What's Verizon planning in HS Internet? Phone?

[jaymer]

someone told me 1 gigabit connections may be coming from Verizon once this new fiber is in place. ...or is it gigaBYTE ?

right now, with RR being 3Mb (3 megabits, approx 350 MB/sec in the IE download box) down (unsure of what my UP is), that means that the new stuff would be 33 times faster than current RoadRunner speeds?

Is that really going to happen?

With the Phone-over-ip stuff thats out there, and now from BHN, I'm wondering about what I may be doing next year.

Should I still transfer internet to Earthlink to get cheaper internet?
and then transfer again next year to Verizon?
Is it worth going with the higher-priced BHN Phone solution (Vonage and others are cheaper)?
Certainly with that added bandwidth, Verizon would have their own Phone-over-ip as well? Is that announced yet?

Anyone have any inside Verizon info?

jaymer...

[DSquare]

http://www22.verizon.com/ForYourHome/Fios/packagePrice.asp

has prices for the packages they offer plus you can see if its in your area yet.

[LonghornXP]

First off FTTP or as Verizon calls it FIOS or fiber won't be available in Pinellas County until at least first half of 2005 with Tampa being done first with some areas being done today. Secondly BHN offers 3 Megabits per second not Megabytes per second. Now Verizon will have a base plan at I think 5 Megabits per second down for 30 bucks a month with a max speed plan of 30 Megabits per second for around 50-60 bucks a month. Just so you know for the future 3Mbps means 3 megabits per second and 3MBps means 3 megabytes per second. Just remember that the uppercase B means bytes and lower case b means bits.

There are about 8 bits to a byte and as such 3 megabits per second would be 375 megabytes per second. When you download a file from the interest both IE and Mozilla show your speed as bytes.

Now I'm lucky to have been wired for fiber from the start in Pinellas County and I'm getting 15Mbps down and 2Mbps UP for 34.95/month and that will go to 39.95/month after my first 6 months. Also even though I always had fiber in my house and street Verizon never actually turned it on until a few months ago.

[tampatom]

Thanks for the link.

Verizon has been out in our area installing the fiber system over the last couple of months. I noticed a lot of activity today, Sunday, as they are doing stuff with test equipment from the RT box on the corner to the access boxes in our yards.

I plugged in my phone number and it says it's available in my area. I'm calling them tomorrow. I'll just need to dig up a Windows box for initial installation. 15Mbps for what I'm paying for RR service.

Tom

[wallinbl]

Is it worth going with the higher-priced BHN Phone solution (Vonage and others are cheaper)?

Vonage never made me feel good about dailing 911. They also don't wire into your existing phone wiring (you plug one phone into their box). The BHN VOIP device has a battery in it that allows it to continue working when the power goes out (you can solve this with a UPS as well). Finally, it's nice to have a local company that will come out and fix it in the event that it doesn't work.

Sure, it's a premium, but if I needed to dial 911 and couldn't because I decided to save $15/month, I'd never forgive myself. (No cell reception at my house).

[DSquare]

Any of you know if they have caps on how much you can download?

[CANDY76MAN]

I'm can't wait till they get the network up and running in my area....I'll be able to get 15 mbps for what I'm paying BHN for 3 mbps plus a much higher upload speed..........I'm also curious to find out how there plan to offer direcTV is going to work......I'm guessing they will have a small charge per month too access the directv signal over their lines and then you just do the normal billing with directv as if you had a dish?

[jaymer]

darn... not in my area yet... though they were just digging up the yard about 4 weeks ago, so at least we are soon.

so its not the 100Mb/sec and will only be 66% faster than BHN... for a few dollars cheaper and a $5 discount w/Verizon phone service. I'd switch just to save the $5/mo over roadrunner. Might be worth doing the Earthlink service for 6 months then this will be in place for the next change after that.

LONGHORN - yes, i knew all that, just made a mental error when i had to slow my brain down enough to make it simple for the newbies - i needed to explain it to others, and ended up screwing it up myself. have edited the initial post.

[bdraw]

[quote="jaymer"]
so its not the 100Mb/sec and will only be 66% faster than BHN... for a few dollars cheaper and a $5 discount w/Verizon phone service.[/q/suote]

3Mb/s * 5 = 15Mb/s
That is 500% faster, or 5 times.

Well worth it, I can't wait.

[tampahank]

when someone gets it, definately report back.. would be interesting to hear how it is!.. "fiber to the curb/home" has been one of those mystical "any day now" promises we've heard about for years now... kinda like flying cars ;)

cool to see it come to fruition!

[jaymer]

ben, yes, even better.
when i saw the $200 price tag on the 3rd item in the Verizon link posted above, i really skipped the middle one.
so i was thinking 5MB for $40,
instead i'll take 15MB for $50.

awesome

[LonghornXP]

That is kinda funny. The service prices that I was given in my bill or changes in prices was as follows. There will be no free months of service in your area for new customers as of November 1, 2004.

Pricing tiers are as follows from my mailing. All prices below assume you have a Verizon basic local calling package. The required package is like 8 bucks a month so if you don't have local phone service with them because you use a cell phone you have to add another 5 bucks a month to each of the plan prices below.

5Mbps down/2Mbps UP = 29.95/month.
15Mbps down/2Mbps UP = 34.95/month
15Mbps down/5Mbps UP = 39.95/month
30Mbps down/5Mbps UP = 59.95/month
50Mbps down/5Mbps UP = 79.95/month
100Mbps down/20Mbps UP = 399.95/month for business customers or 699.95/month for residentual customers.

Activation fee of 49.99 applies and will not be refunded if customer cancels service as part of their 30 day free trial. Windows XP is required for all service plans at or over 30Mbps down. Windows 98SE will require a networking update for 5Mbps plan to be done by a Verizon technician. Windows 98SE will only work with the 5Mbps plan. Windows XP Professional is required for 100Mbps tier.

That was basically everything that I read that was interesting.

[wallinbl]

What difference does it make what OS I use?

[CANDY76MAN]

thats what I am trying to figure out....if they require you to run special software in order to connect (ie- pppoe) then they are shooting themselves in the foot...I want to be connected when I start my computer without having to have yet another prgram running.

[wallinbl]

I would otherwise assume that it's the standard tech support line, but they seem to have Windows tiered among their offerings. That leaves me concerned that they might not even work with Linux or Mac.

[tampatom]

If they use PPoE authentication, like their dsl service, it's fully linux comapatible. Verizon won't support linux, so, depending on the tech they send out to hook it up, either I'll have them hook up my W2K box to get it working and then, when they leave, I'll just move it over to the linux firewall, or tell them to get the line working to their modem/router, and I'll take it from there.

It's not any different when RR came out to hook up my access. They asked me which one of the 6 systems was the Windows box. I told them none of them, and they said they couldn't hook me up. I told them to connect the cable modem, and I would take it from there. 10 minutes later, with them looking on, my whole network had access. Everytime I have RR problems and have to call their tech line, they ask me what my Windows settings are. I just tell them what they want to hear. Everytime, so far, the problem has been on their side.

[tampatom]

I guess I'll find out sooner than I thought. I noticed the Verizon crew pulled out of our area on Monday. I called the order line today, and my 15/2 Mbps network will be installed in the house next Wednesday, the 27th.

The first thing the Verizon asked was, "What OS are you using?" They do not support Linux at this time. I guess I'll have to show them how to support it.

I'll keep the group informed on the progress.

Tom

[bdraw]

Wow thanks!
I wonder when it will be availible in ybor.
Not sure if they are doing apartments/condo's yet.

[LonghornXP]

Just so you know I tried it with Windows 98 first edition and it kept on crashing everytime I tried to get an IP address via IPConfig and it wouldn't get one on its own. Also it seems both Fedora Core 3 Test 3 and Mandrake 10.1 CE both work with Verizon FIOS. It connected right away and never crashed. That makes me wonder if some older OSes can't deal with how they DHCP out the IP addresses. Also their DSL and FIOS at least where I am in Pinellas County use DHCP not PPPoE and I don't have to ever enter a user name or password to connect.

[jaymer]

does that mean that a machine (the win xp box) has to be on all the time if there are other pcs in the house using FIOS? i just don't understand the importance of what OS is running... since if they ARE using DHCP like you say, then why isn't my off-the-shelf linksys router going to do all i need? ... why ever need XP?

[goalie99]

During a conversation with a Verizon CS last week during my epic struggle to get my phone turned on (don't ask, lets just say I ended up just getting Vonage), I was told that Verizon has digital cable over their fiber planned as well as phone/internet - I'm not aware of Verizon offering cable currently to any of its markets, I can't find anything on it. He had no more information than that, however- I asked about HD and he had no idea. I'd be a happy man if I could get fiber 'net access, phone and "good" cable all on one bill in the next few years.

Folks that have FIOS- are you seeing sustained rates close to your advertised up/down rates, or are you seeing a good amount of fluctuation in your usage so far?

[CANDY76MAN]

During a conversation with a Verizon CS last week during my epic struggle to get my phone turned on (don't ask, lets just say I ended up just getting Vonage), I was told that Verizon has digital cable over their fiber planned as well as phone/internet - I'm not aware of Verizon offering cable currently to any of its markets, I can't find anything on it. He had no more information than that, however- I asked about HD and he had no idea. I'd be a happy man if I could get fiber 'net access, phone and "good" cable all on one bill in the next few years.

Folks that have FIOS- are you seeing sustained rates close to your advertised up/down rates, or are you seeing a good amount of fluctuation in your usage so far?

I heard from several different verizon employees that they plan to offer directv over the fiber....rather it will eliminate a directv bill though I don't know, all depends on how they do it.

[tampatom]

The installation went flawlessly. It's great!

They came out and installed a UPS system in the garage. They then tore out the existing phone equipment outside, and replaced it with the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) . He asked where he should run the cat5 cable, and we just followed the RR cable to the computer room. Unboxed a Dl-604 router, and plugged it all in. He then left to go to the hub to connect my fiber, came back about 10 minutes later, sat in his truck with his wireless laptop, and activated the system. We then checked all the lights on the ONT, which luckily were all green, and came into the computer room. First, we picked up a phone, dial tone, good, we have a connection. Next we powered up the Windows computer, since they have no knowledge of linux. They wanted me to install their software, but I asked not to. They asked if I knew how to talk to the router, so I brought up Mozilla, opened the router page, and entered my username/password in the PPPoE boxes. Hit OK, hit connect, and got an address immediately. They asked if I could get out on the Internet, so I pointed at google and in scant seconds, google was on the screen.

It took them about 5 hours from start to finish. That's not including the time that Verizon people showed up on Monday to bury the fiber from the street to my house. They said they thought I was about the 10th person in Florida to get Fios, so they were taking it real easy and doing everything step by step. There was probably also an hour in there that about 10 Verizon trucks showed up. They were supposed to test my connection before they came out to install it, but for some reason that got missed.

I now have the W2K system and 1 linux box connected to Fios. I get 14.96 down and 1.84 up on the speed tests to the W2K box, but only 8.6 down on linux. But, I get 2.54 up on linux. Something is not tuned right, and I'm trying to work on that. After that, I'll take the other 6 linux boxes off RR, and put them on Fios. I have until next Wednesday before that gets cut off.

The only other problem I've had was that Friday, my wife called telling me there was real loud beeping coming from the garage. I told her to go see what the lights showed on the UPS. She said it had a red light under replace battery. I called the service center, and Verizon was waiting at the door when I came home from work. They replaced the battery, checked all the connections, and asked if I'd try everything out before they left. They're bending over backwards to make sure this is a smooth service.

Sorry for the length.

Tom

[LonghornXP]

The installation went flawlessly. It's great!

They came out and installed a UPS system in the garage. They then tore out the existing phone equipment outside, and replaced it with the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) . He asked where he should run the cat5 cable, and we just followed the RR cable to the computer room. Unboxed a Dl-604 router, and plugged it all in. He then left to go to the hub to connect my fiber, came back about 10 minutes later, sat in his truck with his wireless laptop, and activated the system. We then checked all the lights on the ONT, which luckily were all green, and came into the computer room. First, we picked up a phone, dial tone, good, we have a connection. Next we powered up the Windows computer, since they have no knowledge of linux. They wanted me to install their software, but I asked not to. They asked if I knew how to talk to the router, so I brought up Mozilla, opened the router page, and entered my username/password in the PPPoE boxes. Hit OK, hit connect, and got an address immediately. They asked if I could get out on the Internet, so I pointed at google and in scant seconds, google was on the screen.

It took them about 5 hours from start to finish. That's not including the time that Verizon people showed up on Monday to bury the fiber from the street to my house. They said they thought I was about the 10th person in Florida to get Fios, so they were taking it real easy and doing everything step by step. There was probably also an hour in there that about 10 Verizon trucks showed up. They were supposed to test my connection before they came out to install it, but for some reason that got missed.

I now have the W2K system and 1 linux box connected to Fios. I get 14.96 down and 1.84 up on the speed tests to the W2K box, but only 8.6 down on linux. But, I get 2.54 up on linux. Something is not tuned right, and I'm trying to work on that. After that, I'll take the other 6 linux boxes off RR, and put them on Fios. I have until next Wednesday before that gets cut off.

The only other problem I've had was that Friday, my wife called telling me there was real loud beeping coming from the garage. I told her to go see what the lights showed on the UPS. She said it had a red light under replace battery. I called the service center, and Verizon was waiting at the door when I came home from work. They replaced the battery, checked all the connections, and asked if I'd try everything out before they left. They're bending over backwards to make sure this is a smooth service.

Sorry for the length.

Tom

About the UPS the same thing happened to me after about a week. I for almost an entire day couldn't figure out what the hell that sound was. Now my install took almost 8 hours but was well worth the wait. Now on Windows XP and Mac OS X Panther I've been getting around 14-16Mbps down and just below 2Mbps Up but never more but always around 1.7Mbps up. So far I love it. Also maybe in Tampa they use PPPoE but my setup says its using DHCP even on the router setup. Now I can say that Fedora and Mandrake the latest versions are showing speed tests of 10Mbps down and 1-1.5Mbps Up. Now Debian and Slackware are showing speeds similiar to what Windows XP shows. Also Knoppix and Windows 2000 show similiar results as XP. Now both Windows 98SE and ME both show speeds around 5Mbps down and 700Kbps UP. Also Windows NT just doesn't work at all nor does Windows 98 first edition and 95.

Hope this helps ya all out.

[Floyd]

For a lot more discussion on the FIOS installs go to:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11150893~mode=flat~days=9999

[CANDY76MAN]

cool...those pictures verify that Verizon actually runs fiber right up to the box on the side of the home.
I called Verizon this morning but the guy said it's not ready in my area yet :cry:
he did say that when it is they would begin a big advertising blitz...flyers on doors and calls anyway......on a brighter note, I'm getting my second 8300hd today :D

[amheck]

I've been reading about thie FIOS, too, and it sounds great. But I have a really stupid question. Does this service run over cat5? Does that mean that they have to run a cat5 cable from the box outside your house to the router inside? Is there a "modem" like RR, or does the router take care of all that?

Also, incase anyone is interested, I called last week to check my phone number. The wireless router option is around $50 and I think it's the DLink 624i or something like that. This might be the kick in the pants I need to go wireless.

[LonghornXP]

At least for my installation they ran a cat5 ethernet cable run if that helps. They didn't run a phone line as I thought but just a cat5 run and I also don't need DSL filters either with this setup. Also all of my home phone wiring was replaced and they ran fiber from the street polls to all of our houses when we had them built but for some reason they still have to replace all the wiring in the house.

To give you an idea the regular install took 4 verizon workers over 8 hours straight of running wires in and out of the house plus hooking up this box outside my house. They had way more work to do than I thought and as such I can see why it costs them a grand per customer simply because this job is harder than you could ever imagine.

[jaymer]

that would be awsomeif i get all my internal phone wiring redone!!! south valrico area is still "unavailable" - i'm not sure they are totally done here. the yard work was done along the sidewalks, but then later someone came out and marked areas under streets, so i think they still have to connect the junction boxes that were put in each block.

[tampatom]

When they came out to install my fiber install, they asked if I had cat-5 wiring in the house. I did. Then they asked if it was structured cat-5 wiring. I'm an MIS guy by trade, but I'd never heard of structured cat-5. All they wanted to know is if they should run the cat-5 cable from the ONT to a switch, hub, or patch panel somewhere in the house. Unfortunately, we don't have structured cat-5, but I wish we did, I'd have a computer in every room. We have the loop cat-5 for the phones. I have thought about cutting each cable and running new cables to a central distribution point. Maybe one of these years.

Tom

[jaymer]

well, you only need 2 pair for ethernet... maybe they are only using 2 pair also for the phones.
so maybe you've already got your extra cable run courtesy of Verizon.

i've never heard of structured cat5 either.

[Floyd]

I think the term "structured" is applied to the way the home is wired, rather than a particular type of cable.
The new Honeywell and Levitron distribution panels, which are built into the wall like a circuit breaker box, have all the homes telephone and video, and audio service cables run to it in a home run fashion. The system allows you to distribute signals, or make changes to the distribution scheme from a single location, rather than having to re-wire or trace looped wires through the attic. The system is best put into new construction while the walls are still open, but you could do it in any house with enough effort, and the right tools.
Here's a site that has a lot of the new structured products:
http://www.futurehomesystems.com/w000.shtml

[amheck]

Floyd,

I think you're exactly right. I have a structured wiring setup in my house now. At the juntion boxes on the outside of my house, I have coax coming in for cable and RR, and I have a cat5 cable for Verizon coming in for phone. All this goes to a central panel in my house where I have my cable modem, router, and phone and video hubs. Then all of the coax and cat5 goes from that panel to each outlet in the house.

So maybe there wouldn't be too much to do with the FIOS service, although maybe they'd need another cat5 run to my panel from the outside, but I haven't figured that one out yet. I guess I'll keep checking the Verizon site and go for it when it's available.

One thing I can tell you, I'm probably gonna opt for the wireless setup, even though I spent some $$ 2 years ago making sure the home was wired for my cable model connection. Oh well..

[CANDY76MAN]

One thing I can tell you, I'm probably gonna opt for the wireless setup, even though I spent some $$ 2 years ago making sure the home was wired for my cable model connection. Oh well..

wireless is great but wired is still the way to go anywhere it's feasible to do...it's a more reliable connection and quiet a bit faster and if the wire is already in place for use why not use it?...the wireless router they use should still have four wired ports on it so you shouldn't need any extra hardware if thats what your thinking?

[amheck]

Well, that solves that. I didn't know wireless routers still had wired ports. Yes, that's certainly a plus. Thanks for the info.

Aaron


One thing I can tell you, I'm probably gonna opt for the wireless setup, even though I spent some $$ 2 years ago making sure the home was wired for my cable model connection. Oh well..

wireless is great but wired is still the way to go anywhere it's feasible to do...it's a more reliable connection and quiet a bit faster and if the wire is already in place for use why not use it?...the wireless router they use should still have four wired ports on it so you shouldn't need any extra hardware if thats what your thinking?

[FTBoomerIII]

I have the linksys G router and it has 4 ports. I run the hardwired to the systems in the bedroom (existing) and use the wireless for the laptop and PDA.

[amheck]

You guys see the news last nite? Apparently the Verizon fiber install team has busted 200 Hills. Co water pipes and they've been mandated to stop install until they can work out the problems. Looks like I'll be waiting just a little longer.

[CANDY76MAN]

You guys see the news last nite? Apparently the Verizon fiber install team has busted 200 Hills. Co water pipes and they've been mandated to stop install until they can work out the problems. Looks like I'll be waiting just a little longer.

hehe. :lol: funny you should mention that..one of my customers thinks she single handedly stopped Verizon because she had called and complained a few times.

Oh well, I don't see that it matters much as long as Verizon gets billed for the repairs instead of it coming out of my taxes.

[jaymer]

my inground work has already been finished in Bloomingdale. just today they were out running the fiber with the next step being the fusing of the fiber together at the junctions. i don't think i'll be delayed.
jaymer...

[StevenA]

Apparently the Verizon fiber install team has busted 200 Hills. Co water pipes and they've been mandated to stop install until they can work out the problems.

Does that mean we are going to end up with a watered down network? :lol:

[SixIron]

Can Fios work like "naked" DSL or does it require having a land line?

[CANDY76MAN]

Can Fios work like "naked" DSL or does it require having a land line?

From what I understand if you get the fios service they run the fiber right to the side of your house and that replaces your existing copper phone lines and they replace the phone wiring in your house with cat5 and that becomes your phone, internet and eventually tv as well....basicly the fiber optic cable replaces your landline.

[CactusJack]

Your wait may have just gotten a little longer....

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/18/Business/Accidents_halt_fiber_.shtml

[jaymer]

i asked the guys outside my house the other day - they knew about the stoppage and said it wasn't an issue for me - woohoo!!!
next step is fusing the fiber that they ran into the junction boxes then i'm ready for an install!!! :lol:

[CANDY76MAN]

i asked the guys outside my house the other day - they knew about the stoppage and said it wasn't an issue for me - woohoo!!!
next step is fusing the fiber that they ran into the junction boxes then i'm ready for an install!!! :lol:

I'de like to see how they fuse the fiber together without reducing the light transmission...I'm also curious how they go from an optical signal to an electrical signal at the box on the home.

[jaymer]

floyd explained it to me a bit...
he said they bring in a special truck and do the delicate work in a somewhat controlled environment.
the unions have to be exact cause they are bouncing the light around inside the fiber and need to make sure of something or the other when they join pieces. if they've laid 4.5 million feet i guess they are getting good at it by now. i'll let you know when i see the truck pull in here.

[djkilla]

Jaymer, if you could, can you please ask the Verizon guy what couple of areas are planned next for hookup? I'm on the boarderline of Tampa and Temple Terrace on Busch Blvd. I'm dieing to jump on this technology! Thanks in advance!

-D j K i l l a-

[tampatom]

I read about it in the St. Pete Times Business section today.

About 300 channels, 20 HDTV channels, and 45 music channels.

http://www.stpetetimes.com/2004/12/10/Business/Verizon_makes_its_pay.shtml

to read it for yourself.

Unfortunately, no price or timeframe.

[Max_Gator]

[quote="LonghornXP"]

There are about 8 bits to a byte and as such 3 megabits per second would be 375 megabytes per second. When you download a file from the interest both IE and Mozilla show your speed as bytes.

[quote]

I think you mean 375 Kilobytes per second. :wink:

[LonghornXP]

[quote="LonghornXP"]

There are about 8 bits to a byte and as such 3 megabits per second would be 375 megabytes per second. When you download a file from the interest both IE and Mozilla show your speed as bytes.

[quote]

I think you mean 375 Kilobytes per second. :wink:

Good catch and something I continued to overlook for some strange reason. At least someone here can count correctly huh.

[SixIron]

RoadRunner is apparently feeling the heat, at least a bit. According to CNet, they are bumping download speeds to 5 mbs in Jan 05.

http://news.com.com/Road+Runner+picks+up+speed/2100-1038_3-5491648.html?tag=nefd.top

[mgd2win]

Thats cool but Im still jumping ship to the FIOS if they ever finish it here in Westchase...The fiber has been pulled but no idea when they are going to light it up

[CANDY76MAN]

Thats cool but Im still jumping ship to the FIOS if they ever finish it here in Westchase...The fiber has been pulled but no idea when they are going to light it up

me too...being fiber from the side of my house all the way to a backbone has got to give lower latency times than cable which is only fiber up to the nodes that distribute the cable to a given area were it then switches over to long runs of copper (or at least thats my understanding?)...lower latency will help web pages to open quicker, and of course online gaming is greatly improved....higher bandwidth limits are just a bonus...I could even run a relatively fast website or game server from my home with a 2 mbps upload speed.

Plus I couldn't pass up getting all my 27 year old phone wireing replaced with cat5 at no cost to me.

[qqqqq]

I just placed my order, for the 5Mbps down/2Mbps up, 39.95/mo plan. It's scheduled for Dec 30th - Happy New Year!

The first rep Lorraine wasn't able to help me so she passed me off to Calvin. Before she did I guess she read up on some of the details and said "I'm jealous - I wish it was available in my area"

Calvin answered my questions pretty well. He said they provide a wired router, but if I wanted a wireless there was an $ upgrade. I asked if I could use my existing one, and he thought so, but they'd bring theirs just in case.

The cheapest Verizon package that qualifies for the $5/mo discount is a 27.95/mo which seems like my current plan + 3 calling features for at least 7/mo more! I think once FIOS is working good I'll sign up with a VOIP company; broadvoice.com has 10/mo plan that looks like a good starter, and the 20/mo plan would cover calls to Europe as well as US.

They said they'll handle cable runs etc. I bet they'll go through an outside wall, unless I change where my modem and router are located.

OS req't is bothersome. Calvin had to get a more technical guy to say that Linux should work, they just don't support it. My router says it does PPPoE although with BHN/Earthlink it's just DHCP. Once it's past the router I don't understand why the OS matters. Somebody said NT and 95 won't run at all, but that's all I've got from M$.

Anybody have any suggestions on the OS limits? Why does it matter?

[BlackCatt]

I wonder if the "OS requirement" is due to the M$N Premium software that is included with Fios? At any rate, I agree, I don't think it really matters once it hits the router. After that the router is just sending packets to IP addresses. IP addresses are universal no matter what OS your using so Linux, BSD, Mac Microcrap it shouldn't matter.

[BlackCatt]

Forgot to ask. Is this Fios basically a throttled DSL line? One thing I don't like about DSL is the requirement of having to have a phone line. This reduces the benefits of getting VOIP in my opinion. I want to get VOIP, but I don't want to have to have a second landline (even for a minimal cost per month).

[CANDY76MAN]

Forgot to ask. Is this Fios basically a throttled DSL line? One thing I don't like about DSL is the requirement of having to have a phone line. This reduces the benefits of getting VOIP in my opinion. I want to get VOIP, but I don't want to have to have a second landline (even for a minimal cost per month).


fios is fiber to your house....the fiber replaces the copper phone line coming to your home and they replace your homes standard phone wiring with cat5, or so I understand.

the lowest speed fios internet service is faster than verizon dsl and it goes up from there so it certainly isn't throttled dsl..the fios service is much faster than dsl and doesn't have distance limitations...we're very lucky to be one of the few places in the country to have a service like this available...its the future.

[BlackCatt]

Candy76man, thanks for the info. Do you know if they require you to have a landline phone service with Verizon to get Fios? It is my understanding that with DSL they do.

[jaymer]

i don't see why they would need a landline. their verizon phone service will be using the fiber once its installed.

in Bloomingdale, ours is scheduled to be available sometime in "1st quarter" - thats all they can tell me right now.

jaymer...

[CANDY76MAN]

Candy76man, thanks for the info. Do you know if they require you to have a landline phone service with Verizon to get Fios? It is my understanding that with DSL they do.

I know they give you a five dollar discount on the broadband if you have phone service, so I would assume that means you don't have to have phone service to get the fios broadband service.

[qqqqq]

AFAIK they remove the copper lines leaving your house and replace them with fiber. I'm guessing that they use the ONT to interface the fiber (ATM?) to both ethernet AND analog voice. Inside the house I've heard they rewire your voice lines with Cat5e but I'm not sure of why. I think the voice signal from the phone terminal to to the ONT is still analog, o/w they'd need some kind of an adapter at the phone terminal.

Which raises the question. Will my Verizon phone service now be VOIP? I think so, since they specifically stated during my phone call for the order that they will add a UPS to provide voice service during power outages of up to 4 hours. Hmmm if so then Verizon is going to charge me the same amount for my voice service as they are now (and would nickel and dime me for call waiting, caller id, etc.) and I'll have VOIP service and its inherent unreliability. I'm pretty sure that I'll be going with a cheaper company to do VOIP with all the bells and whistles for one flat fee.

Here's the order summary I got via email if anyone is interested:
=====
Welcome to Verizon Online, your connection to a whole new level of Internet enjoyment. Below is a recap of your order:

o Scheduled Installation Date -- 12-30-2004
o Scheduled Appointment Time --
o Product Package -- Verizon Fios Internet Service
o Verizon Fios Internet Service Order Number -- xxxxxxxx

As a new Verizon Fios Internet Service customer, you will receive our premium installation service. Our Fios technician will deliver the router you've chosen along with any included cables and accessories. You will also receive the Terms of Service, an installation CD, a welcome letter and a service guide with additional information about your Verizon Fios service and related equipment.

Our technician will install the Verizon Fios network equipment, including an Optical Network Terminal (ONT), power supply and battery back-up system. The power supply and battery back-up system will connect the ONT to your home's electricity through a nearby standard electrical outlet. Please ensure there is an outlet near the location where you would like the power supply connected, either inside your home or garage. The Fios technician will also install a data wire and a wall jack for your Internet service. The technician will then install and configure your router and assist with the software download from the installation CD. Note: Our technician will call prior to arrival. You will need to make sure that someone 18 years of age or older is home. This person will need to be able to provide the technician access to your computer(s) to allow for the installation and configuration of Verizon Fios Internet Service software.

It is important that you read the Terms of Service, which contain important information regarding your Verizon Fios Internet Service. These Terms explain your rights and obligations, as well as ours. Your use of the service is subject to these Terms of Service and you will be required to accept them as a condition to your use of FiosSM Internet Service.

Remember, your desktop computer must have an Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC) or equivalent. If you selected a wireless router, you will need the appropriate adapters for those computers you would like to connect wirelessly. Some newer computers have built-in wireless capability and do not require a separate adapter. If your computer(s) did not come with the components above, you can get NIC and adapter (USB or PCMCIA) cards from your local computer retail store.

We're looking forward to delivering Verizon Fios Internet Service to you and will work hard to keep you informed of the status of your order. If you have questions, please call 1-888-553-1555.
Thank you for choosing Verizon Online as your Internet service provider.

[amheck]

Thats cool but Im still jumping ship to the FIOS if they ever finish it here in Westchase...The fiber has been pulled but no idea when they are going to light it up

Where in Westchase are they laying the fiber? I'm right off Race Track road about a mile or so from Westchase, and I'm looking for the Verizon trucks everyday. I drive thru Westchase pretty often and haven't seen them yet, but that's a good sign that they're (hopefully) getting close.

[pdjernes]

Verzion fiber has been laid in the Fords of Westchase. Not yet connecting to individual homes. :?

[mgd2win]

Yes PD is correct that Verizon has laid fiber in the Fords, actually they have installed fiber to all of Westchase East. Verizon is breaking down the Westchase install into 2 segments.

CDD East -- is all of Westchase Villages from Golf course East is being installed as we speeak and the fiber has been pulled through all of he streets.

CDD West -- All villages west of the Golf course will not be started until sometime next year.

The reason for this is that Westchase is actually served by 2 seperate Verizon Central Office's (CO). Not sure why the difference but I would suspect that the West CO needs to be upgraded to support the fiber.

Amheck -- PM me I live in the Fords

[Max_Gator]

Guess we have several of us in Westchase. I'm in the villas in the Bridges and they recently put the fiber in here as well.

I was thinking of going to verizon until I heard that bhn will upgrade their d/l speeds. If all is equal, I probably won't switch. [edit - I just read the pricing tiers on the first page and if it is that much faster/cheaper I will clearly switch. I imagine that verizon has pop3 access for internet service so I can still access with my CDMA Sprint Treo.]

I guess I might change from cable if more HD stations are made available and some type of hd dvr is available either through verizon or aftermarket.

If anyone has insight let me know. Even though I'm not a big BHN fan . . . I would want a better cable/internet solution or a solution that saves me money to switch.

[jaymer]

i "kinda" have some info :) ... would you expect less?
Lets have a Westchase get together next week while everyone is only half working.