Hello I live in Richmond Hill, NY (11418). I was wondering if we're ever going to get Fios in my area. I've signed up for the Fios notification newsletter over a year ago and I haven't heard anything from verizon. I've sporadically been checking up on the verizon availability website the past year and so far my area has had no luck. Is there any verizon representantive around here that can tell me when or if we will ever get FioS? If not, then could someone direct me to relevent information to my question? Thanks.
As addressed in http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Share-Your-Ideas-with-Verizon/FiOS-in-Hershey/idi-p/351137
The odds are slim if it isn't already available. Verizon has pertty much stopped expanding FiOS in order to fill out their existing areas. Expansion is expensive, and more and more people are slashing "unnecessary" expenses like internet and tv...
I agree with dslr----. Unless your area of Richmond Hill, NY (11418) has some type of cable franchise agreement, and has FiOS in place, or is in the process of being built out. I would say the chances are slim to none in the foreseeable future. Verizon is concentrating on areas currently installed, or in the process of being installed. I can quote one Verizon executive, "we want to finish what is on our plate before we pile any more on".
@dslr595148 wrote:As addressed in http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Share-Your-Ideas-with-Verizon/FiOS-in-Hershey/idi-p/351137
The odds are slim if it isn't already available. Verizon has pertty much stopped expanding FiOS in order to fill out their existing areas. Expansion is expensive, and more and more people are slashing "unnecessary" expenses like internet and tv...
Sorry that link you sent me isn't working for me.
So what I'm getting from this is I'm pretty much out of luck with getting FioS in my area because verizon's customers are cutting back on their expenses? This is how this business works? Isn't it a bit counter productive NOT to give access to customers that are actually WILLING to pay for these services in an area that doesn't have FioS yet? I think verizon's priorities needs a little check if you ask me.
Scroll to the bottom of this post for a summary of the following.
To be fair on both sides, I do agree. Verizon didn't exactly pick the best spots to start building out. In this area, they seemed to do a pretty good job in picking out areas where uptake would happen. They just took their time building out the network, which is to be expected with the amount of work that needs to go into planning an engineering design, weather conditions in our area, politics, so on and so fourth. Granted, once they get down to the part where they are running cabling, it takes them almost no time at all to build the plant. Once cable's laid, it takes them usually no more than a few weeks to start selling service.
Also in this area, yeah there are a ton of people on FiOS, but there are also homes that switch between FiOS and Cable constantly, mainly because they wish to get into introductary pricing as a new customer. Verizon's been pricing their services nicely in this area. Of course, the Cable company has started to wake up and price services lower. People go where the cheapest prices are, and if they are not technically inclined, they are probably going to head off to Cable after their FiOS agreement is done just due to price. That's the sad part about it. Verizon before shutting down the FiOS build, could have decided to come out my way. Lots of people out here are looking to get it for Internet and TV, especially since out here, the only good provider of Internet is the Cable Company who seems to hike their prices constantly. TV? The satellite guys keep the Cable company in check and signal is pretty good out here, though people don't like dishes being put on their new homes often times. DSL is a worthy option however a lot of locations out here can't even get it, or get nothing more than 768kbps due to distance. Much to slow for use today besides the basics. I'm in one of Verizon's last coverage areas before it hands off to a legacy Frontier area. Once you're outside of Frontier's area (who has DSL covering most of their service area) heading towards Lake Ontario, DSL is almost non-existent and Cable is spotty. Same if I go east; DSL service is poor, and Cable service is spotty. I'm constantly looking and asking around to see if and when the service will show up here. Been waiting for it for years already.
Now on Verizon's end, it is pretty expensive to build out a Fiber network initially. Yeah, the cost of Single Mode and Multimode Fiber has come down a ton, but when you're running miles of multiple strand Fiber cables, you're putting down a good initial cost. Also, based on the politics in the area, Verizon might also have to pay for additional pole space on top of what they use for their copper network (which they have been wanting to retire for ages now, perhaps to the point of tearing it down). They also have to pay for specialized training for the techs so they can splice cabling, and there is also a lot of man hour work needed, from stringing cabling, to network engineering and configuration. Then you have the cost of ActionTec routers, Motorola/Cisco Set Top Boxes (which aren't cheap), and ONTs (which aren't cheap either), and the cost of hooking up a home. It takes a lot of time for Verizon to recoup the cost of the network. This is why they're going to an LTE-style of a network, which I can give them credit for even though I disagree with that stance as it takes away the appeal FiOS has.
In order for Verizon to actually recoup costs, they hope that people stick with them for a while, at least for 3-4 years when the break even point is worn away if no equipment is replaced or repaired for a customer. Their copper network, which has fallen into neglect still has some maintaining going onto it due to regulations, with POTS and DSL Verizon is making some profit back on their legacy network. The FiOS network, Verizon recoups cost mainly through their TV packages, as the margins on Telephone and Internet service aren't as big. Considering it costs a couple thousand dollars to connect someone to the Fiber network, and it costs around a thousand dollars for Verizon to pass a home in a typical neighborhood, it's a good deal of money. There's a lot of cost, and it's why Verizon won't build FiOS out any more (you can technically thank shareholders for that though. If no one complained since Ivan pioneered the network they would have probably kept going. Of course, McAdams comes in, and his solution to keep the Shareholders happy is to cut the costs down a ton by going Wireless. He's got a great idea on how to implement all of it for the better of the company, but it looks stupid in many tech-savvy eyes).
tl;dr
People's Point of View: Where's FiOS? They should have come by our way because everyone wants it, but we've got nothing but Cable and/or DSL here. We need better services. Granted, no one knows what any plans are, and we have a feeling we were abandoned. We want FiOS! It's cheaper, faster, and I've heard great things about it besides perhaps, some billing issues. Even if it isn't FiOS, we want something better than what is available. Copper's getting old, and other countries have better services than us for less.
Verizon's Point of View: People ruined our plans and complained because we tried to bring them a service that costs a lot to build out. Also, people didn't take our service up and ride through our growing pains of bringing an unusual service to the country. We're stuck dealing with politics not allowing us to move in with an ideal foot, Cable exclutivity in towns. We don't have to bring this kind of service out if people complain, so we won't. We'll do something less superior if they really want it like this. After all, we are a corporation, and we look towards maximizing the well being of the business by dealing with customers in a postive aspect.
To also say something: Verizon wanted to build a new, start of the art Datacenter in this area due to our area's environment. we get the Niagara Falls here which produces dirt cheap, and green electricity in this area, and our cold winters eliminate the need for running expensive and power hungry chillers to keep servers cool. A lot of companies are trying to get Datacenters into this area. Yahoo! was one who got one in this area. Verizon? They tried, but someone had to go sue them for no partcular reason and Verizon had to back off because it was too costly in the long run to not have the data center built in a location that would maximize efficiency while cutting down on environmental impact. That's funny too is Verizon would have brought tech jobs with the center, something this area has been longing for. Yahoo! did the honor, however they can only bring so many people in as expected. People bash me for supporting Verizon's viewpoints, however I see things from both ends to the best of my ability, both as a customer and as a techie who knows how business works.
Well I can understand that it would be sort of non-profitable if verizon were to lay down Fios lines in the middle of nowhere. Obviously small amount of people = not very profitable. But I live in new york city. My area is filled with apartments, condos, 2 story houses, and plenty of businesses. How is it that we haven't been given Fios yet for all this time while just a town away (5-10 blocks away) people have full access to verizon's Fios? I just don't understand it.
Think about it..
Major city = check
Lots of potential customers = check
???
So my issue falls under politics? Is that it? I should just accept my area's fate and keep praying? Sorry I've just been frustrated at my current connection. I've pretty much gone tired of my 1 mbps upload. Especially when people just a few blocks from me have 25/25 connections for cheaper monthly than me.
New York City is another beast in itself. Verizon is contractually obligated to wire up New York City, so in this case you should still be able to get FiOS in hopefully the near future. Do you recall Verizon laying new cabling behind/in front of your home at all since the nearby towns had gotten FiOS?
There's too many reasons to list why Verizon doesn't have Fiber available. At this point, it's basicallty speculating on facts that exist currently.
@Smith6612 wrote:Do you recall Verizon laying new cabling behind/in front of your home at all since the nearby towns had gotten FiOS?
No I haven't seen any. But I can't really say that I've actually payed attention to such things =/. I live in an apartment so I only have one side of a street to watch for a verizon truck from time to time.
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