Router Rental Fee

[VUser50]

Someone posted on DSLreports that Verizon plans to start charging a rental fee for routers according to the small print of one of their ads. Hope this isn't true.

If it is, it will be interesting to see if this leads people to demand ethernet installs (Do they charge new customers for that/ how much does it cost for existing customers?) and forgo the tv guide, onscreen caller id and on-demand options that make having a FIOS router necessary.

I'd be more ok with this if they provided a COAX to ethernet adapter for free, and untied the tv guide features from the router.

[roaddogg1]

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@VUser50 wrote:

Someone posted on DSLreports that Verizon plans to start charging a rental fee for routers according to the small print of one of their ads. Hope this isn't true.

If it is, it will be interesting to see if this leads people to demand ethernet installs (Do they charge new customers for that/ how much does it cost for existing customers?) and forgo the tv guide, onscreen caller id and on-demand options that make having a FIOS router necessary.

I'd be more ok with this if they provided a COAX to ethernet adapter for free, and untied the tv guide features from the router.

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People have complained over and over to Verizon that they dont want to spend $99 on a new router and want a "free" (nothings ever free) router. I assume this is what the outcome is. I knew it would happen sooner or later.

Most of your other providers rent out routers and the fee is just included in the monthly fee. Even Verizon has done it and still does. Seems Verizon wants to say "rental fee" and add it on as a seperate charge instead of just incorporating it like they always have.

I wonder if they will stop selling the routers and only offer rentals soon or maybe it will make people want to pay the $99 for a new one.

If the media server finally ever hits I'm sure the fee will apply. Should be interesting to see who gets charged for it, but I doubt those who purchased them outright will see the fee.

[VUser50]

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@roaddogg wrote:

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People have complained over and over to Verizon that they don't want to spend $99 on a new router and want a "free" (nothings ever free) router. I assume this is what the outcome is. I knew it would happen sooner or later.

Most of your other providers rent out routers and the fee is just included in the monthly fee. Even Verizon has done it and still does. Seems Verizon wants to say "rental fee" and add it on as a separate charge instead of just incorporating it like they always have.

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At least with cable services you don't need to use their router since TV works fine w/o it and the modem changes the signal from COAX to Ethernet. And while you need a modem, which some companies charge for, there is a robust market (well actually just a few companies... But still a market) of modems you can buy. 

Also keep in mind that Verizon saves money by having certain TV services first decoded by the FIOS router and then sent to the set-top boxes (less tech to embed in the box). If they start charging for the router, I think it is fair that at the very least lower the cost of set-top boxes.

[walt178]

This is one of the fine print notices that most similar companies include.  It shouldn't be a surprise that Verizon is now doing the same thing with the routers.   Like it or not, they are a business trying to make as much money as they can.  This is a "may apply" notice and my guess is that Verizon policy will be like the cable companies:  buy or rent.

[gs0b]

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@VUser50 wrote:

Also keep in mind that Verizon saves money by having certain TV services first decoded by the FIOS router and then sent to the set-top boxes (less tech to embed in the box). If they start charging for the router, I think it is fair that at the very least lower the cost of set-top boxes.

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Not true.  The router does not process any TV services.  It simply routes data between the set-top-boxes and the internet.  The set-top-boxes use the internet for VOD and guide data.  Without the router, TV works fine except that there is no VOD available and a blank guide.

Enjoy.

[VUser50]

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@gs0b wrote:

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@VUser50 wrote:

Also keep in mind that Verizon saves money by having certain TV services first decoded by the FIOS router and then sent to the set-top boxes (less tech to embed in the box). If they start charging for the router, I think it is fair that at the very least lower the cost of set-top boxes.

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Not true.  The router does not process any TV services.  It simply routes data between the set-top-boxes and the internet.  The set-top-boxes use the internet for VOD and guide data.  Without the router, TV works fine except that there is no VOD available and a blank guide.

Enjoy.

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Sorry for not being precise... that is what I meant by decode. Cable boxes from traditional cable companies have that functionality built into the cable boxes themselves and don't require a router.