Verizon FiOS Internet

Verizon FiOS Internet could be the way you and your family get online in the near future. Dialup Internet has almost become a thing of the past as more families and businesses switch to broadband. Unfortunately, broadband services are limited in many areas. Most of these services come from cable companies or similar telecom providers who do not have the proper technology needed for enjoying the Internet in the 21st century. FiOS Internet, on the other hand, does.

What is Verizon FiOS Internet?

As the name suggests, FiOS Internet is a broadband service brought to consumers through Verizon. Like the companies cable programming services, the Internet portion is not available everywhere. By 2010, the company hopes to have 18 million homes connected in the 28 states in which they currently operate.

If you think that all types of broadband service are pretty much the same, you may be surprised if you have the opportunity to test out Verizon’s service. Most of the companies providing broadband Internet today are still using the outdated wiring of the telecom industry. In some places, more advanced technologies have been used to enhance capacity and reliability but none of the companies currently offering high speed Internet use these technologies to connect your home to the main source of your Internet access.

With Verizon FiOS, however, fiber optic wiring comes right to your home. This advanced wiring technology provides many benefits over the traditional telecom wiring and is only offered through Verizon. This technology is called FTTP, or Fiber to the Premises.

Fiber Optics & Their Benefits

Fiber optics wiring is a far cry from the traditional copper wiring used by cable companies. These wires are actually bundles of very thin strands of glass. Data and video signals move through the strands thanks to light pulses created by lasers. These wires can also carry voice signals, too.

There are a wide range of benefits achieved through the use of fiber optics technology which make it a superior choice, particularly for the delivery of broadband services.

First, the FTTP technology is more reliable than traditional wiring methods. The lines are much more resistant to weather and other conditions which means they are less likely to cause disruptions in your Internet access. Even if a problem does occur, the problem can be spotted by the service team for FiOS Internet quickly, even before it is reported by a customer, so repairs are done faster. Overall maintenance is also much easier.

Second, just like traditional wiring, FTTP technology is capable of bringing other services into your home, including cable programming and phone service. However unlike traditional wiring, the potential for additional services being available over fiber optic lines is unlimited; the copper wires have nearly maxed out their capacity.

Third, because of the lines nearly unlimited capacity, broadband speeds through Verizon FiOS Internet can be much faster than what is available through cable services and even other DSL providers.  You can get speeds of up to 50 Mbps through FiOS Internet. That number may not mean much to you until you understand how it could affect your Internet use.

Let’s do some comparisons. If you legally download 10 songs using cable-provided Internet at its basic speed, it would take you 10 seconds. With Verizon FiOS Internet it would take you only eight seconds. That may not seem like a lot because most cable companies offer faster download speeds than upload speeds. If you want to upload a photo album to share with your family and friends, it would take over 3 minutes with traditional cable Internet. The same activity would take you 20 seconds with FiOS Internet. Uploading a 500 MB video would take 33 minutes compared to 3.3 minutes with cable and FiOS Internet, respectively.

Another place where you’ll notice the speed difference is in online gaming. Most players despise the lag time associated with online playing not just because it interrupts the smoothness of the game play but because it can interfere with your success against your opponents. While lag time isn’t completely eliminated through Verizon FiOS Internet, it has been reduced from 1.2 seconds to just 0.3 seconds.

Finally, you’ll see speed benefits not just because of the fiber optic technology but also because of differences in how cable Internet and Verizon FiOS Internet operate. When you have cable Internet, your actual speed is determined, in part, by how many other users are sharing your line. The more congested your line the slower your Internet connection is going to be, even if you pay extra to upgrade your speed. With FiOS Internet, the capacity of the wires is almost unlimited so it wouldn’t matter even if capacity was an issue. However, you will notice faster speeds if you are closer to the central office.

More Speed Options

Because speed does matter when you are enjoying the Internet, Verizon FiOS Internet provides four speed options you can pick from when ordering the service. The lowest of these options would put you at the same speed level you probably have right now with your cable Internet provider: 10 Mbps downloads/2 Mbps uploads maximum. However, if you do want to experience online entertainment at a faster pace, you have three other options from which to select: 20 Mbps downloads/5 Mbps uploads, 20 Mbps downloads/20 Mbps uploads, and 50 Mbps downloads/20 Mbps uploads.

No matter which speed package you do choose, the wireless router is included in the price. Most of the cable companies require you purchase your own or rent one through them. Installation is also included.

The Bottom Line

If you have other Verizon services, then FiOS Internet might also make good sense because of the bundled options you can choose. You can receive significant discounts on your services if you use Verizon for more than one of them, including landline phone, wireless phone, or Verizon FiOS television services. Overall, if speed matters to your when you’re on the Internet, you won’t find speeds faster than those offered by Verizon FiOS Internet.