Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 12 of 21
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Perry Hall, MD
    Posts
    36,089

    OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    I'm curious to know more about Fios. We've been deluged with Verizon ads about Fios but where I live it isn't available yet.

    Who has Fios and how would you compare both the TV signal and the internet speed to that of Comcast, assuming of course you've used both.

    Also, if you have Fios, where do you live and how long have you had it?

    Did you receive any incentive to switch and how do the costs compare?

    Thanks for your help.





  2. #2

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    Verizon customer service and support is WOEful. I mean truly pitiful. We gave up on Verizon in complete disgust, and I know others who have done the same.

    They *will* treat you like crap, first chance they get. Worse than Comcast, by far, and that's really saying something.

    We didn't have FIOS in our neighborhood, so I can't speak to the rest of your question.
    Festivus

    His definitions and arguments were so clear in his own mind that he was unable to understand how any reasonable person could honestly differ with him.





  3. #3

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    Well, I cannot speak from personal experience but a few of my friends have switched to Verizon Fios.

    The price isn't much different and the customer service is the same as Comcast (bad) and sometimes worse.

    Looks like the idea of Verizon coming in and really putting Comast and it's customer service in it's place is not what is happening.

    PP





  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    "Merlin", Hon!
    Posts
    7,948

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    I live 9 miles west of Annapolis, 15 miles south of BWI. I switched to FiOS a year ago to take advantage of more powerful internet service, better pricing, more channels (e.g. NFL Network), and its advertised better reliability. Everything was as advertised, except I did not expect the customer service phone system to be so complicated.

    The Internet has been great, exceeding my expectations. Contrasted to the Comcast typical monthly or even more frequent long outages, bad equipment, etc of 5 years of Comcast broadband service, I haven't had a single reliability problem with Verizon, 24x7. Moreover, it's more powerful service, noticeable even to a non-geek like me. My Vonage VOIP phone service is now crystal clear at all times, since switching to FiOS. Downloads are faster and watching videos and TV on-line is now smooth, no freezeframes.

    I get Internet plus Showtime-STARZ-TMC etc movie package, DVR, two cable boxes, basic service to another 8 TVs, for about $100/month. The good news is 800+ channels. The bad news is also 800+ channels. Overwhelming, with a lot of crapola stuff I'd never watch, including over 50 Mexican channels. The FiOS TV programming guide performs better than Comcast's did. To overcome the problem of 800+ channels, there's a guide option to only display the channels of interest.

    I've had to deal with customer service a few times when starting up, and after moving around equipment, and recently after the tornado came by and knocked out the program guide on one of the TVs. Every instance except one, there was resolution over the phone, by the FiOS customer service rep sending a signal to the boxes. The program guide issue required a successful and on-time technician visit, which was by a Verizon employee (as opposed to Comcast subcontractors who often knew little). The customer service line is dumbshit. Unnecessarily complex with menus and submenus. I wonder if they intentionally designed it that way to try to force users to use the FiOS web-site instead of talking over the phone to a human.

    My other complaint with Verizon is their switching to all-digital with small conversion boxes. Their process for doing this via self-installation was much more complex than Comcast's was a few years back.

    I do miss having Comcast store conveniently up the road a few miles at Benfield Blvd and I-97; Verizon sends parts by FedEx instead.

    All three neighbors on our 4 house cul-de-sac have also switched over from Comcast to FiOS.

    From my own experiences with the two companies, I can't see how Comcast will be able to remain dominant in Maryland without major upgrades to its service and lower pricing (although we do want to keep the price competition going).
    In a 2003 BBC poll that asked Brits to name the "Greatest American Ever", Mr. T came in fourth, behind ML King (3rd), Abe Lincoln (2nd) and Homer Simpson (1st).





  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Severna Park
    Posts
    124

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    How 'bout HD? More channels, the same, less?





  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Reisterstown, Md
    Posts
    717

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    FIOS Internet BLOWS. I am in Reisterstown/Glyndon. The router they give you is a smoking POS we are on our 3rd one in 2 months. The NAT table fills up and everything comes to a crawl. Customer service is a joke and I am sick and tired of their sales reps banging on my door twice a week at dinner time. I really thing they are equal to Comcrap. You lose power you lose phone, the 8 hr battery backup did not last an hour, and for this they trashed my landscaping.
    We still have Direct TV for TV service. My husbands job pays for the FIOS , it is about 50 dollars cheaper then Comcrap. I wish we had never switched.





  7. #7

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    Quote Originally Posted by Drkraven View Post
    FIOS Internet BLOWS. I am in Reisterstown/Glyndon. The router they give you is a smoking POS we are on our 3rd one in 2 months.
    This was part of our experience as well. Also they flat out failed to show for back to back appointments, for each of which I missed work. One time I waited/navigated phone trees for roughly half an hour, some guy answers the phone at their regular customer service center and, instead of "Customer service, how can I help you? [or whatever]" says "Hello?" then he hangs up.

    Comcast has pissed me off too but *nothing* like Verizon.
    Festivus

    His definitions and arguments were so clear in his own mind that he was unable to understand how any reasonable person could honestly differ with him.





  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    "Merlin", Hon!
    Posts
    7,948

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    Quote Originally Posted by 73doubledown73 View Post
    How 'bout HD? More channels, the same, less?
    I count 34. This includes the broadcast network channels from both Baltiomore & DC (same evening programming).
    In a 2003 BBC poll that asked Brits to name the "Greatest American Ever", Mr. T came in fourth, behind ML King (3rd), Abe Lincoln (2nd) and Homer Simpson (1st).





  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Probably on the wrong side of the road.
    Posts
    3,240
    Blog Entries
    1

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    FIOS is not available in Bel Air/Abingdon.

    My Comcast bill was getting up there. All I have is Internet, 2 HD boxes, one with DVR. No HBO, Cinemax etc. Bill is $151 per month!!!

    I called Comcast and ended up in the 'retention dept'. They cut my bill by $20 and threw in VOIP which I have now with another company. So I saved about $50/month.

    Price is fixed for 24 months.

    I too have heard nightmares about FIOS and will probably stick with Comcast when it comes down my street.
    Admin Steve :uk:
    Screwing up Ravens message boards since 1999.





  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Westminster - Raventown, MD!
    Posts
    13,099
    Blog Entries
    1

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    FIOS is supposed to be faster, but I'm still hesitant to go with Verizon for phone AND internet after they left my phone cable cut for nearly two weeks, which was 4 days longer than when they had promised it to be fixed. And that wasn't the first time either, since my parents had their phone line down for a week and a half before someone got out to them. ATROCIOUS customer service, though I think their prices are a little better.
    .
    .
    “When I think of a Baltimore Raven - we go in there, we take your lunch box, we take your sandwich, we take your juice box, we take your applesauce, and we take your spork and we break it. And we leave you with an empty lunch. That’s the Baltimore Raven way.” - Steve Smith Sr.


    Call me a Special Teams coach again. I dare you! I double dare you, MFer!





  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Columbia, Maryland
    Posts
    1,179

    Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    This is an interesting and very informative thread. I am one that is tired of the B.S. called Comcast. I have the digital and I am slowly losing channels. At one point, you got all of the HBOs (west and east) and now you only get east.

    I am not going to consider any of the Customer Service arguments, because pretty much they are all the same. You will have both good and bad experiences. I also won't consider the door to door salesman complaints, because the Comcast morons stay at my door.

    The only two things I care about are price and quality of product. Right now I have Comcast digital with HBO, MAX, SHO, and STARS/ENC along with the sports package (the only reason I even have that is for NFLN). I won't need the sports package with FIOS, because NFLN is on their basic package. That cuts some money there. I still want to keep HBO, MAX, and STARS/ENC if I switch to FIOS. I could take or leave SHO.

    Also, do they really rip your front lawn to install FIOS?

    What about outages during severe weather?

    Pic quality? On Demand feature?
    It's a new season! It's a new day!





  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    "Merlin", Hon!
    Posts
    7,948

    Wink Re: OT: Comcast Digital v. Verizon FIOS (Wooooow!)

    Quote Originally Posted by PurpleRulz View Post
    do they really rip your front lawn to install FIOS?
    Yes ... so did Comcast. I still have an exposed Comcast wire in my front.



    Quote Originally Posted by PurpleRulz View Post
    What about outages during severe weather?
    Never happened to me except for loss of service due to no electricity (But neither did it happen with Comcast).



    Quote Originally Posted by PurpleRulz View Post
    Pic quality? On Demand feature?
    I can't tell any difference in picture quality. On Demand performance is about the same -- I did prefer the Comcast on-screen menu.


    -------------

    If you go with Verizon, suggest you pressure them into total rewiring, with each TV and the router directly to a single splitter. The voice of experience speaketh.
    In a 2003 BBC poll that asked Brits to name the "Greatest American Ever", Mr. T came in fourth, behind ML King (3rd), Abe Lincoln (2nd) and Homer Simpson (1st).





Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Link To Mobile Site
var infolinks_pid = 3297965; var infolinks_wsid = 0; //—->