Moving. Thoughts on ISPs. TWC/Verizon

[rc3ilynt]

First of all, I apologize if this is in the wrong section but I thought this was the most fitting subforum.

That said, I will be moving in a month and having researched internet service providers in my area, the three that confirmed service in my area were Verizon, time warner cable and DirecTV(not really considering).

I have heard great things about Verizon and the new location does have fios. Looking at the ~$75/month range I found I could get 75dl/75ul which is great and easily more than I'm getting currently at the same price. This would be a no brainer in most cases but I found out time warner cable deployed 300dl/20ul in the area recently priced at $70+tax and fees.

What I'd like to know is if anyone has experience with either of these services or if speeds are as advertised. Googling both have actually had people saying they get the advertised speeds but what about reliability? I'd prefer the more reliable service. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Nashemon]

I've never had the opportunity to get FIOS where I live. It's all around me, except I live too close to the city, and the city has a deal with Time Warner so no other ISP can offer services there. My experiences with TW over the past 7 years have been positive. The Internet has never gone out for more than a couple of minutes a year. The only complaint I have is the rate hikes over the years. The price for me has more than doubled to $57.99/month, and I'm only on a 10/1 connection. I don't bundle TV and phone, though, so they don't really care about me, imo..

Many of my friends who live just south of me have FIOS and while they love the speeds they get, I hear them say it's very intermittent. Many posts on Facebook about it from them over the years, so it does not seem to be as reliable as TW, but I don't know first hand. Growing up on 28.8k, I'm perfectly satisfied with 10/1. TW is the only option I have, though.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Ive never tried fios, but have heard mostly awesome things other than their crap billing dept and shady peering deals. I dislike them as a company for sure.

Time warner I have had for well over 10 years and in my area at least they rock. Very stable and always get what I pay for.

 

[pauldun170]

Been on Fios since it came out.
Started off on 20/5 and got free upgrade to 50/50 last year. Typically on speed test I'm close to 60/60.
The routers they provided, while not top spec were always reliable. Range was fine for my house.
My DVR is a little ancient since I'm a long time customer but the ones they give to new customers should be a lot better.
No problems with billing or service but since we have reliable service its not like we call them much.
They android apps are ok. Nothing spectacular but you can watch a couple of channels on the phone or do everything like schedule recordings, manage your account, etc etc etc from their apps.
There isn't any nonsense when you torrent. No throttling.

 

[JackMDS]

"Great"***, None of them is. FIOS sux less than the others.

Depending on Gov. decision, TWC might be Comcast in the near future.
-----------------

***
http://www.businessinsider.com/most-hated-companies-america-2011-6#3-time-warner-cable-17

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-hated-companies-america-2011-6#4-comcast-16

As sad as it is, of the 20 "most-hated-companies-america" about 10 are in the Electric/Communication/Interment business.

 

[VirtualLarry]

FIOS is more reliable than Comcast. (I've had both.) I can't comment on TW.

FIOS is pretty-much set and forget. It just works. Comcast seems to go down regularly, at 1-3am for a while, for "node maintenance".

 

[azazel1024]

IMHO, TWC is pretty horrible. I haven no great love for Verizon, but they have generally provided good customer service and never charged me on a truck roll, even the once or twice it was kind of, sort of "my fault".

I'd personally rather have 75 up than 300 down. I never have issues with my FIOS connection with 75 down (I actually get 81/82 down) being a limitation for a family of 5. I also don't have real issues with 75 up (typically get 72-96. That is a lot more variable). Back when it was a 75/35 connection it was more limiting. One drive, dropbox, etc. backups uploads are a lot nicer at ~75Mbps up than they were at 35Mbps up.

Just my thoughts on the performance of things. Besides, I'd be a little suprised if Verizon doesn't sometime soon up their packages again. They went to full symetric not to long ago, but a lot of cable companies are starting to really push their >100Mbps packages. I'd be kind of suprise if Verizon doesn't change their 25/50/75/150/+++ packages to something like 35/60/100/200/+++ or maybe even slightly faster some time soon.

 

[rc3ilynt]

I appreciate the insight guys. I'll research some more before I make a final decision but FiOs is looking good with all your opinions. Thanks again.