The very hard-working John Czwartacki (known to most as simply “CZ”), who runs Verizon’s PoliBlog, alerted me to PC World’s list of the 100 Best Products of 2007. CZ did this because Verizon’s FiOS high-speed Internet service ranked 4th on the list, higher than a whole bunch of very cool gadgets and services, including the Blackberry 8800 (5th), Apple TV (11th) and XBox 360 Elite (18th).
CZ also specifically wanted me to check out this ranking because he knows I just got FiOS broadband service myself. And I have to say, as if it needs saying, that the faster speeds provided by this fiber-to-the-premises service are vastly preferable to the slower speeds of any other service provider.
There’s one tiny hitch, although it’s not Verizon’s fault. Every computer in this household is connected wirelessly to the Internet and, as embarassing as it is to admit, all rely on 802.11b technology, which has a maximum download rate of 11 Mbps. FiOS, however, has a maximum download rate of 15 Mbps, so we can’t really take full advantage of the download turbo power of FiOS…yet.
Not only does wireless connectivity degrade the download throughput rates (although curiously not the generous 2 Mbps upload rates), but even if it didn’t, I’m capped at 11 Mbps until I upgrade to 802.11g, or even better, 802.11n.
I honestly didn’t pay attention to the Wi-Fi technology on my laptop or any other computer before because, after all, the maximum I got — anywhere — was 7 mbps, from Comcast’s cable modem service. Comcast, btw, won’t stop billing me for that modem service, despite the fact that I’ve cancelled it, unless I make it my mission to drive, during work hours, to a customer service location and drop off my old cable modem.
When I say old cable modem, I mean it’s ancient. It’s a Motorola SurfBoard modem circa 2002 or 2003. When I first signed up for cable modem service, the only real equipment option was to rent a modem for $2 per month. Back then, the free modems that are now routinely offered at no charge to new subscribers weren’t available and retail cable modems were priced, if memory serves me correctly, at $199 or so.
The creaky SurfBoard modem is a device that I suspect will get either tossed in the junk heap or sold for scrap, but that doesn’t stop Comcast from demanding that I take, oh, 90 minutes out of my day to return it. Until I do, they’ll keep billing me for a service I don’t use and have already cancelled. That ought to be against the law.
In any event, FiOS is good even if I can’t enjoy the maximum download speeds yet. The downside: T-Mobile’s 1.5 Mbps service at my neighborhood Starbucks now feels almost like dial-up connectivity.
Cynthia Brumfield at 12:28 PM|Comments(0)
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