FIOS

[igotout]

I switched from DSL to Verizon's high speed Fiber Optic Internet service which gives me up to 5Mbps. Same price. And for $10 more a month you can have up to 15Mbps. And for $200 a month you can have 30Mbps!!

FIOS

It is definitely faster than my previous DSL connection, but I am not sure of the exact speed. I do not rely on those speed tests. I like to just use it and see what it is like in a normal day to day environment.

Every user has reported that it is noticeably faster than DSL. When you click on a site it is almost instant. Downloading of files is fast too. I hear Road Runner has gotten faster too lately but I do not like the shared bandwidth with my neighbors.

One thing I definitely like about FIOS. No more modem! It is hooked up on the outside of the house. From there they install an ethernet wall jack inside. So Cat 5 cable goes from your wall directly to your router, no modem in between. They give you a crappy Linksys non-wireless 4 port router too but I just used my own and it works fine. It also requires power, plugged into an electrical outlet, because it somehow contains a battery backup. Not sure why a battery back up is needed but it's part of the install.

There is still copper involved through the Cat 5 cable and I think the router itself is a bottleneck as well. Not sure about all that. Nevertheless it seems pretty fast.

We sure have come a long way from dial up! Anyone else using it yet?

[Steve!]

The bad man is scaring me, he said "dial up"!

[Tom Strange]

keep us posted John... I've got cable for ISP but have been wondering... our cable is faster than DSL but Verizon also offers (here) the wireless broadband deal... you know, where you have no wires at all... it covers the city...

[igotout]

I do not like wireless period. I use it when I have to but we all know how flaky it is at times.

That being said I think it is the hot technology of the future, at least according to some IBM neighbors I have.

I think in the future we will have lightening fast wirless anywhere you go nation wide, even in cars and planes, kinda like cell phones.

Can you hear me now?

[Tom Strange]

yeah... that's what verizon is selling here... and I assume in other parts of the country... I don't trust that wireless yet, but the wireless in my home has been fairly reliable... I just have to reboot the modem every once in a while, but it's usually tied to (I think) the kid doing things he shouldn't on his computer...!

[pawtucket]

I got FIOS this week. I opted for the 15/2 package. And it is fast. My wireless is even faster as it is used to capacity.

The Fiber Optical is going to create great competition. Locally Verizon is now offering DSL for 19.95.

I am going to switch the supplied router out also. My Buffalo Router does wireless like no other.

[Tom Strange]

never mind, I read the faqs! (what a concept)

[Steve!]

So why is it F-I-O-S instead of F-O-I-S? is that a typo or something?

[pawtucket]

FIber Optical System

[Steve!]

Gotcha, thanks!

[pawtucket]

They are not marketing it just for the internet.

They plan to offer content(digital tv and on demand) in about a year

[igotout]

Pawtucket,

I thought I would try it out for a while before upgrading to the 15/2. I am headed in that direction I am sure.

What do they do, take a monkey wrench out there and open up the pipe a little bit wider? Ha.

For $50 that's a good deal. Same price I paid to get Road Runner initially in 1998.

Do you suppose there is stil a bottleneck with the cat5 or router? I supppose even the network card itself could be a bottleneck between the pure fiber optic signal and the screen.

[pawtucket]

Well I have two computers with gigabit ethernet. And I just got a gigabit switch.

I think that gigabit routers will become commonplace in the next 18 months.

[igotout]

Using FIOS at two locations now. It is undoubtedly faster than DSL and I only have t 5mbps. It's like connecting across a LAN. I like it. Paw do you need special cable to cennect between a Gigabit card or onboard to a Gigabit Router? CAT6??? or somethng like that? Is that cable a bottleneck between the two?

[pawtucket]

Well I hooked the switch to the router and have both gigabit computers on the same switch so they benefit machine to machine.

I find my wireless laptop to be faster also, I think the wireless is finally being used to capacity. That I think is a result of the FIOS not any hardware.