Well the Verizon trucks were all over my area last month running cables, and yesterday I got a notice that FIOS is now available in my area. They are offering 15mbs down/2mbs up service for $45/month including free installation and a router. I currently use Comcast which I think is 4mbs down/512kbs up and costs $46/mo including the modem rental. Real world Comcast download speeds usually clock in between 2 and 3 mbs in my experience.

So I'm just curious as to whether anyone else is using the new Verizon FIOS and if so then how do you like it?

if it's the same price, why not switch?

i don't have it yet but the general consensus is that not a lot of servers on the internet can d/l at such a high rate, therefore, it is kinda useless. it's only useful if you're a power hungry user and download several things@once (like "educational" videos and such).

so unless you consumer an inordinate amount of bandwidth, it's not that useful, BUT, the price is right.

I echo Boyd's experience: in practice, Comcast cable is slower than Verizon DSL. They have not upgraded their service in years. What better way to let them know how you feel than to jump ship?

like i said, it's not really comcast's fault. i have 6mpbs, but i rarely get that. it'll depend on which servers on the internet you're downloading from. i get good connections from .edu (since they cut out music sharing) but most commercial sites are poo-poo.

Your ISP results will vary depending on where you are. Cable will vary with how many others you have to share with. Expect peak hours to suck when you have a cable connection.

Just because someone says "this ISP sucks" doesn't mean it will suck for you bandwidth wise. Customer/technical service is another matter. My neighbor hates Comcast, he switched to ADSL. A friend of mine across town loves Comcast so he dumped his ADSL. When you compare what they logged for speed using the same ISPs, it's amazing.

Bottom line, try them all, pick what's best for you. JMHO though.

in practice, Comcast cable is slower than Verizon DSL.

Well that is certainly not MY experience. Comcast is much faster than Verizon around here which only offers about 768k down/256k up. I'm happy enough with Comcast, but faster is better :-)

People at broadbandreports seem to be very impressed with FIOS:

http://www.broadbandreports.com/comment/2568/53237

yeah, it definitely depends on where you are. i've asked my neighbors and none of them have any broadband... so... i was the only one with the comcast cable. i had dsl for 6 years before that.

i'm soooo waiting for FIOS =).

Verizon only charges $45 for their DSL line, but you have to own a phone line (from them) in order to use it... that willl inevitably add additional costs.

Comcast charges extra ($60 vs. $40ish) if you elect only cable internet without the $40-basic tv cable package.

I had Verizon DSL and (not FO) switched to Comcast mainly because of the phone line costs.

-Raza