Cable bill with FiOS
Several readers have inquired as to the “real cost” of Verizon FiOS service. Often, cable providers will advertise $30-$40 Internet and TV service, but when they finish adding up all the add-ons, extras, rentals, and taxes, your actual bill can run $150 or even $200.
Is FiOS any different? It sure is.
My FiOS service includes 180+ digital channels, ~20 HDTV channels, one HDTV DVR rental, one standard set-top box rental, and 5Mbps (2Mbps upstream) Internet. All for about $90/mo after taxes and franchising fees. If you live in New York or New Jersey, you get 10Mbps Internet for the same price.
Check my FiOS bill below:
If you want even faster Internet, the 15Mbps plan is $10 more. Residents of New York and New Jersey get 20Mbps with 5Mbps upstream for the same price.
Unlike many other providers who oversell their bandwidth, FiOS bandwidth is essentially dedicated at the local level. FiOS uses a fiber optics networking technology called BPON, which provides 622Mbps for every 32 users. Verizon is in the process of upgrading FiOS to GPON, which will increase their data bandwidth to 2.4Gbps, shared by 32-64 users. Compare that to other cable providers, which typically share a 38Mbps connection between 12-24 customers.
I haven’t gotten my first bill yet. But Verizon insisted my bill would have no add-ons. Here’s their quote:
FiOS internet (5Mbps/2Mbps) $35 (advertised @ $40, but $35 for bundle with TV)
FiOS TV Premiere (same pkg as yours) $35 (adv @ $40, but $35 for bundle w/Internet)
lease HD DVR stb $13
Thas it. Total ~$83 (no addl taxes, fees, etc)
They did say that if I had FiOS phone, that’s where they add all the crap fees/taxes.
So, I’m curious to see if what they say is true - OR - is it a bunch of BS like most big corps. I got to tell you, it’s still a good deal for me and no complaints about the service or picture. I had monopoly-Adelphia before this and it truely sucked big time! They got me for $55/mo for just Internet, but I had no choice–monopoly, baby! Now that they got bought by Comcast, they just don’t care about anything.
What are the PEG and Franchise fees on your bill? Were you expecting that, or did they just slip it to you when you weren’t looking?
I live in Virginia (Wash DC suburbs). What part of the country do you live? NY area?
Bruce
BTW, you’ve got a great blog going on here. I like the professionalism, the way it’s layed-out, and the intellectual content. You’ve obviously put a lot of thought and work into it. I’m new to blogs and FiOS, and I appreciate your knowledge and zeal about FiOS. Many of the other blogs on FiOS that I’ve seen are really lacking in quality input about the whole subject and seem to be very amateurish. There’s a lot of the “I know more than you do” banter. Good luck with this. I expect to learn a lot.
Thanks for your comments Bruce. The only problem with a blog like this is that there isn’t always news to report every week, so adding new and compelling content on a regular basis isn’t easy. I have several high-level sources at Verizon, but I can’t bug them every week for new info.
I live in the DC area as well. The PEG and franchise fees probably varies by city / county, but in Arlington, PEG is $1.38 and the franchise fees are $3.78 per month. With Comcast, I recall paying almost $10/mo in taxes and fees, so I wonder how FiOS was able to accomplish that.
As far as your monthly fees: promotions do vary by area, but in many areas, you can get up to $15 off your bill. You get $5/mo off by subscribing to both Internet and TV; you get $5/mo (or a free set-top box) by agreeing to commit to a year of service; and another $5 off if get “triple play” — a subscription to Internet, TV, and phone. At least two of the three discounts are still available to new subscribers in most FiOS service areas.