Lately I’ve been thinking of dropping cable, and going with an all-streaming solution. It’s not something that’s really imminent - I’m mainly waiting to see how Google TV pans out this fall. If it works as advertised with Netflix, Hulu Plus, and network streaming sites, this might be a viable replacement for traditional TV/DVR.
Anyway, I’m with Comcast right now, and they have a 250GB per month bandwdith cap, which I’d prefer to avoid if I’m going with an all-streaming media solution. I’d always figured that I’d go with Verizon Fios if I ever switched, since they have no set cap. But come to find out, as I’m shopping around, that Verizon has sold their Fios business to Frontier Communications, who - while they support legacy Fios customers - aren’t even advertising Fios to new customers. The only broadband service they offer is a 3Mpbs DSL service.
Are there any Portland area Dopers using a high-speed service that is not Comcast or Frontier/Verizon? And what are your thoughts?
My requirements are as follows: [ul]
[li]At least 15Mpbs, preferably 25, downstream, and at least 5Mbps upstream[/li][li]Low latency[/li][li]Easy networking from the modem, since I have a total of 6 PCs on different subnets (I’ve heard Fios can be finicky with router connections)[/li][li]A service that either offers digital voice, or is VoIP-friendly[/li][li]High reliability[/li][/ul]
If it matters, I’m west of town, out in Forest Grove.
The Frontier main site for the former Verizon areas advertises FiOS - are you sure you cannot get it? http://www.ncnetwork.net/ (don’t be mislead by the Verizon branding, Frontier bought FiOS complete with websites, billing systems etc. - the branding will change by the end of the year)
That’s really weird - I went to Verizon’s Fios site, plugged in my zip, and got bupkis. Thanks.
Coincidentally, I was running some errands at lunch, and saw the old Verizon storefront now had a Frontier banner. So I popped in and spoke with a rep, and they confirmed that service is indeed available in my area. So that’s one option, although if there are any other options, I’d love to hear about them.
IMHO, FiOS (or some flavor of fiber to the home) is the only option worth considering. It is the future of broadband, even the traditional cable companies will eventually go to it. Their current hybrid fiber-coax systems will end up with no coax to get bandwidth and lower maintenance costs.
It is interesting to watch as smaller communities around the country deploy their own systems when the cableco won’t upgrade. Those areas are deploying ‘municipal fiber’ - not coax or wireless.
Yeah, I was very intrigued by Google’s plan to pilot Gigabit fiber service in smaller communities. I sent an email to our city planner to throw our town’s hat in the ring, but apparently we’re run by a bunch of freaking Luddites.
