Hatrack River Forum: Comcast vs Verizon FiOS

This is topic Comcast vs Verizon FiOS in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are moving into our first house next week!
[Party]

For the last 7 years or so, I have been a customer of Comcast (or AT&T Broadband, prior to their acquisition by the former), and have, over that time, had significant price increases with no increase in quality of services offered. Currently, I have:

-Standard high-speed internet
-One DVR box
-One digital cable box
-Basic expanded cable (140 or so channels, plus music channels, On Demand, etc.)

It turns out that FiOS appears to be available where I am moving, and the price seems to be comparable when I compare similar services. With Verizon, I have to pay for the internet, the television, then an additional amount for the rental of the set-top boxes.

Right now I'm basically seeking advice from any and all who offer it on the merits or demerits of either service. It seems, based on the advertisement spiels, that having a dedicated Fiber Optic line to my home would be far superior in terms of bandwidth than a cable line shared with my entire subdivision, but I don't know exactly how noticeable a difference there might be. For instance, will I notice a big difference in internet speed? Quality of television signal (particularly on HD)? Anything else?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :

I have FiOS internet and it kicks butt. You might not notice a speed difference, but I will say that your speed will be limited by your local network and your computer itself rather than the fiber, even at the baase level. The TV is very high quality and channel selection is excellent.

The one issue I have is that if you are out of service, you are out of service, notably phone service. An old fashioned wire phone line will work for 911 calls even if the power is off and there are fiber cuts all over your area. Not so with FiOS (I don't know about VoIP through a cable company... they might or might not have similar issues).

Anyhow, if you've got a cell phone, I suspect you'll be very happy with FiOS, presuming the prices are at all comparable.

Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :

Thanks for the quick response.

I wasn't planning on getting a land-line phone anyways. I've used my cell phone exclusively for the last 5 years, and haven't had a real need for a land line.

Posted by MEC (Member # 2968) on :

I've only heard good things about FiOS, especially in comparison against Comcast. I plan on getting it when I move out.

Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :

I wish I had another option for fast internet other than Comcast. It's so expensive.

Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :

I wish fiber tried to compete with Comcast where I live.

Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

Nato, me TOO. I so very much want FiOS. [Frown]

Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :

/brag

As of my telephone conversation 10 minutes ago, I'm getting FiOS.
[Party]

Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :

Does this mean the cash flow issue was resolved?

Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :

Yes...through a combination of the generosity of my parents, a line of credit through the bank, and the proceeds of our first (smaller) electronic stock sale, we have the cash to close.

Through the efficiency of a local stock broker, I should be able to pay the bank and my parents back in short order.