The FiOS Affair: 1 year later, no HD

Exactly one year ago, LI Biz Blog jumped into the cable wars when I decided to switch to Verizon’s FiOS fiber optic television, Internet and phone service and conduct a comprehensive review of the process, and the new product.

But a lot has gone on in the past year, so we feel it’s due time for an update.

We’ll break it into services.

Phone: FiOS is fine. The phone rings and I answer it. The voice mail works well, and the reception is a bit better than the voice over Internet protocol service offered by Cablevision. However, here’s what I did learn this year: If you get FiOS they cut your copper phone line and replace it with fiber (which upset a few people, not me). Unfortunately for me, I let Verizon drive away with the cable. I should have kept it. With copper prices rising, I could have made a few bucks selling to a scrap dealer.

Internet: You can’t beat the Internet. It’s the fastest service I’ve ever had. And I’ve never had to reset the modem. In my opinion, this is where FiOS is untouchable.

Television: Here’s where it gets mixed. The service is great. The high-definition picture is great. The fact that Verizon does not treat on-demand programming as an extra and includes it in the basic price makes the experience that much better. You can watch prime time programs you missed on demand, for free, many times in HD.

This year, Verizon rolled out a brand new guide, and though it’s a bit slower than the first FiOS guide, the experience is exponentially better. It’s attractive and intuitive, and compared to the cockamamie guide from Cablevision, as well as the beyond maddening swirling iO logo I used to have to stare at while waiting for the guide to load, it’s the tops.

However, aside from the Discovery Channel HD, which is different than Discovery HD Theater, Verizon has done very little on the HD front. I’d heard April would be a big month, especially since that was the month Verizon switched to an all-digital signal, but no HD channels were added.

Verizon said it would offer 150 HD channels by the end of 2008. So are they all going to come on Dec. 31? What’s the point of giving all of that prior notice then?

Fortunately for Verizon, even though Cablevision offers more HD channels, most of them are part of the Voom service, channels like Kung FU HD, Worldsports HD and a handful of other rather boring channels. Let’s have Bravo HD, Spike HD, Animal Planet HD, VH1 HD, etc. instead.

Also, I admit I miss the traffic and weather from Cablevision. The pop-up widgets that Verizon offers don’t offer a fraction of the information Cablevision does. No contest. Luckily, my Internet service is so fast I can check online rather quickly.

Lastly, with Verizon’s switch to all digital it offered free boxes to all subscribers so you could have a television in other rooms. These boxes are different as they just allow you to watch all of your channels and don’t give you access to the guide.

Customer service: Here’s the biggest lesson I learned this past year: Verizon’s customer services ranges from the make-you-drool awful to quite good, it just depends on what team you get. When it comes to ordering services or scheduling installs or trying to get equipment, it’s a crap shoot what kind of service you get. That’s because I’ve learned Verizon has at least three teams. With the C team you get an individual outside of the United States, who other than reading a script, can’t for the life of him get your order right. I did a little house renovation this year, so I had to pause my service. When I wanted to reconnect I got the C team and there were quite a few mess-ups (like learning the day of my re-install that the appointment was never made).

The B team is based somewhere domestic, and they are a little better at actually taking in what your are saying. I got them on my second try (which still got fouled up).

But if you get the A team, which is based on Long Island, all of your correspondence will be a dream. So, my advice is … call the A team (if you can find them).

When I did get my service re-installed, I found out you can mount the rather large terminal in your basement rather than the side of your house. It is quite ugly, so this was a major improvement.

Tech help, though, is great. I’ve only had to use it once to fix an issue with my reception, but a Verizon tech picked up the phone and remotely fixed everything right away.

And now for the shocking verdict: While the Verizon service is great, right now you get way more for your buck with Cablevision. In addition to phone, cable and Internet, Cablevision has been quite busy adding extras like a mobile traffic service and Wi-Fi hotspots. In fact, with Cablevision pledging to sink $350 million into building a Long Island Wi-Fi network, the ability to work online anywhere on Long Island is a real reason for anyone who works on the Web side of things to consider staying with Cablevision. Also, with Cablevision’s pending purchase of Newsday, who knows what other services are going to come with the Triple Play in the future?

Also, in areas where both iO and FiOS are available, Cablevision will do just about anything to keep a subscriber, which means you could end up paying way less than you would with FiOS for the same services.

But please don’t call me Cablevision, I’m not switching yet. While I’m disappointed the HD is taking a while, and I have no idea if Verizon has the same Wi-Fi aspirations as Cablevision, I’m an early adopter, which means I’m willing to take a bit more punishment while I wait for the upgrades. Verizon tells me its technology will allow it to offer services Cablevision can’t. For now, I’m waiting.

The bottom line is this, though: The honeymoon is over.