FiOS

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:00:06 -0400

PLEASE bring fios to Chicago. C O M C A S T is horrible.

What could Verizon PON plan mean for Cisco?

Cisco Subnet — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:22:39 -0400

I couldn't help but wonder when reading about Verizon's intriguing new passive optical networking (PON) plan , which involves bringing the same tech used for its popular FiOS Internet access services to enterprises, about what this might mean for Cisco and other makers of traditional switches and routers. Verizon claims the PON system could slash companies' IT-related energy costs by using powerless PON systems instead of the usual wiring closet energy hogs.

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Drilling down on Verizon and SAIC's new offerings

Alpha Doggs — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:05:14 -0400

NW's Carolyn Duffy Marsan posed a couple of more technical questions to SAIC spokeswoman Melissa Koskovich on the new offerings: Marsan: Does Ethernet run directly over the fiber optic network? Is that a service that requires extra equipment that we didn't talk about?

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Comcast riles the wrong blogger

Paul McNamara — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:55:49 -0400

Every time I find myself cursing Verizon, which is quite often, I am reminded that despite having other options, those other options suck, too.

Comcast is an option for me, technically speaking.

Prominent blogger Dave Winer explains here why I should be in no hurry to make the switch.

My Verizon FiOS service has been dependable as of late, by the way. Any guesses on how long that will last?

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RE: Internet access via fiber at 15Mbps

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:19:15 -0500

I have 15/2 fios fiber and have noticed the same results as the article. Some areas of testing so an increased speed up to about 90% of the 15meg. However, in aprox 40% of the time I only see a slight speed increase while on the internet as a whole.

RE: Solution to prevent Verizon redirects

david503 — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 11:55:39 -0500

I too experienced this problem, and discovered a very simple solution - just stop using Verizon's nameservers.

Verizon isn't so much redirecting typos, as it is 404 (page could not be found) errors. This means any time you access a non-existent file on the web, Verizon routes you to their search page.

Through FIOS you receive a basic router with a web-accessible admin panel. By simply changing the nameservers in the router's configuration, from Verizon's to a third-party set of nameservers, the redirect service is eliminated, and you will never again be bothered by Verizon's redirecting service.

Baby Layla's the latest to learn that FiOS stands for Fire is Our Specialty

Paul McNamara — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:24:37 -0500

Baby Layla has spent the entire first two months of her precious life cooped up in a hotel room after fire damaged her parent's apartment and destroyed their belongings - including gifts meant for Layla and her dad's breathing machine used to counter his sleep apnea.

Do I even need to mention that the fire started when a Verizon FiOS installer drilled through an electric line? ... Didn't think so.

What does require emphasis is that Daniel Wood, Dawn Sammler and their daughter are out $58,000 worth of possessions and lost living expenses, according to their attorney, Andrew Cotlar, while Verizon reportedly has offered the Warrington, Pa., couple all of $1,800 in compensation. (Update: Verizon calls $1,800 an advance payment.)

Welcome to the world of Verizon, Layla.

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RE: Verizon provides FiOS update

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:58:43 -0400

Did anyone at Verizon Beta test this system? The first ver they put out had some flaws, but it was not as bad as it is now. I'm a long time Verizon customer, but I will be canceling this TV service, and go back to Brighthouse, or one of the Sat providers. This entire system is just too much work to endure, and I would not keep this TV service if it were free. Clearly the people responsible for this upgrade have never actually used this interface ver!!!

RE: Wireless LANs vs. wired LANs

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 01:21:34 -0400

This article does not point out that many service providers, such as Verizon, are now offering FIOS to home and business consumers. FIOS by far beats the capabilities of the 802.11n standard. I do not see how the RJ-45 connector will become obsolete. I think those that are able to have FIOS in their businesses or homes will be upgrading to CAT6 cabling and Gigabit ethernet NICs. Fiber Optic, in itself, is also a very secure medium for the transmission of data also. Just things to consider, what are your thoughts?

RE: FiOS out for fifth time in seven months, but ?

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 11:37:22 -0400

Hey...don't feel bad...Verizon has had DSL out for years...same story here!!! No conspiracy...just a bunch of leftover monopoly oriented deadbeats that dont really give a dam about customer service at all...If they did why would'nt their service system track previous calls instead of making you do the song and dance over for an hour everytime you call...even on the same problem!!...then again there are the non-english speaking helpers!... No conspiracy..just bad management...and poor execution! gn

Verizon FiOS installation sparks … nothing?

Paul McNamara — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:08:00 -0400

It's axiomatic in this business that "Planes land safely at the airport" simply isn't news, much the same as with "Dog bites man" or "Security flaw found in IE."

This standard of ordinariness does not apply, however, when talking about the installation of Verizon FiOS, especially when the installation is happening at your house or the home of a family member. So, it is with great relief bordering on joy that I tell you of the phone call I received this weekend from my father-in-law:

"Sorry, Paul," he said, "nothing happened."

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Fire, smoke, raw sewage, and, hey, do you smell gas? Yup, Verizon's here.

Paul McNamara — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:56:55 -0400

Pretty soon plague and pestilence will be all that's left for Verizon to unleash as the company continues to lay waste to the countryside in the course of bringing its FiOS service to the masses.

Sure, accidents happen, but Verizon appears drawn to them like flies on a ... well, we'll get to the sewage on a family's front yard and driveway in a moment. First we have to talk about gas leaks.

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One-upped on my FiOS complaints ... and the truth about 'true QAM'

Paul McNamara — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:49:10 -0400

My own difficulties with Verizon FiOS have been well documented - or at least frequently documented - yet they absolutely pale in comparison with what this poor fellow has suffered through.

Give a read to this post - "115 Calls To Verizon, And FIOS Still Doesn't Work" - over at the Consumerist. A sample from the customer's beef:

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No QAMs about it

Adam Gaffin — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 07:56:41 -0400

If you live in a Verizon town, chances are you can't avoid that FiOS commercial with the little kid babbling about how +20 dB hot his true QAM is (even if, like me, you live in an "inner city" neighborhood that will get FiOS in, oh, 2107 or so). Not being a fiber-optics guy, of course I have no idea what the kid and the not-the-cable guy are babbling about. But that's what the Internet is for, so I quickly found a post by Tom Wright-Piersanti that translates the entire commercial. For example:

All of these wavelengths are totally industry standard, and any provider will use the exact same. So why did Verizon feel like they had to run them off quickly here? Because they are big numbers, and when said in rapid succession they create the illusion that something confusing is happening and your only reaction can be “Ooh, fancy, me wanty numbers.” Don’t get sucked in, remember that all these numbers have no real meaning and are nothing out of the ordinary.

And yes, he explains "true QAM" and why it's truly nothing out of the ordinary these days - even people who can't get FiOS might already be all QAMmed up.

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Verizon FiOS means bye-bye copper … and not in a good way

Paul McNamara — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 13:10:25 -0400

Don't know how this one escaped my attention earlier in the week: Verizon is ripping out copper wiring from homes when installing its FiOS fiber-optic service - not always with the customer aware of what's going on, according to the Washington Post.

This isn't such a good deal for a variety of reasons. From the story:

Verizon's installer _ without warning, (a customer) says _ removed the copper wires that used to carry his phone calls. For most of the world, copper still links homes and businesses, as it has for a century.

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FiOS TV? Maybe Verizon ought to stick to phones

Paul McNamara — Wed, 30 May 2007 08:54:03 -0400

Thought I was going to laugh up a lung when I heard this line on a radio ad: "Verizon FiOS TV: So real it's like being at the game."

Yes, it's like being at the game on the wrong day. Or when you're sitting behind a pole that's flanked by two fat guys wearing cowboy hats.

What I'm trying to say here in a roundabout way is that Verizon's FiOS TV stinks.

You want more specifics? ... Fine, it really, really stinks.

As in at least four significant service outages between March 17 and May 12... and I say "at least" because, well, not only are our TVs not on 24/7 (it just seems that way) but we didn't start taking note of the chronic nature of the outages until they began to stick out like a broken television set. An outage or two may have vaporized from the memory bank before the pattern became annoying enough to register.

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