Basically because they did not show up, or even notify me with a reason, they put me at the back of the line. I was trying to escalate my request and the support only gave me unreasonable dates and that “no facilities available for my order” BS. I later wanted to get my copper line put back so I could at least get phone service, and after a long wait in hold they gave me the end of the month as a date. Basically I was being run around in circles and being shoved to the end of the line because Verizon screwed up my installation. I was told the only way I could get it sooner is if I “knew an installer who’d do me a favor,” and I was pretty much screwed with the window of time I had to get the service installed. The salesperson fed me a load of bull and the installer didn’t even call me with a reason. I tried to figure out what “no facilities available for my order” meant, and why this was such a problem since I already had the ONT in my house. Half of their work was already done.
The same day, I called a local cable company who installed my phone, internet, and cable the next day. They showed up on time and did the normal pre and post appointment verification. I unplugged the ONT in my house and let the battery go out. Verizon gave me such a lousy customer experience I swore I would never do business with them, and be sure to let other people know about their awful customer service and commitments they setup and do not honor. Verizon screwed up prior when they bought Bell Atlantic, and screwed up our perfectly find DSL service I had around 98/99. My money is going to a competitor, and Verizon won’t see if because they have abysmal customer service. I am certainly interested in fiber optic lines connected to my house, but so long as Verizon is the only provider, I will happily do without.
James
Herndon, VA
tom
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:12 am
4i must agree that the fios service is top notch. i have had for almost 2 years with absolutely no problems or disruption to service. the speed is very very fast, the service is extremely reliable and the fios experience has been nothing short of pure greatness. i just want to thank verizon for taking a chance on such technology and crushing the competition (comcast).
tom,
sarasota, florida
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