We currently have 250 Mbps up, and down. Dh increased it to 500 Mbps. It does not necessarily increase the speed, but it increases bandwidth. It's fine for us now, but he wanted to make sure that when the kids start their virtual schooling, that bandwidth is not an issue.
Having the ability to connect to FIOS was one of the criteria, when we were house hunting. When FIOS began here, they wired almost the whole county. Due to our long standing with them, as great paying customers, they let him know that if we got a place that didn't have it, they would run the lines, and put it in for us.
If you remember, last year, when we had trouble, they discovered that the original cable they installed, had deteriorated. It should not have. They were not sure if they had gotten a batch of inferior cable (most likely), or if the original installers mixed up interior cable with exterior cable (less likely). They replaced the entire length of cable from the road, down the driveway, to our house.
Back in 2006, when Verizon first began to introduce FIOS, they did a slow roll out of it. When it was becoming available to my area, their long term customers, started getting information about signing up for it, in their monthly statements. I called. At that time, the monthly billing would be the same, they would put in the lines, equipment, etc. at no additional cost. They needed 300 pilot homes to sign up in my area, so they could begin the launch. Ok, sign me up. A short time later, they contacted me, and explained how they would run the lines, and put in the equipment, and asked if I was still willing. Sure, do it.
They set an appointment, and came to run the lines, and install everything. One soon got the impression that this was a big deal to them. I was handed a card, and told it was a 24/7 access number. If ANYTHING went wrong with my FIOS, or my landline, to call anytime day, or night, and they would have someone out immediately. It was new, and the techs were still learning everything about it.
While they were there, several of my neighbors stopped to ask the guys about getting it for their homes. Yes, they had seen the inserts in their bills, but hadn't bothered to call, and sign up for it. Nope, they had their 300 pilot homes, and it would be at least 6 months before anyone else could get it. I was the envy of my neighborhood, all because I was dumb enough to inquire about the insert in my bill. Cool.
When I moved into my husband's apartment, we discussed his internet situation. It sucked. He agreed to let them put in FIOS. I called my technician buddy. The lines were already there, so they just had to bring my router, and plug me in. Done.
That started an issue there. When Verizon was trying to roll out FIOS, the competition cable company, went around getting Condos, Apartment Complexes, Subdivisions, etc. to sign an exclusive contract with them. They offered various incentive packages, to encourage them to sign. Our apartment complex had changed owners a couple years prior, but had signed the exclusive agreement, unbeknownst to the current owners. Lawyers were consulted. Yes, the agreement carried over to the new owners, and it was binding.
Eventually, Verizon went to the FCC. The FCC declared what the cable company had done, to be illegal, and unenforceable. In addition, they told the cable company, if they took any legal action to try to enforce the exclusive contracts, they would suspend their licensing. Ok, so the FCC having power over the cable company, made a ruling. Signed contracts, however, are a judicial matter, falling under the court system, and the FCC is not part of the judiciary system. The apartment complex's lawyers told them to hold off, until some type of legal precedent was established, or until the contract ran out. It would run out in a little over a year.
We were the only ones that had FIOS in that whole apartment complex, for a little over a year. In the meantime, once a month, Verizon set up tents at the entrance, encouraging people to sign up, and make the switch as soon as it became available. By the time the contract was up, at least 85% of the complex made the switch.
When we moved here, the previous owner had FIOS. All they really had to do was change our service over to this place, BUT life is not so simple. The rules required it to be treated as a new install. Ultimately, that turned out to be a good thing. They took out her lines, and connections, then put them where we wanted them.
Even after the hurricane, we had our FIOS.
