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Thread: For FIOS Users - Physical connections

  1. #1
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    For FIOS Users - Physical connections

    I have cable and was considering FIOS. How does this actually connect to TV's inside your house? Do they use a converter and plug into the existing cable wires, or do you need to run ethernet cable everywhere?

  2. #2
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    Jay St. Peter

  3. #3
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    good write-up, but it looks like he only did phone/internet. I'm more interested in how they do TV since I don't really have any access to run new cables to where my TVs are. No basement, and the attic area has no access (Florida house with high ceilings). Another reason why I hate Florida!

  4. #4
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    FiOS provides "cable TV" via your existing RG6 cables--it's NOT IPTV. (But has incredible bandwidth and quality due to the fiber to the home) The FiOS technician may re-terminate them, however, to insure that there is a quality connection. Current installs are also using RG6 coax from the ONT (Optical Network Termination) to the Actiontek router to eliminate an additional connection. Ethernet is only used for computer connections from the router out to the computers. Wireless is also available, but best performance will always be with a hard Ethernet connection. Do note that there is a very limited number of "analog" channels on FiOS, so you may need at least the basic STB (cable box) in places that you didn't with your existing cable service.

    A good resource for FiOS questions, etc., is the BBR forums run by DSL Reports (dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber)
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
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    Thanks, I'm used to the set-top boxes as I have digital cable now with HD-DVRs through brighthouse. Pretty happy with it, but I'm paying almost $150 a month just for TV and internet, no phone! Verizon has a deal for $99 for all three, plus box rental, so I'm toying with a switch.

  6. #6
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    Russ...don't "toy"...FiOS is an incredible service. Go for it! Whoda' thought you could get fiber direct to the home? In fact, I'll be very jealous. VZ has the fiber on our poles for over a year but due to, umm...political issues...in our township, they stopped work for the time being. Many of the surrounding townships are up and running. Oh, and the HD is stunning...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
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    Hey Jim...it's because the guy that owns the telephone poles in your town knows someone on the city council. I won't name names, but his brother-in-law owns a fire sprinkler business.

    My apologies. It's after lunch and I'm feelin' punchy.

    -Jeff

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey Makiel View Post
    Hey Jim...it's because the guy that owns the telephone poles in your town knows someone on the city council. I won't name names, but his brother-in-law owns a fire sprinkler business.
    LOL! (time to clean the keyboard...again...)

    Sadly, the utilities own the poles, but these local politicians apparently feel that allowing competition needs to both include income as well as a multi-year project being compressed into "immediate". You just can't deploy something like this in a rural area "immediate"...nor everywhere, for that matter. The same politicians don't want the local airport runway expanded by 800' to make it safer for the classification that the airport carries, either...so they passed some zoning laws for the land that preclude it's use for airport purposes, but do allow it to be used for dumping and other interesting industries...

    But I still want my FiOS...yesterday!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Whoda' thought you could get fiber direct to the home?
    Apparently farmers did long before Verizon. We had it at our old house in 2000 (and it had been there for at least a few years before that) from Deefield Farmer's Telephone Company They provided cable, phone and internet all over the fiber. And we actually got decent customer service, unlike now from Verizon.

    If Verizon's service is like DFTC's, in the rare event you have to use dialup over the fiber phone lines, you can get some amazing speeds. 52.6K was normal.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Meiser View Post
    If Verizon's service is like DFTC's, in the rare event you have to use dialup over the fiber phone lines, you can get some amazing speeds. 52.6K was normal.
    That's cause it stays "digital", more or less (remember how the so-called 56K modems work)...and is really clean.

    Interesting that the Mom & Pop Telco did this a long time ago. Bravo to them!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #11
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    A Verizon bucket truck was in front of my house yesterday stringing cable. In anticipation of FiOS, my brother ran outside to find out what was going on.

    Turns out he was just replacing some copper wire that a squirrel chewed thru. Darn it!!! If I was tall enough, I would have chewed on some myself!

    -Jeff

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey Makiel View Post
    Turns out he was just replacing some copper wire that a squirrel chewed thru. Darn it!!! If I was tall enough, I would have chewed on some myself!
    Around here they would just splice it back together and wrap it in black plastic tape (the Verizon repairman that was here told me that about the 5th time I had them out for line noise.)

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Interesting that the Mom & Pop Telco did this a long time ago. Bravo to them!
    Yes, if they ever come this way I'll switch back in a heartbeat. They are about 3 miles away right now.

  14. #14
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    FiOS install

    I live not all that far from Jim B. and can relate to his local government. I refer to them as "King Henry and his Court". I live in a townhouse development and a Verizon contractor was installing the underground infrastructure this past winter when the ground was frozen down about a foot. There was a lot of hand digging with bars placing the "junction boxes" or whatever they're called. I don't know what those guys were getting paid but it wasn't enough. Talk about a hard way to make a buck. I don't know when they'll do the runs to the individual houses.

    Curt

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