Comments on: My Take on Verizon FiOS Internet & TV Service http://jasontomczak.com/2008/07/23/my-take-on-verizon-fios-internet-tv-service/ Technology, Photography, Miscellanea Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:34:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: jgrtmp http://jasontomczak.com/2008/07/23/my-take-on-verizon-fios-internet-tv-service/comment-page-1/#comment-4892 jgrtmp Mon, 02 Aug 2010 04:00:10 +0000 http://jasontomczak.com/?p=29#comment-4892 I've had no problems with the actual performance of the 3pack service(phone/TV/Internet). The nature of FIOs is a T3 cable with a dedicated 256 broadband line. You loose some speed to overhead across the line, but don't share your line with other users. The link comes off a 256 user base hub. You shouldn't loose speed for any reason except improper setting in the systems registry. I've seen programs dummy down my settings because they site was a bottleneck, & then not rest them. IObit's Advance System Care has a freeware version with turbo boost to set settings manually. I set mine for 50Mb & end up with about 2.5MB/sec dnld & 1.2-1.6MB upld speeds. Also for those questioning the displyed tranfer rates http://www.digitallanding.com/section_display.cfm/section_id/20?gclid=COPUpb2fmpoCFQIWFQodcxjz-A is a good speed test site. On the down side I was promissed I wouldn't loose Internet until the day the installers came. Not true- I lost it within 3 hr as my IP rents a Verizon DNS server. My IP said they could do nothing. On day 4 I reached an outsource in India. I got their super rep manager on the phone & he said the people who set up the switching must have seen it & zaped me from recieving DNS sevice. They were the only ones that could fix it. He said the other Verizon CSRs & managers lied when they said it was the IPs fault. Amazing you have to outsource to get the truth. My wifes a home health care nurse & needs email/fax on a daily basis. We went 8 days(including the install day) to get our email. I'm unemployed & this really kicked me hard. Verizon needs to learn how to treat potential customers with a personally informed CSR/SSR group. When it came to personel they were like a bunch of clowns that were ineficient at giving the customer the run around... I’ve had no problems with the actual performance of the 3pack service(phone/TV/Internet). The nature of FIOs is a T3 cable with a dedicated 256 broadband line. You loose some speed to overhead across the line, but don’t share your line with other users. The link comes off a 256 user base hub. You shouldn’t loose speed for any reason except improper setting in the systems registry. I’ve seen programs dummy down my settings because they site was a bottleneck, & then not rest them. IObit’s Advance System Care has a freeware version with turbo boost to set settings manually. I set mine for 50Mb & end up with about 2.5MB/sec dnld & 1.2-1.6MB upld speeds. Also for those questioning the displyed tranfer rates http://www.digitallanding.com/section_display.cfm/section_id/20?gclid=COPUpb2fmpoCFQIWFQodcxjz-A is a good speed test site.
On the down side I was promissed I wouldn’t loose Internet until the day the installers came. Not true- I lost it within 3 hr as my IP rents a Verizon DNS server. My IP said they could do nothing. On day 4 I reached an outsource in India. I got their super rep manager on the phone & he said the people who set up the switching must have seen it & zaped me from recieving DNS sevice. They were the only ones that could fix it. He said the other Verizon CSRs & managers lied when they said it was the IPs fault. Amazing you have to outsource to get the truth. My wifes a home health care nurse & needs email/fax on a daily basis. We went 8 days(including the install day) to get our email. I’m unemployed & this really kicked me hard. Verizon needs to learn how to treat potential customers with a personally informed CSR/SSR group. When it came to personel they were like a bunch of clowns that were ineficient at giving the customer the run around…

]]> By: JasonTomczak http://jasontomczak.com/2008/07/23/my-take-on-verizon-fios-internet-tv-service/comment-page-1/#comment-188 JasonTomczak Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:39:15 +0000 http://jasontomczak.com/?p=29#comment-188 Brandon, In solid, established areas where dozens or hundreds of installations have been completed, FiOS installs go somewhat well. The nasty kinks have been ironed out. In any area where they're breaking new ground (literally or figuratively), they really screw the pooch in a bad way. Verizon is admittedly subcontracting to 3rd party crews who are at the effect of a) Verizon's ungainly nature, b) the low-rent customer service reps Verizon hires, and c) the fact that 3rd party installation reps rarely have any control over physical fiber lines. At present, the FiOS installation organism is like a cheap HMO. You take what you can get. And if the only authorized doctor stinks of gin, well... c'est la vie. Hopefully you'll have the patience to ride the FiOS team strong enough to make them get it right. Find the closest manager and start calling. Be pleasant but insistent. Give them a reason to care (otherwise they really don't). Good luck! Once you get FiOS running, you'll probably realize it was worth the stress. At least you got a visit from the FiOS rep. That shows some decency on his behalf. He could have skipped the visit and just left you in mystery. Brandon,

In solid, established areas where dozens or hundreds of installations have been completed, FiOS installs go somewhat well. The nasty kinks have been ironed out.

In any area where they’re breaking new ground (literally or figuratively), they really screw the pooch in a bad way. Verizon is admittedly subcontracting to 3rd party crews who are at the effect of a) Verizon’s ungainly nature, b) the low-rent customer service reps Verizon hires, and c) the fact that 3rd party installation reps rarely have any control over physical fiber lines.

At present, the FiOS installation organism is like a cheap HMO. You take what you can get. And if the only authorized doctor stinks of gin, well… c’est la vie.

Hopefully you’ll have the patience to ride the FiOS team strong enough to make them get it right. Find the closest manager and start calling. Be pleasant but insistent. Give them a reason to care (otherwise they really don’t).

Good luck! Once you get FiOS running, you’ll probably realize it was worth the stress.

At least you got a visit from the FiOS rep. That shows some decency on his behalf. He could have skipped the visit and just left you in mystery.

]]> By: Brandon http://jasontomczak.com/2008/07/23/my-take-on-verizon-fios-internet-tv-service/comment-page-1/#comment-187 Brandon Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:34:34 +0000 http://jasontomczak.com/?p=29#comment-187 Jason, I found this post while searching for a way to actually contact a Fios rep within oh, say... 500 miles of my home. Very informative, thank you. I have been trying to get Fios installed for well over a month, have gotten phone messages confirming the install, then emails two days later confirming cancellation (WTF!?!), one phone message that they needed confirmation from my father (I'm 39 yrs old and he lives in a different state!). Finally we had things arranged to have the install performed Friday Dec 5, with an arrival time between 8A-12P. Around 11 I got nervous and called- was told by a very annoyed sounding rep that there was still an hour left and my order was "next in line" Over the next several hours, after repeated calls, I was told at 3:30 that the tech wasn't coming (NO SHIT!) We made arrangements for Sunday Dec 7, same time. I requested a call to let me know they were on the way. That morning, while trying to attend to a sick wife, and make breakfast for a 3yr old kid and 5 dogs, the guy knocked on the door- no call. But here's the kicker: before he even came in he told me the work wouldn't get done that day. The closest Fios line was about 500 yards away and they needed to get a dig crew out to lay a line. He would go back and talk with his dispatcher and she would get back to me first thing Monday morning to schedule that process. Today is Tuesday. No call. Very frustrating, would have given up long ago but my cable service is horrible so I have to change. I'll keep you posted. Jason,
I found this post while searching for a way to actually contact a Fios rep within oh, say… 500 miles of my home. Very informative, thank you. I have been trying to get Fios installed for well over a month, have gotten phone messages confirming the install, then emails two days later confirming cancellation (WTF!?!), one phone message that they needed confirmation from my father (I’m 39 yrs old and he lives in a different state!). Finally we had things arranged to have the install performed Friday Dec 5, with an arrival time between 8A-12P. Around 11 I got nervous and called- was told by a very annoyed sounding rep that there was still an hour left and my order was “next in line” Over the next several hours, after repeated calls, I was told at 3:30 that the tech wasn’t coming (NO SHIT!) We made arrangements for Sunday Dec 7, same time. I requested a call to let me know they were on the way. That morning, while trying to attend to a sick wife, and make breakfast for a 3yr old kid and 5 dogs, the guy knocked on the door- no call. But here’s the kicker: before he even came in he told me the work wouldn’t get done that day. The closest Fios line was about 500 yards away and they needed to get a dig crew out to lay a line. He would go back and talk with his dispatcher and she would get back to me first thing Monday morning to schedule that process. Today is Tuesday. No call. Very frustrating, would have given up long ago but my cable service is horrible so I have to change. I’ll keep you posted.

]]> By: Keith http://jasontomczak.com/2008/07/23/my-take-on-verizon-fios-internet-tv-service/comment-page-1/#comment-186 Keith Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:02:42 +0000 http://jasontomczak.com/?p=29#comment-186 Great post Jason....At least you can actually talk to someone that can help you with your TV. I live in a NEW FIOS area, and if i call Cust Serv from my Verizon Cell i go straight to Cell Cust Serv and spend 20-25 minutes getting transfered all over the goddamn country until i end up at the right place. I've asked for the direct FIOS TV phone number dozens of times..turns out i'm calling the right number. Anyway, i digress on that issue. I found the Internet to Kick ASS over my Comcast...same things you found....Downloads crank, no slowing of Web pages or e-mail while up or downloading etc.... But i think the TV needs to step up a few notches. Satellite TV is cheaper Besides installation and initial dish costs) and offers many more HD channels..All we can do is write our congressman/women...i mean FIOS and tell them to step it up on the TV side.... Great post Jason….At least you can actually talk to someone that can help you with your TV. I live in a NEW FIOS area, and if i call Cust Serv from my Verizon Cell i go straight to Cell Cust Serv and spend 20-25 minutes getting transfered all over the goddamn country until i end up at the right place. I’ve asked for the direct FIOS TV phone number dozens of times..turns out i’m calling the right number. Anyway, i digress on that issue.

I found the Internet to Kick ASS over my Comcast…same things you found….Downloads crank, no slowing of Web pages or e-mail while up or downloading etc…. But i think the TV needs to step up a few notches. Satellite TV is cheaper Besides installation and initial dish costs) and offers many more HD channels..All we can do is write our congressman/women…i mean FIOS and tell them to step it up on the TV side….

]]> By: JasonTomczak http://jasontomczak.com/2008/07/23/my-take-on-verizon-fios-internet-tv-service/comment-page-1/#comment-185 JasonTomczak Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:17:20 +0000 http://jasontomczak.com/?p=29#comment-185 Hey Stephen, thanks for the note. I'm glad you like the info I posted. I'm frustrated with the FiOS TV service, but I'm quite pleased with the Internet speeds. Luckily I haven't lost favorite channels (although I might as well have - they got all jumbled when Verizon changed the channel lineup on me), but the s-l-o-w set top box is giving me grey hairs. Has your account been upgraded yet? My 15/2 service is supposed to be upgraded to either 15/5 or 20/5 some time in the next few weeks. It's a free upgrade to counter some of Comcast's upcoming service enhancements. Verizon is on the the defensive and its customers benefit... or should. Hey Stephen, thanks for the note. I’m glad you like the info I posted. I’m frustrated with the FiOS TV service, but I’m quite pleased with the Internet speeds. Luckily I haven’t lost favorite channels (although I might as well have – they got all jumbled when Verizon changed the channel lineup on me), but the s-l-o-w set top box is giving me grey hairs.

Has your account been upgraded yet? My 15/2 service is supposed to be upgraded to either 15/5 or 20/5 some time in the next few weeks. It’s a free upgrade to counter some of Comcast’s upcoming service enhancements. Verizon is on the the defensive and its customers benefit… or should.

]]> By: Stephen http://jasontomczak.com/2008/07/23/my-take-on-verizon-fios-internet-tv-service/comment-page-1/#comment-184 Stephen Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:38:17 +0000 http://jasontomczak.com/?p=29#comment-184 Jason, I enjoyed your article on Verizon FIOS. We have had this for around a year and have recently had problems with disappearing Favorite Channels and very slow internet speeds. Very sporadic. Spent an hour online with a nice tech who used remote access to check things out. Not sure exactly what he found, but [reset the router? cleaned out a chache?] but seems better. Gave me his email to follow up. We'll see. Jason, I enjoyed your article on Verizon FIOS. We have had this for around a year and have recently had problems with disappearing Favorite Channels and very slow internet speeds. Very sporadic. Spent an hour online with a nice tech who used remote access to check things out. Not sure exactly what he found, but [reset the router? cleaned out a chache?] but seems better. Gave me his email to follow up. We’ll see.

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