Verizon FiOS

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I use Verizon's FiOS [1] for broadband Internet access, and I highly recommend it if it is available in your area.

I have the business version for $99/month. The residential version is $45/month. I previously had Comcast broadband.

This article is now co-authored by the original author and Nick Yeates, who also has had similar experiences. Parts added by Nick are signified by @Nick.

Nick Yeates previously had Comcast broadband and TV for home and has also switched to FIOS for residential service. We got a special package on Internet/TV combo for $70, which is not around anymore, look for it in the mail or around in the future. At the end of the day, internet service is nothing short of outstanding, fast, reliable. Customer service is very bad, and can only hope it gets better as their brand new fios product expands.

What I like:

  • Speed. On well-connected servers, we see the full rate (20bits down and 5mbits up) and faster versions are available for more money. We're short hops and low-latency to core nodes. (The original offering was 15/2, and Verizon upgraded to the current speed in Feb, 2007 for no extra charge).
  • Reliability. It's been rock solid for almost a year. The fiber is passive; it runs to the central office with no active elements, so if we have power and the CO has power, we're on-line. (In contrast, Comcast went down when power went down in parts of town).
  • Static IPs (5), no blocked ports. (with the business version) Extra static IPs available for a fee.
  • No forced cutover of analog lines. With the residential version, Verizon really wants to cut over any analog lines. The FiOS battery backup is only good for ~4 hours of talk, and I want more standby time for my alarm system.
  • No BS about being a business. When I tried to order business service from Comcast, they made noises about availability and business zoning. Verizon didn't care, though I did sign up with my LLC.
  • Reverse lookups (PTR records) for the static IPs. Some services (like email delivery) want to see valid reverse DNS lookups for your IP addresses. It wasn't easy, but I did get Verizon to add my PTR records (see below).
  • No traffic shapping. @Nick Comcast has been known to block certain high bandwidth behaviors and packets. This was the final straw for Nick leaving Comcast, could no longer download my HD :-( FIOS has seen no such blocking at all.
  • FIOS residential router is superb. @Nick The router they provided free that replaced my WRT54G, is working faster and better than the old modded (tomato) WRT54G. Universal PnP (dynamic/smart punching of firewall ports by applications to the router) has worked flawlessly out of the box on the FIOS provided router. Hooking a gigabit switch up behind the FIOS router worked flawlessly first time too. My (Nicks) router looks to be a: Actiontec MI424-WR Rev. D
  • TV for residential is superb and responsive. @Nick Menus are extremely responsive (at least compared to old Comcast system), and there are more channels both HD and standard.
  • Price! @Nick FIOS Internet + TV + movie package + 1 HD/DVR + 2 Std, was cheaper than the same outfit with Comcast. Again, we got a special deal that is now past, and only half of the employees even know about, so it may not come again. If you get the normal pricing, it still equals or slightly beats Comcast.

What I don't like:

  • Being a pioneer. The business version does not feel like it's fully rolled out inside Verizon. The install team had never done a business install before.
  • Lack of cable TV for business. In 2007, you could not provision FiOS TV on a business FiOS setup with static IPs. Apparently, the provisioning for cable TV depends on a DHCP-issued address. (As of 2008, some reports suggest this is no longer a restriction).
  • Customer and technical support not up to par. @Nick When calling their phone systems as a residential customer, I go through at least 5-8 minutes of automation and forwarding, before I get someone that half knows what they are talking about. Many times, I am forwarded to their POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) people. The FIOS support is only open 9-5ish hours. They've promise to call back on issues at least 4 times and have not done it only once out of those 4. I have to call back and remind them. As with customer support in many big companies, each person you speak to will tell you or know or not know different things, so YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). I can only hop that the support is bad because they are just starting into this new business venture. They may need time to get a good support system down. Their wireless team is excellent, hopefully its excellence will be brought into FIOS!
  • On Demand selection lacking. @Nick Compared to my last 2 instantiations of Comcast, at least, FIOS's on-demand is lacking in selection, organization, and depth. It is growing however. Last I checked, there was little to no HD on-demand while comcast had TONS. If you have a movie package or channels, you get considerably more FIOS on-demand. I had really liked per-channel on-demand with comcast, which is basically non-existent with FIOS on-demand.
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Technical Stuff

For the business version (with static IPs), Verizon wants to sell you their router (~$200).

I passed on their router and plugged the Verizon network into a switch. The devices hanging off of this switch have the appropriate static IPs configured, and it all works fine.

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FiOS - Linksys WRT54G Performance Issue

I had a performance issue with FiOS and the Linksys WRT54G router. I couldn't fully debug it, but switching to a D-Link router (model DI-604) fixed the problem.

I use a router to aggregate and firewall all of my home desktop systems behind one of my static IPs. With the WRT54G, I noticed occasional long delays (5-10sec) in Web surfing and page loading. I looked around with Ethereal and it seemed like some inbound packets were getting lost or delayed.

I suspected an MTU problem, and fiddled with MTU settings (Verizon recommends 1492) on my desktop systems and the WRT54G. Nothing seemed to help including upgrading to the latest WRT54G firmware (some have reported this works; try this first).

Switching to the D-Link router made the problem completely go away.

I suspect that the root problem is some bad interaction between packet fragmentation on the FiOS link, and handling of those fragmented packets on the WRT54G. I ran out of time to fully debug it.

My WRT54G is now serving as a wireless access point.

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Getting Reverse DNS Lookups for Your Verizon Static IPs

It took me 4 phone calls over 2 weeks to Verizon's FiOS technical support to get reverse lookups (PTR records) for my static IP addresses.

But it can be done; here's what I recommend:

  • When you get the front line person, explain the issue then ask for DNS Support. Verizon has teams that specifically deal with DNS issues.
  • When you get to someone on the DNS team, (politely) ask for a "ticket number" (i.e. the tracking number used to track the incident). I've found that asking increases the chances that it gets done.
  • If you get stuck, refer them to my IP addresses (i.e. hosting this site) as examples.

Sept-2008 Update: It seems a little easier to get reverse records into the system. Call Verizon Enhanced Product Support (800-483-5325), Option 3 then 3. If the number doesn't work anymore, try calling FiOS tech support and asking for "Enhanced Product Support".

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You Don't Have To Use Verizon's Router

For business customers, Verizon wants you to use their router. Furthermore, they want you to purchase it for several hundred dollars. When I ordered my installation, I said that I had my own router. They said OK, but emphasized that this configuration was not supported by Verizon.

I have my business FiOS connection coming into an Ethernet switch. I have a number of devices plugged into that switch/LAN segment, each configured with one of my Verizon allocated static IPs. There's no DHCP service available (it's all static, after all!), so you need to configure everything explicitly.

This configuration has worked flawlessly for me since installation (>6 months ago). I read reports of some having problem with this configuration with early FiOS deployments, but that it was addressed with newer network terminals and/or firmware.

My advice: try this configuration first, then fall back to Verizon's router if you can't make it work.

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Replacing the Backup Battery (in the BBU)

A standard FiOS installation includes a backup battery that will power the voice services for "approximately 4 hours". I confirmed this with an installer -- he reported seeing a 5 hour actual run time in his FiOS training class.

Verizon documentation reports that the data services are NOT powered when on battery power. In my installation, that does not appear to be true -- when I unplug the BBU (simulating a power failure), I still have data connectivity. Some have reported that the network drops after about 5 minutes leaving POTS only on backup. For more info, see [2].

The FiOS backup battery is a 12V, 7.5amp-hour sealed lead acid battery. The form factor (size, shape) is a very popular one, widely used for equipment backup (e.g. security systems, UPS), manufactured by a number of vendors. Verizon reports the average battery life is 1-4 years.

If you need to replace your battery, the look for the following model numbers:

  • UB1280
  • PX12072, availability:
    • Model PX12072HG designed and manufactured for this application by GS Battery USA. For "Retail sales" (no online ordering): (800) 472-2879. [3]
    • On-line ordering from Apex Battery: [4]

The BBU is made by APC (model number CPL28U12), as part of their PowerShield line of products. For more information, see:

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Auxiliary Power

My FiOS installation includes an "aux power" jack on the battery backup unit, indicating 12-20V input. I'm assuming that you can provide external power here to augment/extend the backup time.

APC sells an external battery pack that can plug into this jack. I've not tried one yet, but for more information, see the external pack user manual.

(Thanks to Nelson Robin for info from APC on the BBU!)

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