JCRegister

I live in Journal Square, and Verizon FIOS is enabled here. Last November and December (2008) I noticed that Verizon FIOS representatives were very active going door-to-door encouraging residents to upgrade service to FIOS.

From the posts I’ve read from JCList, Verizon FiOS is available in the following Jersey City areas: Downtown, Journal Square, McGinley Square, and portions of Heights. I am not sure about West Side, Bergen/LaFayette, and Greenville.

What is FIOS?

FiOS is an abbreviation for “Fiber Optic Service”. In laymen’s terms, it’s a service with a high-speed connection. Have you used Comcast Internet? It’s like that, but so much better. Meaning, if you are a person who uses internet most of the time (downloading or uploading music, movies, and large files), you’ll surely benefit from Fiber Optic because of its lightning speed.

Verizon FiOS installation in Journal Square last month.

Verizon FIOS Plans

If you’re planning to have Internet FiOS only, the plan will cost you about $47. But you can always combined it with phone service complete with all features (call-waiting, caller id, international call, etc) for only $69.99 excluding tax. The famous bundle plan (Internet + Phone + TV) costs about $95 a month.

However, if you want to add more package to your TV Channel, you’ll have to pay more. Most of the channels are in High Definition (HD – meaning the picture quality is excellent). You’re going to adore it if you’re the type of person who loves sports.

Disadvantages of Verizon FiOS

A family friend who lives in Greenville section of JC told me that FIOS is not available yet in their area, and even if it is, he’s still having second thoughts. Besides the 1-year contract, he said that once you go FIOS, you can’t go back to regular phone service. Is that true?

Here’s one that I saw from one forum:

OK guys, here is my story:

I was a loyal Direct TV customer for 7 years and since I had FIOS Phone and FIOS Internet, I figured “Hey why not bundle them together to save even more money and try FIOS TV”

WRONG!

I tried it for a month and quit just before 30 days otherwise I would have been LOCKED in for TWO YEARS!!

IF you have FIOS phone and internet, no problem keep them and enjoy…but

Here are the things that SUCK about FIOS TV:
1. Their Channel Layout (the numbering) is from HELL, you will spend 10 minutes looking for programs.

2. They were ALWAYS switching channels around and there would be two of the same channel one day and then the next day one of the channels would not be working, so back to the remote and more searching around…

3. Their Channel Menu only showed what was on for 1 hour ahead, so every time you wanted to see what was on a few hours later you would have to toggle over and back.

4. They have the absolute WORST Customer Service in the world and only a handful of them are in India, they are loadied with inept Americans… Prepare to be on the phone for hours anytime you need to get something done. And you will have to call back 3 or 4 times EVERYTIME!

5. They lure you in with a year or less of low prices, then after the grace period expect to pay $20 a month for an HD DVR and $10 a month for a HD box, with 3 TVs I would have been paying $40 extra per month…

6. They charge you tons of city taxes and fees, fees that Direct or Dish do not charge.

7. Their boxes lock up, they have not got the technology down, believe me I saw this on my own brand new boxes.

The best thing about the FIOS DVR is that you can play it back on any TV in the House EXCEPT if you have HD boxes (which I did).

I have NEVER hated watching TV so much in my entire life as when I tried FIOS TV..

DO WHAT YOU WANT, FIOS-TV MIGHT BE BETTER THAN CABLE, I CAN’T SAY BUT IF YOU HAVE DIRECT TV- DON’T SWITCH, YOU WILL BE HATING LIFE!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED..

Do you have FIOS? What are your experiences with it? Was the customer service helpful when you’re having problem with FIOS? Please post your experiences in the comment section below.

If you don’t have Verizon FIOS yet and you are interested, check if FIOS is available in your area.