I'm one of the millions of disgruntled Comcast customers who are sick and tired of erratic Internet performance, over-priced TV packages, balky reception, interminable waits for telephone assistance, and constant price creep in my monthly bills whenever they find a "mistake" and incorrect charges that always seem to be in Comcast's favor.
I am also located in a part of town that provides zero competition for my business--unless you call satellite dishes and Verizon DSL "competition." So imagine our joy when my wife went on the Verizon website and discovered that FIOS was finally available in our ZIP code. We spontaneously broke out in the dance of joy at the news! Everyone I know who has FIOS expressed maximum bliss over FIOS service, speed and reliability.
But when I dug a little deeper, I was crestfallen to discover that my particular block was not yet wired for FIOS, even though neighborhoods in my ZIP code have had FIOS for years.
So what gives? I called Verizon, and over the course of being passed around by a half dozen different drones in the call center over the course of about an hour I found no one who could give me a straight answer as to why my town has FIOS but my street does not--or whether FIOS would ever come to my street.
So I called City Hall, trying to find the party responsible for CATV negotiations. The gentleman who administers such things said FIOS is contracted to provide services in my town, but it's up to Verizon to decide when and where to string the blessed fiber optic cables that are behind the magic.
"Did you try calling Verizon?" he suggested. I thanked him and hung up.
The whole FIOS thing is a mystery and I know what you're thinking. Just unplug the cable, buy a digital antenna and get local HD for free and stream NetFlicks, Hulu, Amazon or whatever. Yes, but I'm a sports fan and it's impossible to stream YES to get the Yankees and Nets or MSG for the Knicks. And my wife likes a bunch of cable channels that currently don't stream, so we're stuck.
As we're slowly bled by the Comcast cartel, I'm left to wonder what exactly are the benefits to consumers when industries consolidate to the point of virtual monopolies like Comcast and Verizon? And don't get me started on the airlines industry!
Perhaps one day we'll wake up and FIOS will have magically made its way into our neighborhood. One can dream.
I am also located in a part of town that provides zero competition for my business--unless you call satellite dishes and Verizon DSL "competition." So imagine our joy when my wife went on the Verizon website and discovered that FIOS was finally available in our ZIP code. We spontaneously broke out in the dance of joy at the news! Everyone I know who has FIOS expressed maximum bliss over FIOS service, speed and reliability.
But when I dug a little deeper, I was crestfallen to discover that my particular block was not yet wired for FIOS, even though neighborhoods in my ZIP code have had FIOS for years.
So what gives? I called Verizon, and over the course of being passed around by a half dozen different drones in the call center over the course of about an hour I found no one who could give me a straight answer as to why my town has FIOS but my street does not--or whether FIOS would ever come to my street.
So I called City Hall, trying to find the party responsible for CATV negotiations. The gentleman who administers such things said FIOS is contracted to provide services in my town, but it's up to Verizon to decide when and where to string the blessed fiber optic cables that are behind the magic.
"Did you try calling Verizon?" he suggested. I thanked him and hung up.
The whole FIOS thing is a mystery and I know what you're thinking. Just unplug the cable, buy a digital antenna and get local HD for free and stream NetFlicks, Hulu, Amazon or whatever. Yes, but I'm a sports fan and it's impossible to stream YES to get the Yankees and Nets or MSG for the Knicks. And my wife likes a bunch of cable channels that currently don't stream, so we're stuck.
As we're slowly bled by the Comcast cartel, I'm left to wonder what exactly are the benefits to consumers when industries consolidate to the point of virtual monopolies like Comcast and Verizon? And don't get me started on the airlines industry!
Perhaps one day we'll wake up and FIOS will have magically made its way into our neighborhood. One can dream.
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