We are getting FIOS from Verizon installed today now that it is available in our neighborhood. For the same price ($55/month) that Comcast charges us for 1.5ish down/500 - 700ish up, we will be getting 15 down/2 up from Verizon. Comcast is good sometimes, but not always, and that's a problem. The thing with cable broadband is that depending on how much your neighbors are using the bandwidth that is shared in your neighborhood area, your bandwidth may be severely limited.
My installation experience so far has been good. The initial sales person was very professional, and all the steps he told me would happen (initial survey/line painting for other buried utilities, trenching of fiber from the local box, installer appointment) have happened as described and on time. The installer called today to say he was about half an hour away, and while I had him on the phone I described our existing setup and asked what his plan was for running copper from the fiber terminal to the location where I want the router. He said that because we already are using the coax for DirecTV, he will run CAT5 into the room, and even asked where we would like the wall plate to be located which I think is awesome (we had back luck trying to run DirecTV and Comcast over the same coax, so I didn't want to add yet another service into the mix, even though we will be getting rid of Comcast as soon as possible).
Anyhow, Comcast must be getting hammered by Verizon and losing customers left and right, if the billboard on the major road through our town is any indication. I don't have a picture of it, but it cracks me up every time I see it. It is a photograph of a bundle of fiber optic strands with the words "Comcast: powered by fiber optics" in big letters on the other half of the billboard. I guess they hope unsuspecting consumers will think twice about getting FIOS because, at least according to the billboard, they already have fiber optic service from Comcast.
I'm not falling for it, and I can't wait to compare the two side by side, right before I ditch Comcast for good.
17 comments:
We have Comcast and have had a very good experience. (Of course, I don't download that much porn...) Every time the subject of broadband delivery comes up (be it ISDN, DSL, cable, FIOS, whatever) it seems everyone supports a different vehicle and has iron-clad arguments in favor of it. Maybe I'm just blissfully ignorant, but I'm satisfied with my cable service. Or maybe my neighbors don't watch much TV.
We had a problem with the cable side a while back and they really went the extra mile to get it fixed.
Like I said, when the cable happens to be running well, it is fine, no complaints, but the speed varies a lot throughout the day. I figured getting more than 2x the download speed for the same price would be a good idea.
Time will tell if it was a good idea. First thing I have to do is figure out how safely to configure the router to work with the rest of the system.
Just to set the record straight...Comcast says they are backed by a fiber optic network. This is somewhat true but a major twist on reality. Comcast, like many other cable companies, have used fiber optics for the back end of their networks since the 1980s. This is not a new concept. The difference here is that the entire network is NOT fiber optics. In fact the majority of their network is actually coax cable, which is much slower and much more susceptable to weather damage and corrosion. They advertise that they use fiber optics only to try and sound competitive with Verizon when in reality only a small portion of their network is actually fiber. They do NOT actually run fiber along the poles and underground and too your houses, only on the back in in their central offices.
Verizon on the other hand has invested billions of dollars in a full fiber optic network. Their service, which they call FiOS, is actually fiber optics along the poles, fiber optics underground, and fiber optics ALL THE WAY TO THE PREMISIS. They litterally run the fiber lines all the way to your house. This does provide them with a MUCH faster connection speed, dedicated (not shared like a cable connection).
There is a real valid reason that every cable company out there is trying to trick consumers into thinking that they also have fiber, because fiber is much better than coax. The cable companies know it and they are scared that Verizon has invested so much in the future while they havn't so they are twisting the reality to try and make people think that they have it too when Verizon is currently really the ONLY company in the USA that is running fiber optics all the way to the home.
DON'T BE FOOLED by these marketing schemes that make you think otherwise.
Because there are billboards here in Seattle with the message COMCAST FIBER OPTIC NOW AVAILABLE, CALL TO FIND OUT!, I called the 1-877 number on the their website to upgrade from my present Comcast co-ax service. The first "Customer Professional" ("Jennifer"), insisted that All Comcast was fiber optic, and hung up after I told her that I had copper, not fiber optic, and couldn't believe her. The second pro ("Jason") tried the same line, but believed my co-ax story. I asked when I could get fiber optic to my modem, and after conferring with his superior, told me maybe in the future but not now. He had a canned message about how co-ax was almost as god as fiber, and their fiber backbone that was really fast, but no go on fiber for now.
Poor training, deceptive advertising, desperation to build customer base before Verizon gets here I guess. I get about 6Mbs now, would sure like more.
For what it's worth, FIOS is not available in my town (Cambridge, MA), but Comcast is installing Fiber in my apartment building next week so I can choose between Fiber and Coax. I'm psyched.
P.S. I'm sure I'm ahead of the curve as a Comcast customer > MIT is down the street.
More HD channels baby! Bring it!
Right now (coax) I get about 800MB/115MB bandwidth (yes, that is a capital "B", as in "Bytes", rather than "bits"). Looking forward to bumping that for no price change...
Still, it would be nice if FIOS were available to keep the competition on price in line.
you are very missinformed anonymous.85% of comcast's network is fiber.they own their own convergene bone.1 of 3 in the US the otheres are att and level3.Which by the way VZ rents it.and they practice virtual node splitting in most areas.again ALL fiber.the only coax is from node to house
That's how I understand it as well. It's fiber all the way out to the nodes (the little boxes at the top of the telephone poles) and then it switches to Coax as it enters your building. Comcast really isn't too shabby, but I'd switch to Verizon FIOS if I had the chance.
Also Verizon has to share lines with At&T and other service providers to extend their range so in theory if your internet goes down and you open a trouble ticket with Verizon they have to open another ticket with At&t should it not be their line. Comcast owns almost all their lines and are Fiber up to node(box on telephone) and only run coax from pole to house..
I just thought I'd mention, I just got my comcast internet hooked up in the house I just moved to. The modem kept cutting out, so I called to complain and they sent a tech out the next day. They fixed the problem by replacing the coax line that runs from the pole to my house with a fiber line. It is my understanding that this is what they will be doing with all lines from now on...at least in this area. (north metro atlanta) I think they are planning for some major speed increases in the near future. Right now I'm getting a steady 12 Mb up and 3Mb down all day long...sometimes a bit higher. In my experience they've had great customer service and excellent service. If you're having problems, tell them you want your coax line replaced with fiber...couldn't hurt to ask. I didn't even have to ask, they just did it.
Oh yeah, thought I'd also mention that all I am paying is 20/month for the first year. It goes up to sixty after that, but for a year I'm getting a hell of a deal.
KUHL -- that is a good deal for the first year. It is very interesting to hear they are running fiber all the way to the house now, at least in some markets.
Leo...I just was looking at comcasts website and noticed that they are now offering a 22 Mb and a 50 Mb service in some areas, and it's quickly expanding to others. Pretty pricy for the 50 at somewhere between 125 and 175 dollars, but the 22 is only about 63 a month, just based on the news stories I was reading about it. People seem to be saying it works really well, but we'll see I guess. When it comes to my area, I might try the 22 just to see how well it works. Anyway, thought I'd let you know.
ATT and Verizon are the only major true fiber optic providers. comcast is almost all copper coax,and to make it worse, the line is shared, (unless you have PAXIO in your area) (fastest residental isp in the world)
Comcast is working fine for me...
Bandwidth test results: http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1904/daddysup.jpg
No issue with whether Comcast works, it always worked fine for me when I had it, I just find the advertising to be a bit disingenuous.
Great article, Great comments thanks for all the info, I live in central Maine. Contract with DSL in my town until 2015. Totally SUX. I used to have Comcast in CT. Oh well I just got an upgrade to 5Mb/s Smokin fast....lol They do offer a 15 but it's in the works for my street.
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