[Novalug] OT: Verizon FIOS Questions

David A. Hammond hammonds@erols.com
Thu Jun 28 21:20:40 EDT 2007


Hi,

I just found out today that Verizon will be bringing fiber to my
street within the next couple of months.  (It has been within a
quarter mile of my house for several years.)  I need to tell them
within the next two weeks whether or not to run the fiber to my
house.  (I don't think that running the fiber to the house
means signing up for the service but I will be checking on
that tomorrow.)  But I think I want the service.

This means I need to pump the brains of those of you who have had
Verizon FIOS for a while.  I am sure I am much more likely to get
straight technical answers from you folks than I am from someone
making minimum wage and/or commissions answering a toll free line.

What is the interface to the fiber?  I would hope that it would
be one or more Verizon-supplied (at no rental charge) interface
boxes that provide the following interfaces:

a.  For internet, an ethernet port into which I could plug a
router/firewall of my choice (which in my case is a Linux box)
and then use NAT to connect my home network to the internet.

b.  For television, a single F-series jack into which I can
plug a splitter or distribution amplifier and route a
VHF/UHF signal around the house.  The resulting signal would
be usable by any modern cable ready television or Tivo-like
device (digital TVs would get the digital and analog signals;
analog TVs would get only the analog signals).

c.  For telephone, a single RJ-11 jack into which I can plug
my existing telephone wiring and then bridge standard telephone
instruments across it.

Is the above what I would really get?  If not, what would I get?

Has the quality of service been adequate?  Do you get anywhere
near the advertised data rates?  Have you experienced any
excessive outages (frequency or duration)?  What is the effect
of short (seconds) power outages?  What is the effect of long
(hours) power outages?

Are the terms of service abusive?  Do I get charged extra for
additional television sets?  Do I get charged extra for
additional telephone instruments?  Are there any limits
on the number of computers I can have on my LAN behind the
router?  Are there any limits on running outside-accessible
servers (not that I plan to run any, but it's nice to know
what is allowed).

Any other observations that you are willing to share?  Right
now I am stuck on dialup because my line quality isn't good
enough for DSL and I refuse to do business with the cable
company (in my neighborhood it is Cox, but I think they are
all best avoided), so I really hope this will work.

Thanks in advance,
Dave Hammond



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