FiOS Forum

I've had cable for 5 year, Fios or 1.5 years and last summer switched back to cable. I always signed up for TV, phone, and internet service.

Internet service: Very little difference. If Fios was faster, I could not observe it on downloads since the comparison is a 1 second download verses a 2 seconds download. Since we use a router for the laptops around the house, this is the limiting factor regarding speed. And it limits Fios and CAble equally.

Phone Service: Here - cable is better. The major reason is service. When you have communication problems, it needs to be fixed quickly. We've had problems eith both services, but Verizon was difficult to contact, and slow to correct the situation. Also - cable phone features are better than Verizons, and easier to use.

TV: This is laregly up to viewer, so I will post out opinions. We watch news, sports, popular sitcoms like Law and Order, History Channel and sometimes movies. We watch on two 32" televisions (not HD) and one 8Ft. High Definition projection screen. Withthe 8ft projection screen, you can really see the difference between high definiton and a regular broadcast. To my surprise, the Fios picture did not live up to it's reputation. Fiso claims they had more HD channels, but it was obvious that many of these stations were not be recorded in HD. Football and hockey games with Fios and Cable were excellent. With cable, many programs not listed as HD were quite clear. From my memory, as clear as those channels that Fios claimed as HD.

Reliability: Both are very reliable and I had few problems. However, when that once a year issue arrives, cable has a much better response.

Cost: Cable is cheaper, and the products are overall equivilent.

My thanks, as well. Verizon is installing FIOS in my neighborhood in the next couple months and has been plastering us with adds. Knowing that the services are pretty much equivalent makes the decision easy. I switched my telephone services to Comcast when Verizon told me it would be three weeks before they could schedule someone to come out and repair their lines a year ago. (There was so much static we couldn't hear people talking to us - and they acknowledged it was on their side of the lines.) After two weeks, we realized that our cell phones served us just fine. Then, I did the price check and found that a Comcast bundle would actually save me money while eliminating Verizon. So I could keep the secondary communications system, eliminate Verizons poor customer service, adn save money... match was easy.

FIOS had me wondering if I should switch back. Now I know I should not.