Is Verizon FiOS Digital Voice VoIP? Other options?
Verified
Enthusiast - Level 2

I'm looking to start a work-from-home position and they are strict about NOT HAVING VoIP.

If i bundle and add Digital Voice to my existing FiOS Internet, is it a VoIP connection?

IF IT IS;

As a consumer/customer do I have the option to ask for standard/copper phone service instead?

Hopefully Verizon can understand the need for customer purposes the fact that my job REQUIRES certain options.

If Verizon is not able to do this, I'm about to cancel my Month-to-month and move to another service.

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Re: Is Verizon FiOS Digital Voice VoIP? Other options?
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

If you already have FiOS phone installed at your home, you no longer have copper.  Verizon legally decommissions the copper lines after FiOS phone services are installed and all copper services are turned off.  Even though the copper wires are still present, they are legally turned off and will never be turned back on,

If your copper lines are still active, then you can continue to use them.

FiOS can provide two voice services.  One is a standard, regulated service identical to copper service (POTS).  The copper service starts at the ONT.

The other service is "FiOS Digital Voice" (FDV).  This service is regulated like a VoIP service, not POTS.  For us users, this means we get lots of advanced services such as web based logs, call blocking, simultaneous ring and more.

I've used both, as FDV wasn't available when I first got FiOS.  There is absolutely no difference in phone quality between the services.  The advanced services on FDV are much more useful than the limited POTS services.  My alarm and other "analog" services run just fine over FDV.

Technically, both services are digital.  The phone calls are digitized at the ONT.  FiOS phone uses a circuit switched ATM path over the B-PON to connect back to a traditional telephone switch, although I'm not sure how it works with G-PON.  FDV uses VoIP type data services using dedicated bandwidth on the link.  It most likely goes back to a VoIP soft switch before being merged into the standard telephone network.

Even though FDV uses VoIP protocols, it is quite different than a pure VoIP service such as Vonage or Ooma.  Do you know what your new employer is concerned about?  My guess is they don't want you using pure VoIP services that can be relocated anywhere there is a network connection or sometimes suffer from poor voice quality.  If you tell us more about their requirements, I may be able to tell you if that's an issue with FDV.

You may also be asking too many questions.  Tell your new employer that you have a Verizon phone line and leave it at that.

Good Luck

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