Comments on: What Broadband Competition Looks Like in Harlem

By: FCC’s Broadband Plan: The Role Of Competition – GigaOM

FCC’s Broadband Plan: The Role Of Competition – GigaOM — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:32:07 +0000

[...] FCC’s Broadband Plan: The Role Of Competition By Stacey Higginbotham Mar. 15, 2010, 9:31am PDT No Comments 0 The executive summary of the National Broadband Plan is out today, and in addition to the stuff we’ve already covered, we finally know how the FCC plans to treat the issue most responsible for the current state of broadband in the U.S. — the lack of competition. The FCC has proposed collecting more data, which is good, but what matters is how it uses that data, which isn’t outlined in the plan. If the FCC uses the data it hopes to collect as a means to rule and impose conditions on mergers, as well as enforce certain polices around special access reform or sharing fiber, then that’s going to have an impact. [...]

By: quolo

quolo — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:01:10 +0000

I'm a mile to the East of you and still no FIOS yet. It's a one-horse show over here by Popeye's Famous Friend Chicken.

Your building does have abject hugeness over my relative villa.

By: The New FCC and a Small Reality Check – GigaOM

The New FCC and a Small Reality Check – GigaOM — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:24:06 +0000

[...] simple. Seeing as the lack of competition can be partially blamed for higher broadband prices, slower speeds in some areas and even tiered pricing efforts with punitive tiers, this is a key challenge facing the [...]

By: Ryan Lawler

Ryan Lawler — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:11:10 +0000

Chris,

I'm in West Harlem, right by Fairway/Dinosaur BBQ. So there's hope that FiOS will be in your neighborhood soon! That said, my building is huge (1,200 units), so it might be a priority over some of the other buildings nearby. Not sure that physical proximity means that much in these rollouts; after all, I can see why Verizon might want to target a larger group of potential customers in one huge MDU than go door-to-door to the brownstones nearby.

By: Janey

Janey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:11:54 +0000

I've had FIOS in Texas for several years and absolutely love it. One big surprise - the techs actually show up on time. One install was for FIOS internet only. Then I added TV, and at a later date had another box brought out and a new jack installed.

The HD looks great. No complaints at all.

By: chris

chris — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:44:26 +0000

I am in Washington Heights and I am waiting for FIOS to get here. My question is whether you are in east Harlem or west Harlem. The Heights is right above west Harlem so I hoping you are in west Harlem because hopefully that means FIOS is coming my way. TWC sucks big time.

By: Ryan Lawler

Ryan Lawler — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:25:21 +0000

Thanks for the comments. I think what's interesting about this is the potential amount of misinformation being bandied about, not just from FiOS, but also from Time Warner. The number of HD channels, the amount of power an ONT draws, etc. were all meant to influence my decision in one way or another. I cover the space and consider myself fairly technical, but I can see how someone that is not as educated about these subjects as I am could be easily confused or misled.

The other interesting thing is how much money Verizon is spending to acquire these customers. Between one-time cash-back incentives and pricing discounts, the company is giving up $500 to acquire a customer -- and that's before a technician spends four hours installing the service.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:06:16 +0000

FiOS is amazing and such a superior product from it's visual presentation on the tube, and the speed with which it let's you surf both channels and websites, it is entirely worth the very fair rate.

By: Międzywodzie

Międzywodzie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:47:35 +0000

I agree, FiOS is the absolute best experience ever, you can’t go wrong with it at all.

By: Dan Rayburn

Dan Rayburn — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:24:19 +0000

FiOS is the absolute best experience ever, you can’t go wrong with it.

I have to laugh at Time Warner trying to combat the service by implying there is some sort of “price” involved in having the ONT installed, considering that it is installed for free.

Also, the ONT draws very little power. At most, it draws 18 watts, even less when the battery is not charging. I’ve had FiOS for five years and it costs me less than $1 a month extra in electricity. DVRs draw more power than the ONT.

Not including the premium channels, Verizon has 117 HD Channels in wide distribution, Time Warner has 32 in wide distribution and 69 channels in limited distribution, for a total of 101 HD channels. FiOS does have the most HD channels, but not 300 of them as the sales rep said.

By: Jane Addison

Jane Addison — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:52:27 +0000

300 HD channels? And you beleved that? Perhaps you want to go back and do some follow up reporting.