Thanks to PC Magazine editor of reviews Lance Ulanoff for this story!
I’ve been running around our office for the last few weeks doing the “I have fiber and you don’t!" dance. Most staffers are not amused, but I just keep pinching myself over my good fortune. My little neighborhood turned out to be one of the few in the U.S. to have access to FTTP (fiber to the premises). The install was pretty painless and, despite all the work and equipment the Verizon tech put in, completely free. I documented my experience in words and pictures on PCMag.com, but I’ve noticed a couple of additional fiber facts since that article went live.
First, there are no curves: Fiber cable never bends. Instead, at every juncture it curves--at the pole, as it meets my house, in the termination box. Obviously, too tight a turn will break that delicate fiber.
Second, my phone hurts. Verizon put my phone service through FIOS, too. It works fine, but the sound is now sooooo sharp. No idea why.
These things aside, I still recommended fiber for a healthy digestive system and super-high-speed Internet access.
Tune into this week's Gearlog Radio show (available on Friday); we'll be talking about FiOS, and Lance can make you envious of him, too!
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June 14, 2006 4:39 PM
Since I can't get a FiOS connection, the closest I'll get to fiber is eating 30g of it per day.
June 14, 2006 5:04 PM
I'm so jealous. Anything, ANYTHING to get me off of the heroin that is Comcast. :(
June 14, 2006 9:39 PM
Last summer I took a trip to a friends house just outside of Dallas. We went over to his friends house that has a fiber connection. I was TOTALLY blown away by how fast it was...I had to reinstall WinXP on one of his computers and you know how long the updates usually take to download from MS...this was sooooo fast I didn't have time to get a soda! :) As Phoenix said, our only choice for true hi-speed where I live was Comcast. Thankfully(?) AT&T took over our SBC phone service so I'm up to 6 meg on DSL - comparable with our Comcast offerings - but at about $20 cheaper.
June 15, 2006 11:09 AM
The H.D. is just fantastic and there are H.D. Channels that you don't get on Comcast like Wealthtv. The S.D channel are almost like H.D. on cable. Games are awesome.
June 15, 2006 3:31 PM
I've had FiOS Interweb and TV since Feburary and I love it. Directly connected I can consistently get 30mbs down from Windows Update and other such sites. I don't watch Quicktime trailers unless they are in HD now. The TV service is good and getting better. Take away the dismal Moto 6416 box and it would be a perfect service.