> My Internet connection is provided by Bright House (was Time Warner); ISP
> is Earthlink, to the tune of 41.95/mo no tax. Recently, I've been
experiencing
> chronic, predictable connectivity "issues". I can set my watch by them and
have
> kept a log for ±60 days. Earthlink "support" offers recorded announcement
that
> customers in my county "may" be experiencing connectivity problems.
Apologies
> but no clue when it'll return to what passes for normality. Bright House
phone
> techrep reiterates problem to be Earthlink's and tries to upsell me
Roadrunner.
> Marginally faster advertised speed; six mo' dollars/month.
> My experience of a few years ago in Nearest City revealed Verizon FIOS
> undertcuts Earthlink, et al, by a couple of bux but nothing significant;
no tax.
> Earlier this year, Verizon minions buried fiber optics cable down my road.
A
> previous phone call elicited news that FIOS was not yet available and no
clue
> when except RSN. Today, neighbors received mailing pieces with "Good News"
that
> FIOS is _here_ so, naturally, I called about pricing only to be reassured
that
> FIOS still is _not_ available at my address but will be RSN. End of
> conversation. No prices. Suddenly, I was reminded why Verizon is my
_former_ ISP
> but the present situation is intolerable.
> A am fed up with Earthlink, period, and would consider waiting for FIOS --
> despite its Verizon-ness -- if it offers a significant advantage over
cable
> _and_ is in the same price range. Please bear in mind that I'm not looking
for
> some off-the-rack low balling ISP. I don't mind paying the price but will
not
> accept less than I'm paying for. Neither do I demand more, though, and
tend to
> be a loyal customer so it pretty much balances.
> On any (or all) of three computers, DW&I are likely to be receiving
> streaming video, streaming audio, downloading 50+ mbyte music files,
downloading
> 50+ mbyte weekly data and software updates,. Also, during business hours,
I'm
> connected to a realtime stock charting service AWA intermittently to a
stock
> technical analysis website. All of these activities may take place
concurrently.
> I'd be interested in reading evaluations of both Roadrunner cable and
> Verizon FIOs from those who actually have _used_, or presently do so,
either or
> both services. Reading about them or listening to ones neighbor complain
about
> either of them does not count as "experience". I know from the get-go that
> customer service is a pipe dream but, obviously, my first concern is
consistent
> and reliable connectivity. Any takers?
I live in southern New Jersey, about 20 miles east of Philadelphia. I had
cable for years, since it first became available in my neighborhood.
Initially, it was pretty good but gradually got worse - cable TV never went
out, but internet began going out. First occasionally, eventually just
about daily, sometimes several times in the course of an afternoon. Usually
only for a few seconds/minutes, but long enough to interrupt whatever was
going on.
A few years ago, my neighborhood was wired for FIOS. After about a year of
increasing frustration with cable, I made the switch, and now my internet,
phone, and TV are FIOS. I don't know exactly how long ago I made the
switch - it's been something on the order of 5+ years.
In that time, I've had no problems (knock wood). To my recollection,
there've been one or two times where I couldn't connect to the net, and both
were for a few seconds duration. I'm not as data-hungry as you seem to be.
Both my wife and I work from home from time to time, and at those times a
connection is absolutely necessary, but honestly a dial-up connection would
probably handle that pretty well - all email is text only, and for that
matter so is our work. Beyond that, we surf the web, occasionally watch
some video, and I peruse usenet. But 50 mbyte downloads are not something
we do.
> My Internet connection is provided by Bright House (was Time Warner); ISP
>is Earthlink, to the tune of 41.95/mo no tax. Recently, I've been experiencing
>chronic, predictable connectivity "issues". I can set my watch by them and have
>kept a log for ±60 days. Earthlink "support" offers recorded announcement that
>customers in my county "may" be experiencing connectivity problems. Apologies
>but no clue when it'll return to what passes for normality. Bright House phone
>techrep reiterates problem to be Earthlink's and tries to upsell me Roadrunner.
>Marginally faster advertised speed; six mo' dollars/month.
> My experience of a few years ago in Nearest City revealed Verizon FIOS
>undertcuts Earthlink, et al, by a couple of bux but nothing significant; no tax.
>Earlier this year, Verizon minions buried fiber optics cable down my road. A
>previous phone call elicited news that FIOS was not yet available and no clue
>when except RSN. Today, neighbors received mailing pieces with "Good News" that
>FIOS is _here_ so, naturally, I called about pricing only to be reassured that
>FIOS still is _not_ available at my address but will be RSN. End of
>conversation. No prices. Suddenly, I was reminded why Verizon is my _former_ ISP
>but the present situation is intolerable.
> A am fed up with Earthlink, period, and would consider waiting for FIOS --
>despite its Verizon-ness -- if it offers a significant advantage over cable
>_and_ is in the same price range. Please bear in mind that I'm not looking for
>some off-the-rack low balling ISP. I don't mind paying the price but will not
>accept less than I'm paying for. Neither do I demand more, though, and tend to
>be a loyal customer so it pretty much balances.
> On any (or all) of three computers, DW&I are likely to be receiving
>streaming video, streaming audio, downloading 50+ mbyte music files, downloading
>50+ mbyte weekly data and software updates,. Also, during business hours, I'm
>connected to a realtime stock charting service AWA intermittently to a stock
>technical analysis website. All of these activities may take place concurrently.
> I'd be interested in reading evaluations of both Roadrunner cable and
>Verizon FIOs from those who actually have _used_, or presently do so, either or
>both services. Reading about them or listening to ones neighbor complain about
>either of them does not count as "experience". I know from the get-go that
>customer service is a pipe dream but, obviously, my first concern is consistent
>and reliable connectivity. Any takers?
my daughter has verizon fios in arlington va and when i set up her
network, i was astonished because the tech support [2 different
people] was knoweledgeble, courteous and helpful. this is not the
case in new york city where i have them for dsl. the fios needs a box
not just the phone line and splitter. she is happy with it, but is
definitely not a geek.
good luck,
elise
fyi
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> is Earthlink, to the tune of 41.95/mo no tax. Recently, I've been