 Review by birdfeedr 
UPDATED: 1.1 years ago
member for 8.2 years, 2667 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Warwick,Kent,RI
 $115 per month (24 month contract)
 about 10 days
 "Painless, simple install, it works"
 "Watch the billing"
 "Worth it to me"
| Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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Originally reviewed 12/17/06:
They wired my street last April, and have been waiting for availability. Had nine months to consider all the reasons to switch from Speakeasy's covad-carried DSL.
Used to have Verizon DSL, never had a problem, but they were too slow to upgrade to a 1.5M connection way back, so I switched to Speakeasy, also because SE allowed servers. I never had a problem with SE in the 2½ years. Had to balance all the factors: great tech support, TOS, price.
Since then, I do not need local servers. I let my hosting provider handle that. So now, with FIOS available, I made the switch back to Verizon mostly on basis of price. For half the price, I get more than twice the download speed, and a very respectable upload.
Ordered 5M/2M FIOS connection. I was aware of the loss of copper, but do not consider it a problem. Ten days from order to install was because I wanted a Saturday schedule. I saw the installation at work where we were still on dialup because 33K feet from CO, and we had bias against cable. That tech was very good, knowledgeable, quick, thorough.
My tech was on his first unaccompanied install. He came from a data line and T1 background, but is switching to the new tech. He did the best inside wiring job I've seen in a long time, but was probably a little hazy on some of the final setup. Not a problem. One of his coworkers came over for that part, and it went flawlessly. Speed test was a little slow. We used the Verizon Speed Optimizer to improve it, but I later went with DSLR's DrTCP Tweak. Both achieved about the same results.
Connecting with a dynamic IP, using the ActionTec router. After they left, I tried to hook up my old SMC switch because it has a built-in print server, but it did not work. Went back to ActionTec. But I found the ActionTec's MAC address, so I'll try later to put the SMC back in place with a cloned address.
The first tech said I can make it happen. I've read elsewhere here the pros and cons of using non-Verizon supplied router.
I tried to initialize with the same email address I used to have, but the system would not allow it, so I created with another variation. An email to that old address bounced as invalid, so I called Fios tech support. Had an easy time of requesting change, verifying from past records, switching primary email. Maybe VZ has better tech support staff to keep new FIOS customers happy, but if there was ever a chance for them to say "The computer database won't allow the switch", it didn't happen. I'm happy to say that the process went smoothly.
Will keep an eye on the billing. Got a 3-month $15 discount off the regular $35/month fee, and I have no idea yet what the taxes and other charges will be.
Sales support is not clear on what is allowed, and what ports, if any, are blocked. I asked for answers beyond the standard browse-the-web and read-email questions, and threw the guy for a loop. But, I let him off the hook, since I knew the answers from here.
All in all a solid move, in terms of services, price and transition.
Update: 5/3/07
I had to call billing to get them to apply the three month discount and to drop the installation fee. But, just telling them who I spoke to when I signed up, and listing the signup incentives I was promised, was enough for them to get the discounts started. That I had to call in the first place to get the discount applied was annoying, but not enough to change a rating.
Sporadically, one PC won't pick up its wired network connection from the ActionTec router. Not sure if it's the PC or the router. It has not happened often enough to motivate me to track down the problem to its source. I have replaced the cable, which seems to have fixed it.
Fios uses Brightmail's spam filters which doesn't catch the spams I'm currently getting. I called tech support who suggested I use the domain and address blocking feature available. I think I'll have to find a client-side spam filter system, without relying 100% on the server-side filter.
When sending emails, there is sometimes a delay of 2 to 5 seconds before the transfer starts, but in all cases, once started, it's far quicker than the DSL uploads I used to have.
I worked on a project earlier this spring that required files be posted on an FTP site. DSL's 384K vs FIOS's 2M, need I say more?
Maybe I'll try the TV in a couple of months when it's available.
Updated 11/13/07: Consistent performance, negligible issues, no problems that haven't been easily dealt with. I haven't had any contact with tech support or billing that was not handled in a direct, straight forward, professional manner.
For speed, the 5/2 package meets my needs quite satisfactorily. Their Brightmail spam filter still does not catch the dreck that comes in, but a third party client-side Bayesian filter does the trick quite nicely.
The supplied Actiontec router appears to be trouble-free, although all my connections are wired, so wireless is disabled. A very recent issue with failed log-in to the router is not yet resolved, but it's not critical, it's only a matter of curiosity.
The bottom line? I'd do it all again with no regrets.
Updated 9/22/08: Added the triple-play upgrade in January 08 to go from 5/2 with local analog TV to 20/5 with SDTV FiOS Premium. The installation was as smooth as all previous on-site experience. Tech was on-schedule and very helpful with STB set up.
Pre-sales was excellent. I was able to ask questions and got knowledgeable responses. Spent over an hour on the phone, but it was productive. Some I already knew the answers because I did my homework here  Thank you very much DSLR.
The free HDTV was the current premium at the time of my order. It did not interest me, so the CSR walked me through all my options. Ended up with a $100 Amex giftcard for each year (which they delivered on time), and also a surprise 20/5 for the same price as the 10/2 for the term of the contract. Given the choice, I chose a 2-year contract, because I just had an inkling prices would be going up.
Went through a very confusing period where I had to determine if the billing was correct or not. It was not. Called for clarification and except for one item all was as expected. The CSR issued a one-time credit to offset the installation charge. By the time the third month rolled around my bill showed a single bundle price with appropriate bundle discounts. Each month I verify the bill, but it is right.
I'm aware the billing department is FiOS' weakest link. I use a spreadsheet to keep track of billing from before the order change through to this month. Certainly necessary to verify the pro-rated change of service in the first and second months. But I was able to get my problems straightened out with one call. Sadly, not everyone has that experience.
The only outages I've experienced have been a loss of signal on one of the local TV channels. Solved by getting something reset in the head end. Internet has been solid and consistent.
Actiontec router leaves a lot to be desired as far as wireless is concerned. Others have reported NAT-table issues, but I have not been affected by that. I am fortunate in having my original installation before TV was in the area, so the ONT is a ethernet-data only. That made it a lot easier to replace the Actiontec with a different router. I have had no problems with internet service, perhaps because I use a DLink router. The Actiontec is behind the DLink for TV data. I've tried a number of configurations. For more info, check out the FAQs on DSLR at »Verizon Online FiOS FAQ
Bottom line: I get what I pay for, and I like what I get.
Followup comments:  
PolarBear
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium
join:2005-01-03
 ·CableOne
| Why ISP mail? Who oh why do people still insist on using ISP mail, when there are so many superior options available? And what about if you ever decide to switch providers again, or move to an area where Verizon isn't available?
Gmail catches 99.99% of my spam, and I've heard that Hotmail and Yahoo! are getting better all the time. And best of all, one can use any of these services from any computer on any ISP in the world.
--
A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other invention, with the possible exceptions of handguns and Tequilla. -- Mitch Ratcliffe | |
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birdfeedr
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-11
Warwick, RI
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Re: Why ISP mail? Why do people still insist on using ISP mail, when there are so many superior options available? And what about if you ever decide to switch providers again, or move to an area where Verizon isn't available? I was reviewing Verizon's spam filter. Up until March '07, I didn't get junk mail there. I have never received spam on my own domain email, which suffices for my "permanent" address.
Gmail catches 99.99% of my spam, and I've heard that Hotmail and Yahoo! are getting better all the time. And I've heard that Gmail caches 100% of your email up to some multi-gigabyte limit. Google is now far too big for me to give it carte blanche on things like that.
Everyone has preferences, just not all the same. But, thanks for the input. | |
| mushpuppy
join:2007-11-26
| Verizon's spam-blocking policy is insane--and unresponsive I am a Verizon FIOS user. I also use Digiportal's Choicemail filter. Whenever I am away from home for more than a couple of days, when I return and first check my email, Choicemail's challenge messages get my outgoing smtp service blocked because Verizon flags me as a spammer. This has happened twice--11/18 and 11/26 (today). I have called several times to Verizon. Each time the person who answers the phone refuses to forward me to a 2nd-tier person. Further, each time the person who answers says there is nothing that can be done about this.
FYI I am forced to use Verizon's smtp server because I use FIOS and Verizon won't let me use the smtp server of the company that provides my pop service.
This is an example of Verizon killing a great product for an idiotic reason. I'm trying to fight spam too! But according to Verizon I either must allow myself to be flooded with spam--or switch back to cable. | |
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birdfeedr
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-11
Warwick, RI
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: Verizon's spam-blocking policy is insane--and unresponsive said by mushpuppy :Choicemail's challenge messages get my outgoing smtp service blocked because Verizon flags me as a spammer. This has happened twice--11/18 and 11/26 (today). FYI I am forced to use Verizon's smtp server because I use FIOS and Verizon won't let me use the smtp server of the company that provides my pop service. FIOS support says 500 outgoing messages in an hour is their threshhold to flag as possible spammer. If Choicemail is sending out that many challenges, I can understand why they would block your outgoing mail.
Verizon does allow you to use a third party smtp service. I have a domain which includes email, and use the pop and smtp service provided by my host without problem. I think (I may be wrong) Verizon's smtp will only pass messages with a verizon.net domain in the From address.
Your problem may stem from trying to manage accounts from multiple domains through one smtp server.
I'm not familiar with Choicemail. I use a system that filters by multiple conditions, the last being a Bayesian filter. Since I generally do not expect to receive legitimate messages from China, country blocking is one of my filters. It cuts down on the number messages that I verify manually. | |
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