In June we had Verizon’s FIOS (fiber optic data service) installed at our home to provide our connection to the Internet. The installation was done by Verizon technicians that I would describe as prompt, efficient, professional, and courteous. The Internet connection has been consistently fast and without any noticeable breaks in service. I’ve been very happy with FIOS – until today.
Bring on the TV
As requested, Verizon sent installers to our home yesterday to add television service to our FIOS connection. This replaces our Comcast cable connection.
Why Change?
- More HD channels
- Independent tests show the HD quality to be far superior to Comcast
- Big Ten Sports in HD (can you spell – “O-H-I-O”)
- Cheaper, as part of a phone-Internet-TV package
The Installation
The installers sent by Verizon were contractors. They showed up in a very tired mini-van in the last minutes of their projected installation window - 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Beginning at 5 p.m. were two young fellows who I would describe as courteous, mis-educated, unprofessional, and inefficient. These two gentlemen meant well, and did their best, but they truly didn't understand their technology or the best results for fit and finish. For example, the original FIOS installation used PVC conduit to corral unruly cables; the TV service installers used cable-ties and staples, rather than using the existing conduit. The completed their work in less than two hours (using my existing cable infrastructure), leaving a functioning system in place.
My initial observations: The quality of the HD signal was noticeably better on my 65" Mitsubishi DLP TV. Some of the channels were a real surprise, such as Fox News HD. The quality of the images was much better than the Comcast signal. But not for long. This morning the system stopped working, leaving us with a single message to look at: "CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE". A call to the Verizon service number yielded a friendly, compassionate fellow who tried numerous remote tricks to resurrect the system - all of which failed. The earliest a service tech can be here to check the system is tomorrow afternoon... we are not amused.
Initial Conclusion
Verizon has some challenges to deal with. We were hoping for the same professionalism in the installation process and the same reliability that we've seen from the Internet connection - those have both failed. The initial quality looked good - but I'd like more time with the product before coming to a picture quality measurement. For now, I'd have to give them a failing grade. Perhaps once it's running, I'll be more enthusiastic.
David and Anne Ball
copyright © 1997-2008
Comments
Ack
David,
That's disappointing. I would GLADLY switch to FIOS if Verizon offered it in my area. Instead we have Comcast which is pretty crummy most of the time. The one good thing I can say for the is their techs and installers really seem to know what they are doing, and they were completely fine with connecting to my self-installed internal network for cable/phone/data. The most recent installer even left me additional supplies to expand my system if necessary. I just think their prices are ridiculous, the data throttling on their network is absurd, and the digital TV signal is really overcompressed and full of artifacts. Meh.