FIOS? Love it? Hate it?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Our cable TV service sucks. The cable internet (until a few months ago the only game in town) is fine. The cable company said they’d re-run the cable to our house to try to fix the TV signal. This was 6 months ago. So we’re fed up with them.

FIOS ran cables into our neighborhood a few months ago so now we have options. I looked today, and we could get a bundle with home phone, internet (10m download speed, must check to see how that compares with our cable), and TV (more channels than “extended basic” or whatever we have), for 99ish dollars a month. As opposed to the roughly 140 we’re paying for everything now. Seems like a no-brainer.

BUT:
What experiences have people had with their service?

What kind of wires do they need to run inside the house?

Do they use existing cable jacks for the TV portion?
Do they need phone jacks for the TV portion?
Do they need to run new jacks entirely?

Do you need set-top boxes in every room?

If you’re a FIOS customer, do you lose phone service if the power goes out? Any problems with 911 access (as you hear about with VOIP plans not set up properly) or is it normal phone service?

If you’ve made the switch, would you do it again?

Oh, and a complete aside: the one thing I’ll really miss about cable is partly because of the crappy signal. They installed an amplifier, which is plugged into a wall outlet. The same outlet our extra freezer is plugged into. This is on a ground fault circuit which occasionally trips for no apparent reason. If we don’t catch this in time, we lose a freezerful of food. If our TV signal goes into the toilet suddenly, we know to fix the circuit. So it’s saved our bacon, literally, several times now :wink:

2

Generally speaking, FIOS is fine. The quality of the signal is very, very good – much better than cable. Be aware that the $99.00 number is BEFORE taxes and fees. You get charged extra for pretty much everything, including DVR and, I think, HD boxes. You do need a set top box for every room. The existing cables inside the house can be kept, but they have to install a fairly large box in your basement. Phone and coax plug into the box.

Oh yeah, they make alarms for freezers that let you know when the power goes out.

3

I have had all positive experiences with FIOS. Their service is outstanding and their technicians know what they are doing even if they have to run a dedicated fiber optic line to your house. Their internet connections are very fast and TV and phone services are at least as good as their competitors. Installation may take a few hours but it is generally free. They can use existing outlets but extra ones can be somewhat costly if you need them. I would definitely do it again. I think you do need additional cable boxes if you want cable in multiple rooms but that isn’t all that expensive.

4

What experiences have people had with their service?
Nothing bad to say. Its good TV and good internet.
**What kind of wires do they need to run inside the house? **
No idea, they already were run when we were here.
**Do they use existing cable jacks for the TV portion? **
It seems that way, we only have 1 set of jacks in our house.
**Do they need phone jacks for the TV portion? **
Not as far as I know. Our boxes have no phone wires in back, but they do have Ethernet (I believe for On Demand Services)
**Do they need to run new jacks entirely? **
Not as far as I know.
Do you need set-top boxes in every room?
Yes.
**If you’re a FIOS customer, do you lose phone service if the power goes out? **
Yes.
**Any problems with 911 access (as you hear about with VOIP plans not set up properly) or is it normal phone service? **
E911 works fine with FIOS.
**If you’ve made the switch, would you do it again? **
Yes.

5

We’ve had FIOS since 2001, and have no complaints. Quality has been good and we’ve had few service interruptions. We’ve probably been without Internet 6 or 8 times (generally for no more than a couple of hours), cable once or twice, and I don’t think we’ve ever been without phone service. I’d never go back. We pay about $120/month total, including taxes/fees/surcharges, for a package that sounds quite similar to what you’re looking at, with 1 regular set-top box and one DVR.

**If you’re a FIOS customer, do you lose phone service if the power goes out? **

Our system has a battery backup that will keep the phones operational for some time if the power goes out. I think it’s supposed to last for 2 hours; so far we haven’t needed to find out.

**
What kind of wires do they need to run inside the house?

Do they use existing cable jacks for the TV portion?
Do they need phone jacks for the TV portion?
Do they need to run new jacks entirely? **

When our system was installed, they used the existing coax cable that Comcast used. When we decided to put a DVR in one room, they did need to run a new Ethernet cable for it. Our DVR system doesn’t need a phone line, but some (TiVO, e.g.) do; that would depend on your provider.

6

I have been happy with FIOS. They used existing coax, but they do need to install a UPS in your house (I think this is because the fiber does not carry power for the phone the way copper does, and the UPS gives you the ability to call use your land line for a short time during power outages). That installation will take at least a half day. It is not VOIP.

Once you go to fiber, your phone will always be fiber regardless of your tv & internet provider (you can’t go back to copper). I don’t see this as a problem.

I rent their DVR. I am happy with it. You do need a set top box for every tv (you might be able to use a cablecard if your tv supports it, but I am not sure you can get one from Verizon - I haven’t tried). The interface for both the tv & the DVR is excellent. It was a little clunky when I first got it, but they improved it.

7

Thanks, everyone! Based on what you guys are saying, we’re leaning toward making the switch. I did get into a chat with a verizon salesperson and it looks like the 99.99 doesn’t include the set-top boxes (6 bucks each) so that adds a little to the cost, but overall we’d be saving a bit, getting a better signal, and getting more channels (yeah, like we have time to watch the ones we have :rolleyes:).

Interestingly: the guy did ask if we have HD TVs when I asked about the set-top box cost (we don’t). Are the boxes more expensive if you want HD signals?

8

I’ve had FiOS for a year, with TV, phone, and Internet. It replaced my Cox cable service.

What experiences have people had with their service?

Service is great, reliable, good on-screen features (typical program guide, plus widgets–area at top of screen where you can bring up a local weather report, etc.)

*What kind of wires do they need to run inside the house? *

The fiber optic line enters the house to some sort of interface box, then can go to co-ax from there. I think there is another option if you are not already wired for co-ax. Similarly, the interface box wires to your existing phone junction; no changes at all to phone wiring are needed. This question is answered rather well on their web site.

*Do they use existing cable jacks for the TV portion? *

Yes, if you use your existing co-ax wiring.

*Do they need phone jacks for the TV portion? *

No.

*Do they need to run new jacks entirely? *

No.
*
Do you need set-top boxes in every room?*

You need a set-top box for each TV. There are two flavors, one for HDTV and another for analog TV. There is also an option to get a DVR for either HD or standard TV that provides multiple-room access (record in one room and play back in any other room with any set-top box).

*If you’re a FIOS customer, do you lose phone service if the power goes out? Any problems with 911 access (as you hear about with VOIP plans not set up properly) or is it normal phone service? *

The network box requires power, and has a battery backup. So if you lose power, you will be able to make calls only until the battery dies. I don’t remember the expected battery life. Although the service is digital, the phone is not over the Internet, so 911 identification is no problem.

*If you’ve made the switch, would you do it again? *

Absolutely.

However, the billing sucks. They told me that the package was $99 a month, plus you have to pay for set-top boxes. But the bill is so convoluted you can’t tell if you’re being charged correctly. All the services are itemized on separate pages, there is no package price on the bill. My monthly bill (I have two phone lines) ends up being about $185 for two phone lines, Internet, and TV with three analog set-top boxes plus one HDTV DVR. The bill is 10 pages long! I’ll scan you a copy if you want to see it.

On your freezer, just plug a lamp with a low-watt bulb somewhere where you can tell easily if the light goes out, extension cord as appropriate.

9

Sounds like all these various things to install might be a problem for us apartment dwellers. Has this been a problem for anyone?

It FIOS available a la carte, or is it phone+internet+TV or nothing? We don’t need a phone line at all, and we don’t necessarily need FIOS cable, as we do okay with Comcast.

Also, what’s all this about a freezer?

10

Did the GFC have that problem before they installed the amplifier?

11

If you have the option, absolutely get it. We didn’t opt for their TV or phone, but the internet was blazing fast with no downtime. The only thing I should warn you about is that their sales reps tend to be a bit misleading when it comes to pricing.

One of the biggest things I miss after moving to Baltimore is my FiOS. :frowning:

12

Yes - I think an HD box with DVR service is 14.99/month, or $19.99 if you want multi room DVR (though only one room can be HD). Otherwise, I agree with all the other answers given - we’ve been happy with it for the past 18 months, and they didn’t have to do anything with cabling & outlets besides hook up everything in the basement. We don’t need ethernet on any of our boxes, and on-demand works fine on them, so I’m not sure why others needed it.

The one power outage we’ve had since then lasted 3 hours or so, and the phone worked fine.

13

See last para. of OP

14

I’m pretty sure you can just get FIOS broadband without the TV or phone. Looks that way from the website, anyway.

It’s where we hide our enemies’ bodies, of course. Sheesh. :rolleyes:

:wink:

as noted, if we get rid of the need for the cable booster on the same circuit as the freezer, it’s like the coal miners getting rid of the canary.

15

Yes, I think so. The GFCs in our house tend to trip at random anyhow. We’ve never figured out why.

16

We have FiOS TV/internet/cell phone—all bundled.

We just upgraded to HD Extreme for one of our TVs and our monthly bill came down by $30. You can’t beat that!