There’s gonna be a Verizon party at my house tonight. Here’s the scoop.  The neighbors I’ve spoken to, and the discussion posted online, prepared me for one possibility. I didn’t expect the troubles. To prep, we cleaned up the basement in various spaces, I took a vacation day, and dropped off the kids early to school

Here’s what I expected:  The 8am on-time arrival of a Verizon technician.  I expected the tech to be here for approximately 6 hours, considering that we only have one TV and one PC to hook up.  Done by 2pm, I could take my daughter to her 15-month well-child visit @ the pediatrician.

Here’s what I got:  The tech never showed up at 8am.  I called around 9am, and received a new (“updated”) expected arrival time of 12pm.  Um, 4-8 hours of install means you are eating dinner with us?  The tech finally showed up at 1pm, and started to work. 

About 3 hours later, he shows me that the central box in the yard that has the connections for our entire row of townhouses is filled with rainwater, and that’s why my neighbor is having issues, and why I won’t be working. 

Uh huh. Riiiiiiiiight. 

The latest update is that they have called back some guys from North Brunswick to do some emergency work, and may be here working outside and in my house even after 8pm. 

I’m glad I haven’t cancelled my cable service.  This should be interesting.  More later.

Yup, they’re coming on Monday, 8am, and we’re ready.  I’m taking a vacation day, as I asssume I won’t have any internet access for most of the day.  Of course, I copied a lot of files over to my laptop so I can do work while the Verizon installer is puttering around in my house for the day.

I’ve been reading up on what to expect.  From what most people have experienced, the guy shows up around 8am, for 4-8 hours, installing the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and possibly even replacing the coax in the house.  We had no idea where this guy was going to be installing and working in the basement, so we spent time cleaning up the basement in various locations.  I happened by chance to speak to one of my neighbors on the way to the recycling corner, and he just switched to FiOS a week ago.  He took me on an imprompto tour of his basement, where they installed it in his laundry room.  I dunno at this point.  I suppose I’ll just point him to the basement, and keep him off of my couch, and drinking my beer.

I’m not thrilled by being forced to use their stupid wireless router. I’m a geek.  I like to use my own stuff.

It’s the end of an era.  After nearly 9 years (since I moved out from my parents place), I’m finally switching (more like abandoning) Comcast for my cable and broadband needs.  It was a momentous occasion, because not only was I moving away from living with my parents, but I was also……. going to get broadband internet.  If you know me, you know that broadband was a dream to behold and wrap around myself like a comfy blanket.    I despised the dial-up internet we had at my parents’ house, so I was ready for the fat pipe.  I’ve had the same comcast email addresses since 2000.

So why am I switching?  In a nutshell?  Verizon’s FiOS service.  FiOS is fiber optic, which is pretty cool.  After over two years of telling us through mailings and signs hung on our doorknobs, it was turning into something akin to vaporware. I even read in our community newspaper about the frustrations the community association was experiencing from dealing with Verizon.  Sounded like FiOS was never going to happen. 

Oddly enough, and seemingly overnight in March, a Verizon salesman knocked on our door, and asked us about signing up. When?  Now. Now? It was all deployed?  So he said. Well, I didn’t chomp at the bit, since we don’t have an HDTV.  What’s the benefit of HD channels when you don’t have the tv to watch them.

Relax, we didn’t get an HDTV (though I keep trying to wear my wife’s logical resolve down.)  Verizon is doing a pretty neat bundle — FiOS TV (with a number of HD channels), phone (local and long distance), and broadband (10 Mbps downstream, 2 Mbps upstream.)  Total cost before taxes and fees?  $94, which I have been told by the CFO (my wife) will save us $50 a month.

$50 a month? My wife makes a lot of sense. Even better, looks like we’ll be getting back all of our familiar NYC regional channels that Comcast had gradually taken away from us over the course of a year.  Bite me, Comcast. I put in the installation request today, so I’m looking forward to trying out Verizon’s fiber optic network in a few weeks.