 Review by tcp1 
UPDATED: 156 days ago
member for 9.6 years, 431 visits, last login: 129 days ago
 Midlothian,Chesterfield,VA
 $145 per month (12 month contract)
 about 7 days
 "Quick install, good tech support. Fast. Great technology. Good DVR."
 "Billing system and support is so-so. Typical phone co"
 "Great features at this price point, even with the fees."
| Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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So, new house - have the choice of either FIOS or Comcast, which I've had for the past year.
I actually was quite happy with Comcast, so FIOS would have to be competitive.
So, I saw the ad online for the FIOS Triple Play bundle, for $109.99. 20/5 internet, unlimited LD phone, and Extreme HD TV tier. Not bad!
Ok, now this is Verizon. I knew this wouldn't be $109.99 a month. Of course, when all is said and done, we're talking the base $109.99, $15.99 for the DVR box, and about $16-17 in taxes and typical Verizon bizarro fees. I still don't know why they do this. Just tell me the price is $125/mo. I still would have bought. Anyways - that's nothing new to anyone who's dealt with Verizon.
Install was smooth. Wife was home, and she didn't have to do anything - he set up the Actiontec Rev E router with the ONT set to Ethernet, as I'd asked. The wife wasn't able to tell whether he set up Ethernet or Coax at first - but through the VZDirect forum here, I was able to confirm it was set up as ethernet. Yay.
Only other issue - remote DVR wasn't working at first. Another quick message here with VZDirect, and all was well!
The speed is great (but actually a tad slower than the comcast 20/5, but maybe only by 3-400kbps.. No big deal..)
One downside: I wish I could upgrade to 20/20 or 50/20 and still keep the Triple Play package, but no such luck - I'm locked into 20/5 if I want the TV and phone discounts, which are significant. (If I didn't get the bundle discount, I would have gone with Comcast for the TV and kept VOIP for the phone. That's the only way it really makes sense. I'm hoping they have something comparable when my pricing expires in 2 years.)
I'd definitely pay for a higher speed tier, but losing the bundle discounts just makes it too much.
As for the TV, the remote DVR is great, and my wife absolutely loves the DVR itself. We're used to TiVO, and absolutely hated the Cox Cable DVR (what a piece of junk that was.)
Phone service is as expected. Everything else seems great.
Of course, Verizon does the whole "mystery bill" for your first bill, with some services billed for two weeks, some for two days, and others for a whole month - so there's no real way for a human to comprehend what's really what there, but again, it's Verizon. If Verizon could get their billing straight, and not have different cycles for different services, wire centers, and packages, etc, I think it'd be near perfect -- but Verizon's billing system and billing policies are still stuck in 1956.
*****Note: Verizon - read these reviews.. FIX YOUR BILLING SYSTEM!!******
Also, they have 900 departments and they all close at 5 or 6pm. So, while they do have some good reps - finding one and actually talking to them can be tough.
Too bad; they have an absolutely great product with great installers, techs, and cs reps.
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