FIOS?

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Is there anyone in shouting distance of DSLJ who has FIOS available to them yet? I'm starting to join the chorus of fed up with RCN, and would like to try FIOS. I have friends in Arlington who have been liking it for over a year. I keep getting Ads for FIOS both online and on the television, but the Verizon site says its not available here yet. This reminds me of the Verizon saga I had when I lived in NY trying to get DSL, which took a year from the date they promised it for them even to *tell* me it didn't actually work yet.

Anyone with more info?

Comments

[ron_newman]

I thought the sticking point here was that Mayor Curtatone insists that Verizon commit to wiring all of Somerville if it wires any part of it, and that Verizon so far hasn't agreed to this. (Comcast and RCN did agree, long ago.) Anyone know more?

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

huh! I hadn't heard about that! That's a... remarkably ethical stance for a politician.

[ron_newman]

Back when we still had tomchampion among us, he had some things to say about this:

http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/1142238.html
http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/1087863.html

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and now I find: http://whatareyoublogging.blogspot.com/2007/11/want-fios-get-out-of-city.html
and
http://universalhub.com/node/21523

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

Well, RCN doesn't serve all of Somerville. The company says it can pick and choose what addresses to serve.

So, why would Verizon be forced to serve the entire city, when RCN won't?

[ron_newman]

Tom Champion says RCN and Comcast are both required to serve all of Somerville. If you're hearing differently you may want to tell him, tchampion@somervillema.gov .

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

I just sent Tom an e-mail -- with a copy of RCN's voice mail declaring my address "non-servicable." All I know is that RCN has been telling me for years it doesn't serve every address in Somerville, including mine.

[ron_newman]

Do you live in a large apartment or condo building where the owner, management company, or condo association has made an exclusive arrangement with Comcast? I'm not sure why that is legal, but apparently it is.

In looking at the previous two threads in 2007 and 2008, I see that you asked Tom the same question, and I'm curious what he said to you.

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

He said RCN was supposed to provide service everywhere in Somerville. But two years later, RCN still won't serve my address. Nor will it give me a reason why.

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

Maybe Somerville is too busy enforcing the 48-hour parking rule to enforce its cable contracts.

[ron_newman]

I think you should cc to both Tom and RCN the response you're getting from the other party. Also maybe give Tom a phone call; perhaps a conference call can be arranged.

I'm not a lawyer

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

from previous conversations about this, though, there may be easement and right of access issues that cover why a particular building can't get one or the other.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

i also hear that cambridge won't be getting fios any time soon, if ever.... i can't remember the reason, something about payment for public access maybe?

[m00n.livejournal.com]

God forbid they be required to provide the same services that the cable companies have been providing for years.

As an aside, do you realize they started their rollout in Massachusetts in 2005? Don't ever let anyone tell you that broadband rollout is proceeding in the US at anything other than a SNAIL-LIKE pace.

[ronhaha108.livejournal.com]

Not Davis, but at the Medford Dunkins I overheard some contractor talking about his current job of pulling fiber for fios and that they verizon won't roll it out until it's completely wired up... I'll believe it when it's actually here...

[mr-fancy-pants.livejournal.com]

We get FIOS in West Medford, about a 2 mile walk to Davis. Only internet though, no TV.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

i've had fios before (in arlington), and it is too pricy for what it is ... ~$140 a month (roughly) vs. ~$100 for comcast cable+internet and basic Verizon phone service...

OTOH, the FIOS customer service people seem to be reasonably on the ball (unlike the rest of Verizon, which managed to screw up about 10 times during and shortly after my move to Somerville). :\

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

I had FIOS Internet service before I moved to Somerville and loved it. I wish Verizon would wire Somerville -- but I don't think it will happen anytime soon. But I never had Verizon's TV service and am not sure how the rates compare to Comcast's.

FiOS isn't nearly the good deal that people think it is.

[mrcairo.livejournal.com]

If you don't like RCN, then consider Comcast as an alternative, but by all means, avoid Verizon.

Verizon's entire reason for providing FiOS is to get you to have something installed ("the fiber") that is not covered by any tariff that requires them to use common infrastructure or to share that infrastructure (like they are required to with copper.) It is often the case that Verizon will require you to move all of your copper phone lines to Verizon, so they can remove all the copper service to you house. Once gone, they are not required to put it back.

At that point, Verizon owns you. An example of how this could be a problem: If you have (or decide to get) a non-Verizon VoIP phone, they could deprioritize your network traffic, making your phone service unreliable. There are many other things they can (and are trying) to do, pretty much in the interest in locking you into their service, and not in the interest of providing a good product.

If that wasn't troublesome enough, Verizon apparently doesn't mind selling your personal information to third parties: (http://i.gizmodo.com/5166365/free-advice-watch-the-mail-and-opt-out-of-verizon-sharing-your-personal-data)

I'm currently getting speeds around 20Mbps out of comcast, and 50Mbps speeds will be coming soon (http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2009/02/comcast-50mbps-speeds-to-65-of-territory-by-year-end.ars) apparently. I'm not sure you'd get any benefit from FiOS that you couldn't get with comcast, and you'll probably get a slightly different selection of things to complain about. Verizon sucks as much as Comcast or RCN. They all do it in their own special way though.

I do not work for Verizon, Comcast, RCN, or Livejournal. My thoughts and allegiances are my own. I just know a bit about telecom, and regularly talk with people who are concerned with how Verizon is trying to do bad things without people noticing.

Re: FiOS isn't nearly the good deal that people think it is.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Hm, thanks for the information.

Although I'd note Comcast is almost nearly as much of a bunch of scumbags.

Re: FiOS isn't nearly the good deal that people think it is.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

They all suck except Speakeasy, and even that's questionable now that Best Buy owns them.

Also, sadly, sadly slow. Reliable and uncapped, but none of this multiple-digit-MB/sec stuff.

Re: FiOS isn't nearly the good deal that people think it is.

[t-stop.livejournal.com]

I can't vouch for the accuracy of this, but our Comcast cable guy said that we'd be getting fiber in Somerville in ~2012. His impression was that a big part of the issue was that somerville has very little underground conduit and there is a strong preference to bury fiber rather than put it on the telephone poles.

That said, with the exception of one recent issue (not cause by comcast, but by new construction breaking our cable) we've been very happy with Comcast except for their cost.

Re: FiOS isn't nearly the good deal that people think it is.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

They have a history of being a really lousy corporate citizen. At a recent net neutrality hearing here in Boston, they got people off of Craigslist to pack the hall so people who might have spoken against their view couldn't get in.