New ISP: Verizon or Comcast?

As I hope to finally move to a new town at some point next week one of the things I need to do is select a new ISP (+ phone, + TV provider). Since I moved to the U.S. I always used Optimum Online (Cablevision) and was overall satisfied with their services, however, my options now are Verizon’s FiOS or Comcast. Help me pick.

Comments 5

  1. don’t have FiOS (yet) but talked to many that love it. I have Comcast Interent and basic cable (since they didn’t block it). I’ve had 5+ days of outages with no explanations but I think they are servicing the TV side and getting rid of channels one can get and moving all to digital requiring their set top box when all I want do do is use my TiVo. My next TV move is trying a digital converter box with a second TiVo to record things off the air. FiOS does not offer a similar setup. If I take their $12.99 basic cable (locals and local origination – I don’t really want anything else), then I have to use one of their set top boxes 🙁 from what I have read. So the A: to your question-start with FiOS. If you get all three it is currently $94.99-109.99 and you get a free netbook to boot (think kitchen recipes and deck).

  2. We are currently running a promotion for cable, internet and phone for $99 a month.

    Internet comes with free McAfee Security Suite. As far as reliability, we have an advanced fiber optic network that can give you speeds way faster that DSL. With Digital cable, you’ll get OnDemand with thousands of shows and movies. We are also ranked #1 in call clarity for our phone service.

    Please free to contact me if you have any questions. We would certailnly love to have you as one of our customers.

    Mark Casem
    Comcast Corp.
    National Customer Operations
    We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com

  3. Got to add my two cents here. I’ve heard nothing but bad news about Comcast and nothing but good news about FiOS. I don’t have either, as I am serviced by good ol’ Sparta Service Electric Cable, which is about as reliable as the family dog.

  4. My first 2 years renting in Montclair, I had Comcast. It was OK but very inconsistent in terms of Internet reliability as well as phones. Fast forward 3 years later in Verona with Verizon (FIOS added as soon as it came out & HD added just a few weeks ago), there have been no issues in terms of television, internet or phone. Do I love Verizon? No. Customer service is still pathetic. Cannot easily remove services and when I had a brief outage last summer, I spoke to a rep who lives in Canada (just 2 hours from where I grew up) and although he was kind, he couldn’t resolve the issue!

    Good luck with your decision.

  5. Post
    Author

    Based on everything I heard and read so far I will most likely go with FiOS. Also, that Compaq netbook will come in handy. 😉

    Mark, thank you for listing your service offering, but based on current Comcast’s poor reliability (in this area at least) I simply can’t allow myself to become another frustrated client.

    Thank you all for sharing what you know about these two companies and their services. I will share my experience with the entire process (ordering, installation and usage) down the road.

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