Just upgraded to Verizon FiOS from Comcast Blast

I've been using Comcast PowerBoost (6Mbps download / 768 Kbs upload) for about a year and have been pretty happy with it. The speed was fine and the price was good at $33/month. (Although I had to keep calling to get them to lower the price after the promotional price kept expiring). Comcast recently upgraded my neighborhood to fiber optic and so the new Blast service was available. I called them up and they just flipped a switch internally to unlock the higher speeds. I was getting roughly 12.5 Mbs download and 3 Mbs upload. The advertised rate was supposed to be 16/2, but I never got more than about 12.5. The upload was faster than advertised, though.

Well, Verizon also upgraded our neighborhood with fiber optic cabling, so I was also able to get their new FiOS service. It was cheaper for a faster rate especially since I already have my phone service with them, so I thought I'd give it a try. The installation went pretty smoothly, although it takes a while because they actually bring fiber optic cabling right to your house. It just worked, though, which is great. The speed is exactly what they're advertising - I'm getting just barely under 20Mbs download and 5.5Mbs upload (advertised was 20/5). Blazing fast and it's much faster than the Comcast Burst service.

Here are my speed test results using Comcast Burst...

And with Verizon FiOS...

Comments

• Anonymous
  July 29, 2008
  PingBack from http://blog.a-foton.ru/2008/07/just-upgraded-to-verizon-fios-from-comcast-blast/

• Anonymous
  July 30, 2008
  Man!!  I both hate and envy you at the same time.  Although, 13 to 20 and 3 to 5.5 doesn't seem like it'd be THAT different.  Isn't that just fussing over milliseconds now?  It's not anything as radical as my jump from 28.8kbps to a 10Base-T in my freshman dorm.

• Anonymous
  July 30, 2008
  You're right in that the jump from 13 to 20 and 3 to 5.5 isn't that different when you're just browsing the web. However, if you're doing any kind of network intensive stuff like downloading large files off of MSDN, game demos on the XBox 360, uploading photos to the web or a blog, remote desktop, etc. then the speed starts being noticeable. I don't think I would have switched if the price was the same or higher, but the fact that it was cheaper and faster pushed me over the edge. :)

• Anonymous
  July 31, 2008
  My city just gave the approval for FiOS TV.  I can't wait for that switch to be turned on, so I can finally completely drop comcast.  My Internet needs aren't that great, so I'm still on the 5/2 FiOS plan that was initially offered a year+ ago.