The FiOS Affair

The following is Henry E. Powderly II’s account of switching from Cablevision to Verizon’s new phone, television and Internet product.

Alright, I’m in

I’m getting FiOS.

I moved to Long Island from New Paltz several years ago and one of the first house warming gifts I found on the Island’s welcome mat was a heavy helping of Time Warner withdrawal. This beached suburb was Cablevision’s realm, and little did I know that meant saying goodbye to television service with reliable cable boxes, a menu that popped up with the push of one button and a program guide that easily told you what was to come on HBO hours into the future.

I grabbed Cablevision and was forced to choke down the iO experience. To me, then a jittery mess who cursed this obviously second-class provider every time I was forced into watching the iO logo and the word “loading” when I wanted to check the guide, Cablevision was a step backwards.

And, to save a few bucks, I suffered with dial-up Internet service I bought from Net Zero, so my media experience was crummy at best.

But one day Verizon called. They offered me a fixed-rate calling plan and television service from satellite provider DirectTV for a bundled price. I hated the idea of a service contract, but I hated that iO loading screen even more. I agreed, and smiled when I returned the cable box to Cablevision.

DirecTV was wonderful, the guide was great, but I could never get used to every channel being three digits long. And service did go out whenever there was a bad storm. However, what I missed most was the television knowing where I was. I missed Cablevision’s traffic and weather, and I hated that the The Weather Channel didn’t intuitively know I was in the Smithtown area.

Perhaps I was nitpicking, but when strong storms mean spotty television service, knowing about the weather becomes important to you.

Also, Verizon’s flat-rate phone service ended up costing me way more than they said it would.

Then Cablevision rolled out its Triple Play, a discounted bundle of its television, broadband Internet and voice-over-Internet-protocol phone services.

Too bad I was locked into a service contract.

Still, I called Cablevision and they made me an incredible deal. They threw in free movie channels and a free digital video recorder, a device that would forever extinguish my wary view of the Bethpage-based cable company, as well as change my television viewing habits forever. They even paid the penalty Verizon charged me for breaking the service contract.

Throw in high-speed Internet, and I’ve been as happy as I can be for some time now.

But, along came HD television.

Several months ago I purchased my first flat-screen television, and man did I smile when I turned in my regular DVR at Cablevision and received an HD DVR from them … for free. It’s funny how that moment, in which Cablevision made me a fan for life, would eventually lead me to seek greener HD pastures.

When you make the HD leap, old-fashioned “regular” resolution becomes unacceptable, and you find you’re a jittery mess waiting for the next network to launch its HD channel. Unfortunately for Cablevision, the local provider is always the last to pick up HD channels, its service is not always reliable, I’m bored of resetting my cable box and the phone is not as clear as I think it could be.

So, I’m getting FiOS, and I’m going to take you on the journey with me.

Next up: The numbers, the plan, the pros and cons.

The lists, the plan, the rules

First, let’s break down what I feel are both Cablevison’s and Verizon’s weaknesses.

Cablevision’s cons:

• Cable box stinks, freezes often
• Internet goes out often, always need to reset modem
• Does not have as many HD channels as Verizon
• News 12 is fine, but repetitive. Also, its Web site is a cumbersome mess only available for subscribers. I’m tired of the three steps it takes to log in every time I want some local news. And since most of their stories are reported elsewhere and readily available, the wait is not worth it.
• Phone is unimpressive, I’d rather have Skype

Verizon’s cons:

• It is very hard for me to suffer another service contract as I find them to be a dirty trick that punishes the buyer and unfairly impedes competition.
• In the past, I found Verizon’s support to be unreliable. And the call center closes after 6 p.m. and is not open weekends.
• HD service is not free like Cablevision

But I’m switching anyway.

Right now I pay $127.46 a month for this, some of it’s free but I have no idea what at this point:

• Internet
• Phone
• Television
• HBO and Starz
• 1 DVR box
• 1 regular cable box

The plan: I’m going to call Verizon this afternoon to sign up for FiOS television and Internet service. As for the phone, I want to strip down my service to basically nothing, just so I can call 911, no long distance, no local. I’m going switch to using my cell phone predominantly (which I get from AT&T and I don’t want from Verizon Wireless).

I want to try to get the service below $100. I want HD, a DVR box, and HBO and Starz only if they throw it in for free, since if you take out the original programming, the movies broadcast by those stations are beyond awful.

(For fun, check out the list of the worst reviewed movies of all time on Web site Rotten Tomatoes and try to count how many have been on HBO or Starz in the last month. You’ll be astounded.)

Lastly, here are the rules of this little project:

• I will write both the good and the bad
• I will not speak to company representatives from Verizon or Cablevision while I’m blogging about my switch
• I will not skimp on the details
• I will write my own bias, my own experience, without reservation
• I will be glad to get comments from readers

Next: After the phone call

Signed up, almost

It took 45 minutes on the phone with the bubbly and friendly voiced Jennifer, but I signed up to get FiOS … almost. It appears Verizon and 911 have opposing ideas about what my street address is, so it’s going to take up to 48 hours for them to straighten it out. My deal is on the table. I accepted the offer, but Verizon can’t place the order until the address dispute is settled.

For the record, Verizon thinks my address starts with a nine instead of a four. That screams “typo” to me.

Here’s how the call went, what I learned, and what hopes of mine were crushed.

First, ditching the phone was not going to save me a dime. Basically, the triple-play price for Internet, television and phone is $95 dollars. That includes the Verizon Freedom package for phone. If I chose basic local for phone it would void the triple-play price and the bill would actually be greater. I could ditch the phone altogether, but then my price for Internet and television would be $106.

OK, so the phone stays, but at least I’m under $100 like I wanted. So I thought. Verizon added $14 dollars for the HD DVR box and $4 for the regular cable box. The total:$113, still lower than the $127.46 at Cablevision. Not true, the Cablevision price includes tax, and since Verizon’s phone service is not Internet-based that means it is taxed higher. With tax, the FiOS service will cost me around $132 a month, Jennifer said. I also have to pay a one-time activation fee of $19.99 and must agree to the one-year contract.

And I didn’t even get the awful movie channels. Jennifer tried to throw in every movie channel except HBO for a year for $19.99 a month. I said no to the offer. I’ll be happy without them.

Here’s what I’m getting, though.

Internet:

I get 20 Mbps in download (and I know Cablevision says it is giving me 15 Mbps, but I have never even come close to hitting that, and I speed test often).

Instead of a modem I get a Motorola wireless router.

And Jennifer says the service is lightning fast and it never has a problem.

Phone:

Verizon Freedom, call anywhere, get calls, blah, blah, blah.

Television:

More than 200 channels, all digital. Jennifer swears I will never see the pixelation I have come to expect from my Cablevision service ever again. She also claims the HD is the best out there, clearer than Cablevision’s, and we all know I will get more HD channels.

I get an HD DVR which she claimed can record two programs at once and let me watch a third program I am not recording. I repeated her claim back to her since that is not the case with my Cablevision DVR. She assured me she was right, and David Reich-Hale, who was listening to me on the phone, whisper-yelled “I don’t believe that,” in my ear. She is wrong. According to Verizon’s Web site, the DVR works like Cablevision’s. You can record two and watch a third recorded program, not a live program. Verizon does have a way to allow all of your televisions to access your recorded programs, but that costs extra and I was already over budget.

As for on demand, Jennifer swears FiOS offers way more on-demand channels than Cablevison. Where Cablevison has do-it yourself yoga, Verizon has Discovery on Demand, Food Network on Demand, Travel Channel on Demand. She made it sound like almost every channel has an on-demand pairing.

So here’s the verdict. With Verizon I’m spending more, no longer getting movie channels, but I’m gaining more HD Channels, more on-demand channels, a clearer picture, a better channel guide, better menu, a Motorola DVR, a free Wi-Fi router and an allegedly faster Internet connection because with fiber you’re not sharing bandwidth with the rest of your neighborhood.

Also, and boy will I take Verizon up on this, Jennifer said if I ever see a promotion advertised for FiOS, like if it is throwing in six months of free HBO to new subscribers, I can just call them up and they will honor the promotion. So, readers, keep your eyes out for deals for me.

In short, I didn’t save money, my plan to recoil from using a land line fizzled, but, if Jennifer’s right, I’m getting a far superior service.

We’ll see, I’m game to try, if only Verizon can figure out my address.

So is fiber better?

An anonymous commenter didn’t like Jennifer’s claim that FiOS Internet will work better because you aren’t sharing bandwidth with your entire neighborhood.

From the comment:

… while you may not be “sharing” bandwidth with the rest of your neighborhood (in a non-technical sense) you certainly are sharing the same upstream devices with Verizon so it’s essentially the same thing. Please do more research.

I have no idea what the commenter means. I know Verizon is saying that rather than tapping into a bandwidth stream like the one that is transmitted by coaxial cables, with fiber, your Internet signal is a result of a direct beam of light sent from Verizon to you, and not shared.

As for the commenter’s claim, I can’t find a solid definition for upstream device. But I think he’s saying that since Verizon has to tap into the greater Internet bandwidth stream in order to send you a signal, it is essentially the same thing.

I’d like the anonymous commenter to elaborate. I think he could provide an important piece of information consumers should have. Could you break it down for us laypeople? I’ll post your comment.

As for the fiber vs. cable debate, here’s a list of fiber optic benefits I found on DSL Reports. And does anybody know where I can find a list of coaxial cable benefits?

Advantages of Fiber Optics (#3295)		(back)
Compared to conventional metal wire (copper wire), optical fibers are: Less expensive - Several miles of optical cable can be made cheaper than equivalent lengths of copper wire. This saves your provider (cable TV, Internet) and you money. Thinner - Optical fibers can be drawn to smaller diameters than copper wire. Higher carrying capacity - Because optical fibers are thinner than copper wires, more fibers can be bundled into a given-diameter cable than copper wires. This allows more phone lines to go over the same cable or more channels to come through the cable into your cable TV box. Less signal degradation - The loss of signal in optical fiber is less than in copper wire. Light signals - Unlike electrical signals in copper wires, light signals from one fiber do not interfere with those of other fibers in the same cable. This means clearer phone conversations or TV reception. Low power - Because signals in optical fibers degrade less, lower-power transmitters can be used instead of the high-voltage electrical transmitters needed for copper wires. Again, this saves your provider and you money. Digital signals - Optical fibers are ideally suited for carrying digital information, which is especially useful in computer networks. Non-flammable - Because no electricity is passed through optical fibers, there is no fire hazard. Lightweight - An optical cable weighs less than a comparable copper wire cable. Fiber-optic cables take up less space in the ground. Because of these advantages, you see fiber optics in many industries, most notably telecommunications and computer networks.

The order is placed

Jennifer called me back, and I placed my FiOS order.

Verizon straightened out the address problem, and because Jennifer felt pretty bad she had to postpone the order in the first place she got a supervisor to override the eight-business-day waiting period to switch my phone from Cablevision to Verizon.

So, on Saturday, May 26, since I need it to be on a weekend, Verizon will come to my house bright and early to begin the installation. It will take all day.

I almost added the movie promotion, $19.99 a month for every movie channel except Cinemax (that includes HBO, Showtime, Encore, Starz, IFC and Sundance) because she told me that price includes the on-demand channels. You see, Cablevision charges a set amount for HBO and an extra amount for the on-demand channel. Verizon does not charge extra for any on-demand channels. That’s a huge selling point, from the perspective of this consumer.

However, I have until the end of May to add the movie package at the sale price, so I’ll start out with the basic roster of channels.

Here are a few more things I learned today:

Verizon charges on an in-advance schedule, so my first bill will include the last two days of May and the entire month of June.

Also, at this time, Verizon does not offer a quadruple-play price if you throw in its Verizon Wireless cell phone service. Jennifer said Verizon used to offer that package when it was bundling with DirecTV. But with FiOS, no such luck. However, if they offer a quadruple play in the future I can call up and the price will be honored if I add cell phone service.

Verizon’s call center for billing and adding extra services is only open weekdays, as I thought, but Verizon does feature a free tech-support hotline available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

And due to some wonderful comments on my last The FiOS Affair post, I asked Jennifer again why she says fiber optic Internet is faster than cable. She said Cablevision sends out its signal on fiber optics, but only to a hub in your neighborhood. At the hub, the signal is divvied out to all of the houses using coaxial cable, meaning your neighbor is sharing your bandwidth. She said that slowdowns in Internet speeds felt by many in the evening hours — and I have experienced such slowdowns — will no longer happen . We’ll see. I’m going to take a few screen shots of speed tests later to compare after the installation.

Either way, one of the commenters put it best:

Please stop focusing on the “fiber vs. coax” debate, it’s a moot point since we’re no where near the limits of either medium. The real issue is what service providers do with this medium.

I agree, and I’m not making the switch to nitpick over tech issues. I want the best service, I want innovative service, I want fast service.

Trust me, after the install, the service will be all I talk about.

What Cablevision had to say

I decided to give Cablevision a chance to say their piece, so I called up their sales hot line and gave Josh, the salesman who took the call, a shot at talking me off of the ledge.

His biggest selling point was this: “It’s all about money.”

I have already conceded Cablevision’s service to be the cheaper of the two. Verizon’s basic triple play costs $95 while Josh said Cablevision’s costs $96. However, the tax on Verizon is greater, we’ve established. So Cablevision wins in the price war.

I currently get up to 15 Mbps download speed and 2 Mbps upload from Cablevision, and will get 20 Mbps download speed from Verizon. Josh claims Verizon’s 20 Mpbs price is the same as Cablevision’s 30 Mbps, or Optimum Boost, price.

Josh accepted that Verizon offers more HD channels than Cablevision, but does not charge you for them like Verizon does. However, Verizon offers much more free on demand, and it doesn’t charge extra for the premium movie channels on demand.

Josh essentially said Verizon’s claim that the picture is better with FiOS is malarkey. To use his words, “the service is comparable.” He reiterated that Cablevision uses fiber optics to carry its signal before it is split and divvied out via coaxial cable to homes.

Whatever. We’ve had that debate and I’ll wait until I’m surfing online with FiOS while watching the NFL Network in high definition, which Cablevision doesn’t have, until I deliver my findings.

Josh pushed the price-difference point on me again. He swears that after my one-year discounted price is up my Verizon bill will inflate by up to $40. I currently enjoy a $20 discount for having all three Cablevision services. Verizon did not mention if I will receive any further discounts after my one-year promotion price is up.

But, to tip the scale in Cablevision’s favor, there’s Optimum Rewards, a listing of various discounts I am entitled to as a Cablevision triple player. I had no idea this existed.

Apparently, I am eligible for a plastic card I can flash at specific locales if I want to save a few bucks. For example, I had no idea a was eligible for two free movie tickets every Tuesday at any Clearview Cinemas location. I have to admit, with movie prices borderline ridiculous, it’s a fair offer but all of the Long Island locations are in Nassau with the exception of Babylon, still a bit of a trek from my Smithtown home.

I can also get discounts at select Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden events and opportunities to win “unique experiences” like back-stage passes to concerts, a seat on road trips with the New York Rangers and New York Knicks tickets.

So, that’s Cablevision’s pitch: It costs less, it’s comparable, and it comes with free movie tickets and a chance to watch hockey.

Too bad I’m game for spending a little extra. If I really wanted to stay with Cablevision I’m sure Josh would have dangled some deep discounts in front of me, but I don’t want to stay. As I said before, I want FiOS.

As for the update, Verizon has called me to confirm my appointment and sent me an e-mail as well. Here’s the first paragraph from those talented self promoters, Verizon:

Congratulations! Your home is about to be upgraded to the power of Verizon FiOS. Soon you’ll be able to download purchased music in a flash, watch flawless streaming video and get the edge in online gaming with FiOS Internet Service. And, with FiOS TV you will get a 100% digital picture*, room shaking sound, that allows you to watch a recorded show in one room while someone else uses the same DVR in another room.

I also decided to take Jennifer up on the movie channel promotion, for the sake of reviewing the service and seeing if having the on-demand station for each movie channel will help me find movies that aren’t terrible. I left Jennifer a message, which I hope she returns soon. If not, it will have to wait until Monday.

I also hope to have a conversation with her about the phone service I’m about to receive. I was so set on ditching the land line that I failed to find out if the phone is run on fiber optics too. Will my phone work when the power’s out?

And lastly, here’s a link to a story on Engadget HD, a blog devoted to HD news. It seems cable companies are so embarrassed they are getting creamed by FiOS and satellite companies when it comes to offering more HD channels, they are ignoring HD altogether.

Next time: What’s with the phone

My speed, pre-FiOS

Right now, I pay Cablevision for an Internet connection, and the cable company says I should be experiencing download speeds up to 15 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 2 Mbps. I just tested it several times using the Speakeasy Speed Test.

Here’s the screenshot of what I found to be the average:

I use a MacBook that is a few months old. It contains an Intel 2.0 gHz Dual-Core processor, 2 gigs of memory and 40 gigs of free space on the hard drive. I uses Firefox to browse the Internet.

It’s also nearly 10 p.m. on a Friday night, which I’d consider a high-traffic time of the day.

A few times, the download speed clocked in as low as 7 Mbps. The high was 10.2 Mbps, that’s nowhere near 15 Mbps. My fastest speed is a third lower than that.

Speedtest with no choice

by David Reich-Hale

As I watch my blogging compadre make his switch to FiOS, I feel like many Long Islanders in May 2007.

I feel a bit of envy that he has a legitimate choice in cable tv/Internet providers. There’s a heck of a lot of jealousy that he will get all these extra HD channels. And I won’t take too kindly to his turning to me every few minutes to gloat about his service. Trust me, he will.

So I must admit a part of me wants this FiOS thing to be a debacle. But the early reviews from people I talk to who have it make me skeptical that I’ll get my way there.

But most of all, like most readers we’ve talked to, I’m curious to see how all this works out. I did run a speed test this morning on speakeasy.net to see if I had better luck than Henry did last night. All four tests were between 7:30 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. on Saturday morning, certainly not high-traffic times for the Internet. Here are the results:

Upload (by kbps) 8340, 8958, 8514, 7531. Download: 1686, 1669, 1733, 1732.

Please note that I used the identical MacBook Henry used and I turned off Airport and used a direct connection. As you can see, I also didn’t come close to the numbers Cablevision says we should hit. Though to be fair, it still seems fairly fast.

Well, that’s it, I have little more to add on the FiOS Affair for now. Wake me up when Verizon comes to Babylon.

UPDATE: Ok, so I’m in Southampton - roads were clear, easy drive east - and just ran the same speed test on the Optimum account out here using the same MacBook plugged directly into the Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem (SB5100 model for those of you keeping score at home.) The numbers were slightly better. Do note that this account does not have the phone service. The one in Babylon does. Not sure if that matters, but…here are the Southampton stats:

Upload: 10878, 11143, 7842, 9744. Download: 1750, 1688, 1642, 1680.

My Media? What’s that?

Jennifer called back, she was on vacation Friday. I guess I could have called the main number.

She confirmed what a few of the commenters said, that the phone runs over the fiber optic lines, but the electricity that powers the phone connection comes from my house. If the power goes out, so does the phone. However, Verizon will install a backup battery pack on my house, something Cablevision does not do, which will give me eight hours of standby backup power or four hours of “talk time,” she said.

For now, the phone service is not attached to the Internet, which means I’ll have to break my Cablevision-caused habit of checking my phone messages online. I am a bit bummed about that, but Jennifer said a similar service from FiOS is on the way. So, maybe the wait will not last too long.

She said Verizon does offer a voice-over Internet protocol telephone product, but not as part of the triple play. That’s fine. she said the VOIP signal is not as crisp as the one on the fiber service.

I bit on the movie-package promotion. I’ll get HBO, Starz, Encore, Flix, Sundance, IFC and Showtime, with all of their HD and on-demand counterparts, for $19.99 a month for a year.

Lastly, when David Reich-Hale posted his speed test results this weekend I was piqued by the photo he posted of what looked like a FiOS menu for accessing files on your computer.

Jennifer said it was the Media Manager product, which is part of Home Media DVR, which I did not order. The Home Media DVR communicates with all of the set-top boxes in your home, allowing you to play a recorded program on all of your televisions. In addition, the service comes with a Media Manager component, a small bit of software you can download from Verizon’s Web site that creates a link from your personal computer to the DVR. The program lets you play music, movies or photos that are stored on your computer on your television. Unfortunately for me, a newly minted Mac user, I’m out of luck. The service only works with Windows PCs.

But I also found out something fun included in the television service. FiOS television communicates with the Internet, therefore enabling it to feature widgets — little interactive programs — on the television screen. These widgets, Jennifer said, provide constant access to immediate traffic and weather reports. Jennifer said the service tramples Cablevision’s traffic ad weather channel, as with the widgets you don’t have to wait for anything to start. You get the report right when you press the button.

I’m trying not to be too biased here, and, again, I admit I’m going to pay more for this service, but the FiOS platform sounds like it will clobber Cablevision’s, no contest. Or perhaps I’m a sucker for a bubbly saleswoman.

So far I’m sold, and I haven’t even seen it.

Next up: The preparations, saying goodbye

A glimpse of the future?

It looks like I called Verizon just in time, though I admit this latest bit of news has me worried.

Top blog Engadget HD reported today Verizon will raise prices on the DVR service on orders placed on or after July 13.

From the post:

Verizon is certainly no stranger to cranking up the fees on its number of services, and while it doesn’t exactly have a vast footprint of FiOS subscribers just yet, the monthly charge for your DVR is going up nonetheless. Reportedly, current subscribers are getting notices now that show FiOS DVR pricing going from $12.99 to $15.99 per month “on new services added and orders places on or after July 13, 2007.” It still seems ambiguous as to whether or not current customers will be grandfathered in at the lower rate, but we’ve got all ideas that everyone will end up footing the higher bill. Additionally, the cost of a full disconnect ($74.99) will now be charged to the departing user if “it requires a technician to visit,” so we’d strongly suggest delivering your wares sans hired help if you decide to pull the plug.

I hope my wallet isn’t in for a good fleecing.

So easy to say goodbye

Four more days, it’s time to get prepared.

First, there are all of the programs saved on my Cablevision DVR to contend with, including the season finale of The Office (or, The Best Show on TV, as I call it), a few episodes of Discovery’s Planet Earth series, the Today show from when my mother went down for her birthday, stood outside, and got to speak to Ann Curry live, and my own 15 minutes … an episode of HGTV’s Cash in the Attic starring my wife - then fiance - and I.

Actually our little episode - dubbed by the director as the historic Cash in the Attic episode where for the first and only time nothing is sold - prompted the switch. I’d been thinking about writing The FiOS Affair for a few months, but when Verizon announced it would carry HGTV in HD I knew it was time to switch. Our episode was shot in HD and I’d like to see my pretty little face in high-def. It airs again on June 7. So, I’ll get my wish.

Therefore, I won’t go through the trouble of recording the program from my Cablevision DVR to a VCR, since I can’t even remember what closet the VCR is buried in. I’ll just re-record it in June, on FiOS … in HD.

What’s left to do? Should I take the five minutes to log on to News 12’s Web site, since it can’t, for whatever reason, remember my login?

And last night I did a little yoga, following an instructor on Cablevision’s on-demand Sportskool channel. I will miss the yoga, but maybe Verizon has a similar channel.

I could use Optimum Autos to look for a car tonight or watch some manly programs on Rojo, the only HD channel I will have to say goodbye to when I switch to FiOS. Maybe I’ll watch the broadcast on News 12, once … and again and again later.

I think I will just look to the future instead.

Today I printed out the channel lineups for Cablevision and FiOS to compare the two. Besides the News 12 and Cablevision interactive and on-demand stuff, there are no channels I will have to say goodbye to. However, there are many additional channels I will welcome on Saturday.

Of course, I look forward to the NFL Network, which recently said it will air classic games in their entirety, as well as the Thursday night games I missed out on last season.

To whet my appetite for all things military, I will get The Pentagon Channel and the Military History Channel with FiOS.

If I need a good cry, and to pique my feminine side, I will be able to turn to the Lifetime Movie Network and Lifetime Real Women. Lifetime Movie Network also has an HD counterpart, yippee.

I will also get the Style Network, so I expect my threads to improve, as well as Fit TV, to help me tone my sinews.

To make myself feel like a worthless failure I look forward to watching how the other side lives on Wealth TV, which also has an HD counterpart.

And my mysterious heart will be filled by watching the Crime and Investigation Network, as well as Sleuth Channel, hooray to reruns of Magnum P.I.

And then there is the Fox Reality Channel, if I need a good lesson in psychology.

My penchant for music will be further indulged by the Gospel Music Channel, BET Gospel and the Soundtrack Channel. Though I’m more interested in Ovation, a network devoted arts like theater, opera and classical music. Don’t believe me? I’ve got Beethoven’s complete string quartets in my iPod.

I don’t have kids yet, so I won’t get much use out of FamilyNet, American Life TV or Varsity TV, but one day I’ll be glad to have them.

However, Blackbelt TV will be an immediate blast.

And lastly, because it is HD I crave, I look forward to ESPN 2 HD, HD Net, HD Net Movies, MTV HD, Food Network HD, HGTV HD and Lifetime Movie Network HD.

There’s so much to look forward to.

And I admit … I may be deep in the throes of grass-is-greener syndrome, but I sure can’t wait to graze.

Cablevision paid me a visit

He was there, waiting for me on my doorstep when I pulled into my driveway at 5:30 p.m. His name was Mark, and he was a salesman from Cablevision.

Now, I was very clear in my post about the rules of The FiOS Affair that I would not take calls from representatives from either Cablevision or Verizon while I’m blogging this little service switch. That’s why I was surprised when Mark said he had read this blog and wanted to clarify a few things for me. Did he miss that post?

I spent a good amount of time with him, but because Cablevision broke the rules I will not report the numerous claims Mark made in order to keep me from bailing on iO for the greener pastures of Verizon’s FiOS. I will only say if his claims are true, specifically about pricing, I will blog about it when I get my first FiOS bill.

And if you remember, I gave another salesman, Josh, a chance to air all of FiOS’ evils when I called Cablevision last week.

To be fair, I want to believe Mark’s intentions were pure, that he is an eager salesman who believes in his heart that I am turning my back on a comparable service priced well below what Verizon charges. I don’t want to believe he was sent on a smear-Verizon mission by higher ups . Mark was kind, informed and not pushy at all, but through him Cablevision broke the rules.

There is nothing that will stop me from switching to FiOS, but there is nothing that will stop me from canceling the service from Verizon, regardless of any penalties imposed for breaking the contract, if I feel they were not straight with me about pricing, or if the service is less than impressive.

The destination of this fledgling story is up in the air, but I’ll need the journey to get there. Cablevision, please, do not interfere.

In the future, if anyone from Verizon or Cablevision thinks I am missing key points of information then post the juicy bits as comments on this blog. That’s why I am writing The FiOS Affair here and not for the print edition of Long Island Business News. I encourage input from all, and the full disclosure created by open conversations via the LI Biz Blog will preserve the integrity of this project.

Cablevision, I’m headed for FiOS, that’s for sure. You may later win me back, but you won’t stop me from going first.

Verizon’s promise

Cablevision’s sneak attack broke the rules, we’ve established that, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit Mark’s claim that the FiOS bill will suck me dry scared me. So I called Jennifer at Verizon to get the scoop on what my bill will be, after taxes.

Remember, I’m getting TV, Internet, phone, one regular cable box, one HD DVR box and a movie package. According to Jennifer, that’s $133 before tax. With taxes she says I will pay $155. That’s what I thought, and it’s not what Mark said last night.

So there it is, right from Verizon, $155 a month. We’ll see when I get my first bill.

While I’m waiting for my FiOS day, I’m closely watching the news surrounding FiOS, as well as Cablevision.

David Reich-Hale just blogged Cablevision’s announcement it will carry two more HD channels, Versus HD and the Golf Channel HD. Now I have no interest in hockey or bullfighting, so I say ’so what’ to that, and most of the major golf events I watch are broadcast in beautiful HD on the networks. I’m glad for Dave though, I know how much he’s rooting for Anaheim.

On the FiOS front, Engadget HD posted two bits of news I found interesting. It looks like FiOS is rolling out a new, more intuitive and interactive menu for its DVR boxes. It looks so gloriously cutting edge.

But then DirecTV announced it’s going to offer a pack of new HD channels, including four from Starz, and three extra Discovery HD channels. The satellite television provider also said it signed an agreement offer HD channels from CNN, Bravo and the USA Network in the future.

Should I be switching to DirecTV? No, been there.

But I do think it’s Verizon’s turn to make an announcement of its own before Cablevision further ups its HD tally.

Discounts! And more stations?

by David Reich-Hale

So for now my son is going to have to watch most of his kids shows without HD and there is nothing anyone, not even Henry’s vaunted Verizon FiOS, can do about it.

There is no Nickelodeon in HD yet, no Noggin and, gasp, no Kids Thirteen, which leaves my son bummed. After all, what two-year old can accept watching Big Big World in anything less than HD quality?

But there is hope, as most of these stations are going to roll out HD services soon enough.

Will Cablevision add those stations? Sounds like there’s a good possibility, though spokesman Jim Maiella says the company doesn’t comment on negotiations it has with specific stations. Here’s what he can say: “Look at our history. We started with a handful of HD stations and we’ve expanded it since then to 25 today.”

Also, “our philosophy is not to charge for HD and that is unique in this industry.”

A couple other Cablevision notes: I called customer service and told them specifically that I lived in an area that does not have FiOS. But I still wanted to know what they could do for me as a long-time customer. They waived my DVR charge for a year and also gave me some movie channels (Starz and HBO) for free for six months. The triple play bill will be around $130 per month, including HD and DVR. Now I can watch Jennifer Aniston in The Break-Up five times a day.

Please note that I didn’t call as an LIBN reporter, blogger or podcaster. I called customer service and did it the old fashioned way. I asked nicely.

I’m interested to see if FiOS is so good that the price war won’t matter. Remember, Henry is going to pay at least $20 more for his services each month. Verizon is more expensive. But he’s already claiming, as are some others, that the service is that much better. We’ll see.

Enough! Cablevision, your pitch stinks

Tom Brokaw sent me an e-mail, and he begged me not to switch to FiOS. No lie.

Though the “andy@” part of Brokaw’s Hotmail address makes me think he’s not who he says he is. Instead, I suspect another Cablevision stalwart send me the message, which contained a litany of reasons why Cablevision’s deal outshines Verizon’s.

But the message stinks, I’m sorry. And it is now the umpteenth time I’ve heard it. So I’m going to put on my consumer hat, and censure Cablevision’s claims as I think any other tech-happy, thirty-ish consumer would.

Brokaw’s claim:

The $95 per month triple product offer being marketed by Fios does not cost $95. With taxes and fees it is at least $112. The comparable Cablevision package costs $98. Verizon never discloses the full amount of taxes and fees in the advertising.

And I say “I know,” I’ve already posted what Verizon said my price would be. I know I’ll be paying more for FiOS.

I see it like I’m upgrading from a Toyota Corolla to an Audi A6. The Corolla economically slaughters the Audi, but I’m willing to pay more for a nicer, more luxurious and faster frill-filled car. So, yes, Cablevision, and even my co-blogger David Reich-Hale, who earlier sang Cablevison’s “but-we’re-cheaper” song, I know I will pay more.

Brokaw’s claim:

All FiOS bundled packages require a one year contract, with activation and early termination fees. Cablevision never requires a contract.

Yes, I hate that, but I wonder if Cablevision would be willing to pay the early termination fees if I chose to leave Verizon? It did when I left DirecTV.

Brokaw’s claim:

FiOS does not carry News 12 or News 12 Traffic & Weather channels. These two stations are your best source for local school closings and emergency information.

I’m an Internet junkie, so for news I turn to the Web. I never watch News 12. And I never log on to News 12 online because it never remembers my login, and that irritates me. Also, I rarely see news on that site that I can’t get elsewhere. For example here are the current stories on News 12 Long Island’s site coupled with links of where you can find the exact story, without login hassles, elsewhere.

West Babylon gas station says OK to a price cut - which you can find here too.
Glen Cove officials: Don’t drink the water - which you can find here too.
Suffolk anti-gang operation nets 78 suspects - which you can find here too.
Cops: Bethpage sex addict confesses to rapes - which you can find here too.
As well as an expose on food allergies, which I also can learn about here.
And an interactive feature on where to find cheap gas. I usually go here instead.

Also, I don’t have kids yet. But if having Cablevision is the only way to get reliable school closing info than shame on the school districts for allowing that.

And I find weather info online, and FiOS tells me I’ll have a traffic widget on my television.

Brokaw’s claim:
High Definition is free with iO. FiOS charges extra for HD equipment. Fios does not carry Fox Sports Net New York or MSG in HD.

We’ve established Cablevision is cheaper and there are plenty of sports channels on FiOS.

Brokaw’s claim:
Verizon fine print includes this statement: “Power for services provided on the Verizon FiOS network must be supplied by the customer.” This means customers are paying to power Verizon’s FiOS network on their own electric bills. Cablevision’s network is powered by Cablevision.

Now this is interesting since, last time I checked, my Cablevision cable box and my Cablevision modem don’t work unless I plug them in. And Cablevision hasn’t paid a portion of my electric bill, ever.

Brokaw’s claim:

Contrary to Verizon’s TV ads, FiOS is not ‘always on’ in a power outage. Battery backup is required, just like Optimum Voice. No wireless handsets will work in a power outage, contrary to what is shown in the TV ads.

Yes, but Verizon is installing the battery backup when they come. Why didn’t Cablevision do that?

Brokaw’s claim:

Verizon charges as much at $1.99 for 411 directory assistance. 411 directory assistance is FREE for Optimum Voice customers.

Well I learned long ago, when I last had Verizon’s telephone service, that directory service is a rip-off. Today, I try my best to search for the phone numbers online, since I already pay for Internet.

Brokaw’s claim:

FiOS customer service is only available Monday-Friday 8am-6pm. Cablevision customer service is 24/7.

Yes, I know, but Verizon has a 24/7 hotline for technical problems. I just can’t call them regarding billing or extra services after hours and weekends.

And here’s Brokaw’s last claim:

Cablevision’s iO, Optimum Online and Optimum Voice are superior products, a superior value with better customer service.

I see. When the pitiful pitch fails Cablevison resorts to Jedi mind tricks.

Am I wrong, or does this pitch stink?

It’s only a matter of hours

The next time you hear from me I’ll be a FiOS user. And if the reviews are true, this sly, sarcastic, crass and critical mind might be forever soothed into sweet talk by Verizon’s sterling service.

Maybe.

Here’s a quick update.

Verizon has called to confirm the appointment for tomorrow four times. Also, a crew stopped by my home yesterday to run the fiber optic cable to the side of my house.

The installation crew will arrive at my house at 8:15 a.m. tomorrow.

I can’t even handle the excitement.

So, after the install I’m going to survey the service for the weekend, taking notes, snapping photos, conducting speed tests and watching TV until my eyes bleed. I expect when I return to the office I’ll be a jittery mess with bloodshot eyes, messy hair, the same clothes I had on since Saturday and most likely a pretty peeved wife … but I guarantee I’ll be smiling.

So you, loyal followers of The FiOS Affair, enjoy the holiday weekend. On Tuesday I’ll be filing a novella all about the installation, the service and whatever else the FiOS experience moves me to scribe.

I’m pretty high here, so I hope I won’t be let down.

The installation

Ken arrived at 8:12 a.m., three minutes early, and I was wide awake and waiting for him.

First, Ken checked out the layout. I showed him my two televisions, one large LCD Magnavox in the living room and a small tube television in the bedroom. He nodded and walked outside, where the real work began.

Ken screwed a large, white terminal into the side of my house. The hub receives the fiber optic cable from the street and sends the signal out through the house’s coaxial cable lines and traditional phone lines.

Next, Ken installed the power and backup battery. I’ve said before that you need to power the signal in your house, which means this large white box needs to be plugged in at all times. If it comes unplugged the power for the system will be drawn from the battery. However, when on battery backup, only the phone will work. The television and Internet will not.

The battery backup pack needs to be in the house, preferably on the other side of the wall from the outside box. Most people put the box in the basement, but my house is old and there was no outlet in the basement Ken could use. So this newlywed made the mistake of telling Ken to place the waffle maker-sized battery box on my living room wall without checking with my wife. No good.

Ken was kind enough to unscrew the box from the living room wall and move it to the upstairs bedroom when I asked him to.

After the terminal and the power boxes were installed Ken got straight to replacing wires. He cut the copper phone line that ran from my house to the street, something I’ve heard critics complain about. I guess my days with old-school phone are over. It’s fiber, cable or nothing from now on.

Ken changed every cable wire going into my house. He clipped the old lines, the black and gray ones installed by Cablevision and DirecTV, and ran white ones, which blended in nicely with my white siding. He tucked each cable in the clapboard grooves and stapled them firmly in place. Ken was diligent, and as result, the installation looked neat.

Next, he set up the phone. It worked. Then he set up the Internet.

He gave me an Actiontec wireless router, which he attached a cable wire to. He ran an ethernet cable to my Gateway laptop, ran a speed tweak, and then he ran a speed test. My jaw dropped.

Then he set up the wireless connection. The router is automatically firewalled so your neighbors can’t pirate your connection. He set up my Macbook too. Internet worked. On to the television.

The best news of the day came when Ken told me he was giving me an HDMI cable to connect my HD DVR box to my LCD television. Those cables are considered the best for HD, and I’ve never felt like shelling out the $50 to $150 bucks for an HDMI cable since the component cables Cablevision gave me were free. But Ken gave me a free HDMI cable. Awesome!

He turned on the television. It worked.

He gave me a quick tutorial on using the guide. And at 2:30 p.m. he left me with the remote in hand and a laptop on my … lap.

It was time to test out FiOS.

Here are a few bits of info I wrangled from Ken, since I sidled him all day firing question after question:

He said Islip will most likely be the next town to announce FiOS availability. He also said the process has not even begun in Brookhaven, where it could take a while.

He said the new channel guide announced by Verizon last week will be incredible. He said it will be like comparing Windows Vista to Windows 95. It should show up at my house in a few months.

He also said some of the software that will be released soon will enable you to schedule your DVR to record over the Internet.

Next: The Internet

This Internet speed is ridiculous

“You will get 20,” Ken said after I asked him for maybe the seventh time if I was guaranteed the 20 Mbps Verizon promised.

Then when he finished configuring the router he launched the new Speakeasy Speed test and tested the connection speed: 21 Mbps down and 4.6 Mbps up, while connected directly to the router over an Ethernet cable.

Then he set up the wireless connection and both my Macbook and my PC tested in the 20’s every time, even when they were both online.

I used the Internet a lot this weekend and the speed boost over my prior service is remarkable. Sometimes, launching a new Web page feels like you’re turning the page of a book. One flip and you’re there.

Video loads in a flash, online games are quick, images take no time at all to appear and uploading photos to your MySpace page is seamless.

I browsed and browsed and the speed never slipped. It was a thing of beauty.

I get a @verizon.net e-mail address with the service but I’ll never use it. Also, like the Optimum Online page, there is a Verizon page that culls headlines, tips about FiOS, FiOS news, the Verizon e-mail platform and information about your Verizon account. Again, I’ll never use it, but it’s there.

I will use this lightning fast connection, though, all the time. (I have to admit speed withdrawal right now as my sluggish work connection is making my soul twitch. I need speed.)

A quick note on the phone

It works … the phone.

FiOS’s telephone offering was never a big concern of mine, since I initially wanted to phase out my land line in favor of my cell phone, but it works well.

In fact, I found the sound to be much clearer than the Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol phone provided by Cablevision, which runs over the company’s fiber-to-cable network. I do miss the Internet compatibility I received with Cablevison, the ability to check my messages and forward phone calls all from an Internet-based portal. Though, I never thought phone provided the best signal, but the functionality was a plus.

I use Skype , a true Internet-based phone/communications service to talk to friends, and it’s free.

Ken said the FiOS phone will soon include some sort of Internet functionality, so I’ll look forward to that day.

Also,the basic FiOS phone offering does not include voice mail or call waiting, or much of anything aside from the ability to make and receive phone calls. If I was more dependent on the land line I might be disappointed about that.

Ken also said the quadruple play, Verizon’s bundling of phone, Internet, television and cellular service, should be available soon. But since I watched Ken scramble around my yard looking for a good cell signal every time he received a call on his Verizon Wireless phone, I might stick with AT&T now since I know I get good reception at my house using that company.

Lastly, Ken removed the copper phone line that ran from my house to the telephone pole. I asked him why he needed to do that and he answered, “you don’t need it.”

He may be right. All communications technology is moving in the wireless, fiber, cable or Internet direction and you don’t hear of any company touting a new service on old copper lines. The future has definitely turned away from those lines and I imagine the battery backup situation won’t last forever.

Next: The television

And finally, the television service

Where to start. So much good, so many channels, so much HD, and on-demand too.

First, the HD picture is surely cleaner, and Ken said that’s due to the lack of electric interference picked up by the fiber optic line in its long trek from Verizon to my doorstep. I accept it could also have to do with the brand new coaxial cable lines, the new splitters and the new HDMI cable he used to connect my HD DVR to my television. Either way, the picture is crystal. Also I’m enjoying new channels HGTV HD, Food Network HD, MTV HD (which is quite cool since it isn’t the average lot of real-life drunk-twenty-somethings-on-parade programming and is HD broadcasts of rock concerts instead), HD NET, HD NET Movies, ESPN2 HD and NFL Network HD.

The “regular” channels are fun to. I enjoyed a few new ones, including Ovation, an arts channel featuring concerts and documentaries on music history. What I like best about FiOS’s channel layout is that it groups all like networks together. All of the sports channels come one after the other. Each Discovery Channel comes one after the other, the news channels come on after the other. It makes it easier to remember channel numbers since I just have to remember that information channels like Discovery start at 90, home and leisure channels start at 130, news channels start at 70 and music channels start at 170. The whole thing just makes more sense.

The guide is nice, but after reading about the soon-to-come guide last week I was a bit disappointed. But it does pop up very fast when I press the button (you hit guide and it takes you straight to the guide), and there are great little descriptions of the programs. You can also narrow the search by channel type, program favorites, movies and sports.

The on-demand channels are great, but I think I was a little mislead by Jennifer at Verizon. Every network does not have its own on-demand channel. The on-demand programs are categorized by type. So if you select home and leisure channels it gives you a selection of programs from Style TV, Discovery Home, HGTV and the Do-it-Yourself Network. But it’s just a selection of the network’s programming, and nowhere near the bulk of the network’s offering. For example, Discovery offers a few classic Mythbusters episodes, a few Stunk Junkies episodes and some Dirty Jobs. I’m glad to have it, but I was hoping for an exclusive network on-demand channel, similar to the ones the movie channels feature. TNT and Spike TV do not have on-demand networks, but there appears to be a lot of on-demand programing for the kids.

And FiOS has Lifeskool, so I’m game for more yoga classes.

The DVR works much like the Cablevision one does with a few differences. I can still pause and rewind live television as well as record up to two programs at the same time. With Cablevision I could schedule a program to record only first-run episodes, avoiding reruns. I can’t do that with FiOS, and I wish I could. However, I can set a program to record every time it shows up in a particular day and time. I can also type in the name of a show and find out every time and channel it will appear on in a two-week period, read descriptions and select the ones I wish to record.

I’ve already scheduled it to record my Cash in the Attic episode on June 7. I also set it to record on the Spanish HGTV channel, since I’d like to see what I look like overdubbed in Spanish.

The weather and traffic widgets are the most fun. I press a little yellow button on the remote control and up pops a little icon with the weather forecast. I scroll up and down to look at future forecasts. The same goes for traffic, I can scroll to see traffic conditions on major Long Island roadways.

In short, the television service works great, is full of new features and at its weakest it’s comparable to my previous service.

So let’s wrap this up for now. At first glance, I’m pretty happy with FiOS and other than getting a first bill that is no way near the $155 Jennifer promised, I can’t see anything that would cause me to leave now.

But I’m sure people have questions. If you could post them as comments to this post or e-mail them directly to libizblog@gmail.com. I’ll answer them in an upcoming post.

This sordid little FiOS affair has been fun, and LI Biz Blog would love your feedback.

I’m off now.