This site is closed to new comments and posts.

Notice: This site uses cookies to function.
If you are not comfortable with cookies then please don't browse this website.

The end of FiOS expansion? — Brooklynian

The end of FiOS expansion?

dennisobell
dennisobell
edited November -1 in Prospect Heights
Just tweeted by Slate's tech columnist Farhad Manjoo:
@fmanjoo
If Verizon hasn't added fiber optic lines to your neighborhood yet, you're probably not getting it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100326/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_verizon_fios
Seriously?! But we're so close...they've already laid cable under Eastern Parkway, and my building's just five blocks away!

The linked article is a little hard to interpret. On the one hand, there's this:
Verizon will continue to pull fiber to homes in Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.
But OTOH, there's also this:
Its focus is now on completing the network in the communities where it's already secured "franchises," the rights to sell TV service that rivals cable, said spokeswoman Heather Wilner.
I'm pretty sure they're only able to offer our neighborhood Internet and phone service, not cable TV. So does that mean they're done with Prospect Heights? Say it ain't so...

If anyone has any better intelligence, please weigh in. I'm seriously mourning this, if it's true. We endure Cablevision's random outages with the hope that FiOS will save us any day now.

Comments

  • jeffrey
    jeffrey
    Oh, Cablevision ads should have a field day with this.

    Especially as the top Cablevision plan offers 101 Mbps downstream and up to 15 Mbps upstream. Today.

    In addition to various outages, of course. :lol:
  • restless native
    restless native
    The way I read this is that they will continue their NYC work. I'm hoping this is actually a good sign, and that if they don't try to take over the whole world they can focus on finishing up DC, NYC and Philly, but that's just me being logical.....and logic probably has nothing to do with anything
  • dennisobell
    dennisobell
    I'd love for you to be right, Flexi, but that's not how I read it. Verizon wants to focus on locations where they have the right to offer all three services, because those are the places they can best monetize the cost of laying down fiber. If they're cutting back because of the recession, and our neighborhood wasn't a place they received rights to offer TV coverage, I fear (but I'd love to be wrong) that they're done here.
  • bkhoosierfan
    bkhoosierfan
    This article seems a tad bit misleading especially when Verizon has a franchise agreement with NYC for TV right's. (see link below)
    They can offer Internet Service already of course and that goes with the VOIP.
    So it's just a matter of time until we can get FIOS.
    As to when that will be is anyone's guess.

    http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2008/verizons-tv-franchise.html
  • dennisobell
    dennisobell
    bkhoosierfan wrote: This article seems a tad bit misleading especially when Verizon has a franchise agreement with NYC for TV right's.
    Ah, very good, thanks -- I was going on the last Brooklynian thread on this topic (about a year old), wherein folks on Eastern Pkwy said Verizon was only offering phone and Internet. But that's great. I do hope you're right and the expansion continues. Thanks.
  • ntfool
    ntfool
    I called Verizon about two months to ask when FIOS would be available to me (I live near Franklin & Eastern - yes I'm well aware I'm in Crown Heights). I was told at the time that "there are currently no immediate or future plans to bring FIOS" to my immediate vicinity.

    Based upon that, I'd say we're out of luck.
  • bkhoosierfan
    bkhoosierfan
    Not sure I would base anything on that because honestly what would you expect a lowly callcenter person to tell you?
    My money would be on a scripted response much like what you have mentioned.
  • nicholas
    nicholas

    Subject: FIOS In Prospect Heights

    I live on Sterling and have had FIOS phone, internet, and TV since mid-December. I think I was the first in my building.
  • tortuga
    tortuga

    Subject: Re: FIOS In Prospect Heights

    Nicholas wrote: I live on Sterling and have had FIOS phone, internet, and TV since mid-December. I think I was the first in my building.
    ack! I'm so jealous! How do you like it? How is the speed compared to cable internet (if you had that before)?

    I wish I knew somebody who worked for Verizon so I could shake them down for some details
  • nicholas
    nicholas
    I love it. Internet is much faster than cable and TV picture quality is better too. Also, the FIOS DVR is way better than the POS I had from the cable company (though not as good as Tivo).
  • bksouthernstyle
    bksouthernstyle
    I hate that POS DVR. Stupid thing can't recognize that a sports event has delayed the start of something and can't time-shift things accordingly?

    Man, I really want FIOS now :-(
  • ishtar
    ishtar
    bkhoosierfan wrote: Not sure I would base anything on that because honestly what would you expect a lowly callcenter person to tell you?
    My money would be on a scripted response much like what you have mentioned.
    And it's a script that isn't universally used.

    I called a few weeks ago about switching and was told that it's not available in my area yet, but they are still expanding. She said getting FIOS also has a lot to do with the property owner. I think she said something about getting permission from the owner to rewire the building.
  • perplexed
    perplexed
    meh, i have absolutely no issues with cablevision and got rid of my verizon hard line years ago. verizon has some of the worst customer service i have ever encountered on top of that. yes, the dvr interface sucks as does the slow cable tv menu system but when it comes to my broadband (optimum boost) it's rock solid (27 - 30mbps on average download, 4 - 5mbps upload)
  • dennisobell
    dennisobell
    perplexed wrote: meh, i have absolutely no issues with cablevision and got rid of my verizon hard line years ago.
    You do realize we're not talking about your old, departed "hard line," right? FiOS is something else entirely -- provided by Verizon, yes, but it's new fiber-optic cable (many times faster than cable-modem speeds) that they're laying into the ground, fresh, in a bid to try to leapfrog their cable competition.

    So your comment doesn't really make sense. Trust me, the folks commenting here that they wish they could sign up with Verizon for FiOS aren't saying this out of old dial-tone nostalgia. :roll:
  • jeffrey
    jeffrey
    Cablevision's top plan is actually more than twice as fast as Fios, FYI...

    Cablevision Optimum Online Ultra: 101Mbps download, 15Mbps up = $105/mo
    Verizon Fios Fastest Plan:.................. 50Mbps download, 20Mbps up = $140/mo

    The key here is what kind of service guarantees you get on the premium plans, how loaded the lines are.

    Fios may have an edge here, depending on how it's set up in any given building.
  • eastbloc
    eastbloc
    Verizon FiOS is among the best ISPs in the country, but here in Brooklyn Cablevision is king. As was pointed out above, Cablevision is twice as fast as the fastest FiOS, and for a fraction of the price.

    I've had FiOS before. I don't think any consumer-grade ISP gives you a service-level agreement or any other guarantee of performance.

    I don't like any of the DVR's offered by the TV providers. They seem to compete downwards on usability, and the Verizon box was no better, so I use a Tivo HD with a CableCard.

    I have the Ultra service and regularly get 85mbps or more. The Cablevision service is fiber up to the box up on the telephone pole outside. It's only copper for the last 50' to your house. (In fact, Cablevision markets a commercial direct-fiber connection where they'll terminate the fiber right in your building.) In terms of technology, it's very comparable to FiOS. And it's a much better deal.
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    jeffrey wrote: Cablevision's top plan is actually more than twice as fast as Fios, FYI...

    Cablevision Optimum Online Ultra: 101Mbps download, 15Mbps up = $105/mo
    Verizon Fios Fastest Plan:.................. 50Mbps download, 20Mbps up = $140/mo

    The key here is what kind of service guarantees you get on the premium plans, how loaded the lines are.

    Fios may have an edge here, depending on how it's set up in any given building.
    Yes, but if you actually use that Cablevision high speed to download a significant amount, they will potentially throttle your connection and your speed will go down. I have not heard of this happening with Verizon.
  • perplexed
    perplexed
    dennisobell wrote: [quote=perplexed]meh, i have absolutely no issues with cablevision and got rid of my verizon hard line years ago.
    You do realize we're not talking about your old, departed "hard line," right? FiOS is something else entirely -- provided by Verizon, yes, but it's new fiber-optic cable (many times faster than cable-modem speeds) that they're laying into the ground, fresh, in a bid to try to leapfrog their cable competition.

    So your comment doesn't really make sense. Trust me, the folks commenting here that they wish they could sign up with Verizon for FiOS aren't saying this out of old dial-tone nostalgia. :roll:

    I know exactly what I'm talking about. I left Verizon for completely broadband based services years ago. I have my phone, internet and tv through Cablevision and couldn't be happier. I think my service has only gone out 5 - 7 times in the 5 years I've had it. I really have no desire to switch to FIOS as they have nothing to offer that I don't already have. I should also add that I work from home as does my wife and am on a VPN connection to my company 24 hours a day. We have 3 phone lines , 2 business and one home and have absolutely no issues with them.
  • perplexed
    perplexed
    Carnivore wrote: [quote=jeffrey]Cablevision's top plan is actually more than twice as fast as Fios, FYI...

    Cablevision Optimum Online Ultra: 101Mbps download, 15Mbps up = $105/mo
    Verizon Fios Fastest Plan:.................. 50Mbps download, 20Mbps up = $140/mo

    The key here is what kind of service guarantees you get on the premium plans, how loaded the lines are.

    Fios may have an edge here, depending on how it's set up in any given building.
    Yes, but if you actually use that Cablevision high speed to download a significant amount, they will potentially throttle your connection and your speed will go down. I have not heard of this happening with Verizon.

    And you really think that Verizon won't do the same thing? In my five years with the Boost product from Cablevision my connection has never been throttled down. I push a lot of data back and forth from my company and am a avid torrent user along with the other streaming services I use such a Roku and so on.
  • whyfi
    whyfi
    Carnivore wrote: [quote=jeffrey]Cablevision's top plan is actually more than twice as fast as Fios, FYI...

    Cablevision Optimum Online Ultra: 101Mbps download, 15Mbps up = $105/mo
    Verizon Fios Fastest Plan:.................. 50Mbps download, 20Mbps up = $140/mo

    The key here is what kind of service guarantees you get on the premium plans, how loaded the lines are.

    Fios may have an edge here, depending on how it's set up in any given building.
    Yes, but if you actually use that Cablevision high speed to download a significant amount, they will potentially throttle your connection and your speed will go down. I have not heard of this happening with Verizon.
    They've throttled me in the past, but only on a "regular" account; regular accounts forbid servers and when they see certain UL/DL patterns, they assume that you're running a server. Boost packages and above permit servers and I haven't heard of any throttling.

    As far as line loads are concerned, I've never seen my line dip below 15mbps up/5mbps down - this is with $60/month Boost. I would assume that the dearer packages are even less trafficked.
  • cool the kid
    cool the kid
    FWIW, I'm near Bergen and NYA... I had Cablevision come out and change my connection (basically give me a dedicated tap instead of sharing one with my neighbors) and I've had no connectivity issues in 2 months
  • dennisobell
    dennisobell
    Cool The Kid wrote: FWIW, I'm near Bergen and NYA... I had Cablevision come out and change my connection (basically give me a dedicated tap instead of sharing one with my neighbors) and I've had no connectivity issues in 2 months
    Thanks for the tip. Did you pay extra for this service call? Did your monthly bill go up?

    Honestly, I could live with Cablevision if the speed improved (and contrary to the CV defenders above, I'm not paying them extra monthly for speeds I should be getting anyway) and the outages were much, much rarer than they currently are.
  • whyfi
    whyfi
    dennisobell wrote: Honestly, I could live with Cablevision if the speed improved (and contrary to the CV defenders above, I'm not paying them extra monthly for speeds I should be getting anyway) and the outages were much, much rarer than they currently are.
    The last thing that I wanted to do was give them more money, but without any viable alternatives, I wasn't going to continue suffering through an unreliable necessity. I think that what they're doing is borderline criminal, and I previously registered and offered to donate the domain name www.optoffline.net as a place to display data highlighting their network inadequacies. My offer still stands, but no one has taken up my offer or meaningfully contributed to the data gathering, despite all the bitching on these boards.
  • whyfi
    whyfi
    Pure speculation, but there are quite a few excavation lines on my part of Prospect Place that are marked "Shallow Fiber Optic"
  • freshbk
    freshbk
    Not ending any time soon. See my convo with the Verizon guys on 8th Ave recently:

    http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=47585
  • ishtar
    ishtar
    Flexichick wrote: Not ending any time soon. See my convo with the Verizon guys on 8th Ave recently:

    http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=47585
    The last line about convincing people to let them in the backyards to intall was the same thing a tech person at Verizon told me. She also believes that installation will be slow to reach my particular area because of the number of large apartment buildings and owners being reluctant to let them run the wiring.
  • eastbloc
    eastbloc

    Reviving old thread, since I'm pissed about Cablevision not providing HBO Go. Anyone in the Franklin Ave area get FiOS yet?

  • ntfool
    ntfool

    Not currently available for me, just checked Verizon's website. We live immediately east of the corner of Franklin/Lincoln.

  • ntfool
    ntfool

    Not currently available for me, just checked Verizon's website. We live immediately east of the corner of Franklin/Lincoln.

Sign In or Register to comment.

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In

Categories