Regarding (relative) symmettry.
Since port 80 is blocked, you already can't run a Web server but the lousy routers that Verizon gives out (which are necessary if you want On Demand TV...) have small NAT tables. That means that if you're on a torrent, you're going to experience problems. I don't know enough to explain precisely how this works (I THINK that what happens is that errors from the torrents fill up the NAT tables, causing trouble for the lame box), but if I leave a torrent open, my wife's vonage connection is usually shite.
A bunch of observations from someone who actually HAS had both services in the last year.
Fios feels nice and solid. It's much more like a good line at a university or major corporation than a consumer line. Still, it goes down. Last week, I got nerfed three times in WoW by the line going down. Does it happen often? No, about once every 2 months, but it does happen.
Fios feels more symmetrical. I have the typical consumer package and even so I get 15/3 in real-life via dslreports. That's pretty darn good even if it should be 20/5. Work is a small shop in Manhattan and has a shit-ass business DSL line, so if I need to upload something big, I do it from here.
That said, it's a simple matter of stringing fiber from the poles in the boonies where I live but much harder to wire under the streets and up wire chases in the city, so my friends (as well as the shop I work at) will not be getting fiber anytime soon. If I ran a small Web shop or was a programmer out on my own and needed the net, I'd be doing it outside the city. Reverse commuting anyone?
But Fios has its issues. Some of these are growing pains.
They have trouble competing with Comcast on cable. Comcast has On Demand HD, Verizon does not. Verizon's On Demand often fails to start up properly and needs three or four goes before it works. Comcast's works better. Research shows that this is common. Otherwise, the packages are damn near identical. Purportedly more HD On Demand is coming next year. I won't hold my breath.
Verizon customer services sucks, even worse than Comcast. It takes forever to get tech support (20-40 minutes). That sucks.
Not like this is that different from Comcast, but even with that nice fiber, port 80 is blocked. No home Web servers for you.
Is it better? Yes. Is it perfect? Oh God, no.
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Regarding (relative) symmettry. Since port 80 is blocked, you already can't run a Web server but the lousy routers that Verizon gives out (which are necessary if you want On Demand TV...) have small NAT tables. That means that if you're on a torrent, you're going to experience problems. I don't know enough to explain precisely how this works (I THINK that what happens is that errors from the torrents fill up the NAT tables, causing trouble for the lame box), but if I leave a torrent open, my wife's vonage connection is usually shite.
A bunch of observations from someone who actually HAS had both services in the last year. Fios feels nice and solid. It's much more like a good line at a university or major corporation than a consumer line. Still, it goes down. Last week, I got nerfed three times in WoW by the line going down. Does it happen often? No, about once every 2 months, but it does happen. Fios feels more symmetrical. I have the typical consumer package and even so I get 15/3 in real-life via dslreports. That's pretty darn good even if it should be 20/5. Work is a small shop in Manhattan and has a shit-ass business DSL line, so if I need to upload something big, I do it from here. That said, it's a simple matter of stringing fiber from the poles in the boonies where I live but much harder to wire under the streets and up wire chases in the city, so my friends (as well as the shop I work at) will not be getting fiber anytime soon. If I ran a small Web shop or was a programmer out on my own and needed the net, I'd be doing it outside the city. Reverse commuting anyone? But Fios has its issues. Some of these are growing pains. They have trouble competing with Comcast on cable. Comcast has On Demand HD, Verizon does not. Verizon's On Demand often fails to start up properly and needs three or four goes before it works. Comcast's works better. Research shows that this is common. Otherwise, the packages are damn near identical. Purportedly more HD On Demand is coming next year. I won't hold my breath. Verizon customer services sucks, even worse than Comcast. It takes forever to get tech support (20-40 minutes). That sucks. Not like this is that different from Comcast, but even with that nice fiber, port 80 is blocked. No home Web servers for you. Is it better? Yes. Is it perfect? Oh God, no.