fios vs comcast

[mtemm]

we currently have a comcast bundle and are considering switching to verizon fios. we aren't unhappy with comcast at all, just fios has a pretty good deal going right now and it might be worth the switch. working on pro/con lists now and am wondering if anyone has fios, how do you like it, and if you switched from comcast, what differences have you noticed?

appreciate any input!!!

 

[FireDancer]

I have never had either but I am in the technology field and know quite a few people who do have both. The consensus on FIOS is that the service and speed is great but the customer service is pretty terrible. Luckily the uptime is good (at least in FL where most of the FIOS customers I know live or work) so they don't have to deal too often with customer service.

Comcast has been guilty in the past of what I would call overly aggressive bandwidth management. If I had a choice between the two I would go with FIOS but that is just from word of mouth and a lot of time spent in the tech community talking about such things.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'd make sure I know exactly what the FiOs deal entailed. I know it's cheap to start, but I thought there's a two-year contract? What if you decide in six months you're not happy? I like FireDancer's suggestion - use both!

 

[bicker]

I recently switched from Comcast to FiOS, and it's okay. The main advantage I feel is the high-speed Internet service, which is important for my wife and I, because we're both software developers. The high-speed Internet is significantly better in terms of performance and reliability, in my experience.

FiOS does have pretty bad billing problems; that much was well-understood going into this. We haven't been hit by them yet, but for that matter, we've not yet received our first bill (even though we switched in November -- that gives you some idea how messed up their billing is). By contrast, Comcast has not only sent us a final bill, but a check for the balance on account, already, actually three weeks ago.

For television, a lot of geeky people say that they feel there is a difference between Comcast and FiOS. That's surely not the case here in this area. While the actual issues may different, there is just about the same number and severity of issues. Picture quality on my HDTV is just about the same, channel-by-channel. The advantage that FiOS used to have in terms of number of HD channels is pretty much gone, in this area, since Comcast has added a few dozen HD channels over the last year. Of course, it was a pretty silly battle in the first place since beyond the first 30-40 channels, they are all crap anyway.

Regarding cable boxes: FiOS is already operating the way Comcast will soon migrate to, i.e., you need a cable box or CableCARD on every television you want to receive any cable networks on. That also means that the tuner in your HDTVs is pretty much useless; picture-in-picture won't work; and your old DVRs are not really going to work out for you either.

Comcast was also a little less expensive vis a vis CableCARDs (which will become more important in the years to come, as an alternative to cable boxes).

FiOS does employ contracts to lock you in. They're not as bad as DirecTV, which actually re-locks you in every time you make a change to your account, though.

And FiOS is increasing their rates soon, so if you are going to switch, you might want to try to lock in the current rates, before that.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Of course, it was a pretty silly battle in the first place since beyond the first 30-40 channels, they are all crap anyway

Hey, bicker - don't hold back, tell us what you really think, okay?

 

[bicker]

Oh I loved it while I was reading through the great, new HD channels, and found ES.TV, six HD channels from "Entertainment Studios, the Global Entertainment Company". The six channels run so little programming that neither Tribune nor Rovi (formerly TV Guide), the two major television schedule listing services, deign to include the six channels in their listings. Some of the "programs" that the networks present are programs that used to be (and perhaps still are) carried on other channels as "paid advertisements". On ES.TV, those programs are the programming of the network. And clearly we had to have that in HD right?

And that's over and above the two 24-hour per day home shopping channels, that (again) we had to have in HD right?



The other big surprise for folks who get all excited about getting lots more HD channels by switching providers is the realization that about half of the HD channels that some service providers provide are added-fee premium channels (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz or The Movie Channel) or channels that are on an added-fee sports tier or sports premium channels (NFL Network, Big Ten Network, etc.)

 

[RangerPooh]

We swithced from Comcast to Fios back in October. Our bill is about the same, but we do get a few channels that we didn't get iwth Comcast. What ones I can't recall, maybe some kid channels and random ones. They do charge for some of the HD channels, but I rarely watch any HD channels. The internet service is better IMO. With Comcast I felt like we were having to reboot our entire system every few days and were regularly dropped. S this is a huge improvement. I do think that Comcast had the better On Demand programming.

Ideally a cable provider would let me pick and choose which channels I want as I really don't need all the sports, shopping, music video (MTV type), and foreign language channels.

 

[bicker]

Ideally a cable provider would let me pick and choose which channels I want as I really don't need all the sports, shopping, music video (MTV type), and foreign language channels.

There are some satellite providers (but not Dish Network or DirecTV) that do offer that, but folks generally find that it is way more expensive picking and choosing individual channels, since the pricing, that way, is about $4-$6 per channel per month (including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox). If you watch more than five or six channels per month, then you're better off as things are now.

 

[mtemm]

thanks all! helps to add to our list.

the first year would definitely be a wee bit cheaper going with fios and the current deal, but after that comcast would be cheaper (assuming rates stay the same, which we all know isn't likely). the contract with fios is for one year, but the rate is good for 2. the rate I currently have with comcast is good for the next year, but there is no contract. I like that, not being locked in. but then again, the following year could hurt us.

definitely going back and forth here.

if we were disatisfied with comcast it would help. lol. our internet connection seems fine for us, though. I have my laptop, and dh has his (he works from home and no issues) and we don't seem to have problems at all. the phone thing has been fine, but I do like that when we used to have verizon, we still had a phone if we lost power, unlike with comcast. of course, we do have our cell phones, so I suppose that isn't too big a con.

okay, have a few days left to decide based on the current deal. any other input is more than welcome! I appreciate it.

 

[bicker]

One other thing you should keep in mind:

Comcast Digital Conversions Boston Area: Updated list

June 2009: Newburyport, Newbury, West Newbury, Rowley and Ipswich.

September: Ashland, Bellingham, Blackstone, Franklin, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Marlboro, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millis & Plainville

October: Arlington, Belmont, Burlington, Cambridge, Lynnfield, MIT, Nahant, Revere, Peabody, Reading, Saugus, Stoneham, Wilmington, Winchester & Woburn

November: Andover, Attleboro, Avon, Bridgewater, Brockton, Dighton, East Bridgewater, Easton, Georgetown, Groveland, Hanson, Haverhill, Holbrook, Lawrence, Mansfield, Methuen, North Andover, North Attleboro, North Reading, Norton, Raynham, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset, Stoughton, Swansea, Taunton, West Bridgewater & Whitman

January 2010: Acton, Ashburnham, Ashby, Ayer, Baldwinville, Bedford, Bolton, Boxborough, Carlisle, Chelsea, Clinton, Concord, Devens (Ayer) East Templeton, Edgewater Hills, Edgewater Terrance, Everett, Fitchburg, Framingham, Gardner, Hanscomb Air force Base, Hudson, Lancaster, Leominster, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lunenburg, Lynn, Malden, Maynard, Medford, Melrose, Otter River, Phillipston, Salem, Shirley, Somerville, Southboro, Sterling, Stowe, Sudbury, Swampscott, Templeton, Townsend, Wakefield, West Templeton, Westford, Westminster, Winchendon & Winthrop

February:
Massachusetts:
Barnstable, Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Harwich, Mashpee, Orleans, Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Yarmouth

New Hampshire:
Allenstown, Antrim, Boscawen, Bow, Canterbury, Chichester, Concord, Deering, Epsom, Henniker, Hillsboro, Hopkinton, Loudon, Pembroke, Weare

March:
Massachusetts:
Berkley, Billerica, Chelmsford, Dartmouth, Dedham, Dracut, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Lakeville, Lowell, Marion, Mattapoisett, Middleboro, Natick, Needham, New Bedford, Newton, Rochester, Sherborn, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Waltham, Wareham, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston

New Hampshire:
Derry, Hampstead, Nashua, Plaistow, Salem, Sandown

May:
Massachusetts:
Braintree, Cohasset, Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Milton, Norwell, Quincy, Randolph, Scituate, Weymouth

New Hampshire:
Auburn, Bedford, Candia, Goffstown, Hooksett, Manchester

June:
New Hampshire:
Brentwood, East Kingston, Epping, Exeter, Fremont, Greenland, Hampton Falls, Hampton, Kensington, Lee, Madbury, Newcastle, Newfields, Newington, Newmarket, North Hampton, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Raymond, Rollinsford, Rye, Seabrook, Somersworth, Stratham

Maine:
Berwick, Eliot, Kittery, South Berwick

If your town hasn't been reached yet, you might want to wait until after the conversion in your area... the conversion may convinced you to stay with Comcast (because of the new channels that you'll be getting a couple of months after the conversion) or switch to FiOS (because of the effect of the conversion on additional outlets with Comcast).

 

[mtemm]

thanks, bicker. we've already had the conversion in my town, so nothing looming in the future (that I am aware of!)

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

That is why I love disboards. You can find an answer to almost anything. This was my question.Like the OP... No complaints with Comcast, just coming the end of the promotion that has already been renewed so not sure if they will renew again. Receive an offer for FIOS. Was wondering the difference. We do not have any HDTVs :-( so that not a big deal. We do have a large home network 5 computers and 2 printers.