Verizon and Actiontec bring 100Mbps FiOS to homes

For the chosen few who have access to Verizon's FiOS fiber-optic broadband network, they're about to get quite the speed boost. The already bandwidth-generous service is getting a new 100Mbps option for home users with the help of a new router from Actiontec designed to Verizon's spec. 100Mbps speeds have been available to business customers for a while, but now Verizon is ready to spread the love to mere consumers, at least in select locations for now -- details are slim. The router, cleverly titled the MI-424-WR, includes wireless networking, a firewall and remote diagnostics tools to better assist consumers in administrating their new speedy networks. Verizon is also rolling out a new technology to allow the use of coaxial cable instead of Ethernet, to allow for easier home installations. This will speed and cheapen rollout, which means we'll hopefully see these types of speeds before they stick us in a nursing home.

[anon @ Jun 28th 2006 5:22PM]

anyone know when fios goodness is coming to nyc??

[Godai @ Jun 28th 2006 5:25PM]

Umm yeah.

So you get 5Mps for $34 and 15Mps for $44/mo.

But then it jumps to $116 for 30 Mps.

So are they actually giving the home users 100 Mps?
Or are they giving people who want to spend > $100/mo on an internet connection 100Mps?

[hmurchison @ Jun 28th 2006 5:26PM]

still no love in WA state.

[sev4 pri1 @ Jun 28th 2006 5:26PM]

Or how about to Redmond Washington? Qwest 1.5mps DSL is pretty slow for such a tech savy city.

[Homer J @ Jun 28th 2006 5:28PM]

Who would have thought wireless routers would be the bottle-neck so soon. Thankfully I am paranoid about wireless, and installed a 1000bT system in my house.

Geek? Yes, 100%.

[dc @ Jun 28th 2006 5:40PM]

Why must Verizon TOY WITH ME?!?
Sucks living in NYC / Boroughs. Apparently they are hitting up individual houses first (Westchester, Long Island, etc.) before approaching multiple dwelling structures. That and it's easier to run the cables above ground first.

VERIZON COME TO BROOKLYN. I NEED YOU. I'VE BEEN BEGGING FOR OVER A YEAR.

[Pablo @ Jun 28th 2006 5:42PM]

Homer,

Did you use CAT5e or CAT6?
Do you have a 1000BASE-T switch, hub, or router with built in switch?
What brand hardware do you have?
How many ports do you have?

Thank you for your replies.

[james @ Jun 28th 2006 5:47PM]

Can someone who has this explain to me a few things, for example,

What are the upstream limits?
Are there monthly bandwidth caps?

Because assuming these two things exist, you could just keep promising higher and higher downstream rates and it really wouldn't matter. Also being as most sites can't even push data out past 10Mb/sec, doesn't this seem a little bit like some good marketing action going on?

[cool8man @ Jun 28th 2006 6:03PM]

Read the story more carefully. The service is not being upped to 100Mbps. This story is just that Verizon is selling a router that is capable of handling 100Mbps. Bad Engadget. Bad!

[Duck @ Jun 28th 2006 6:20PM]

/me wonders when this will make it to Dallas. I've been on 15mb fios for a few months now. It sure is fast. I've actually hit sustained 14mb off of usenetserver.com, I'd love to see that at 100mb! :)

[Yardy @ Jun 28th 2006 6:21PM]

Verizon in Orchard Park NY Zip Code 14127 is lighting up their FIOS on July 5. I asked the Verizon guy working on the switch near my moms house. Hope there are no delays with the on-date. Adelphia is doomed when Verizon can light up their FIOS througout the rest of the Western New York area. Viva Verizon!

[Tim @ Jun 28th 2006 6:34PM]

I just saw a few Verizon trucks in my neighborhood (Kirkland, WA) and it looks like they are prepping the place for FiOS. I can't wait for it to come... It's taking so long!

[Torben @ Jun 28th 2006 6:44PM]

I have the business class 15/2 with static IP and there are no caps, no ports blocked, and no apparent taxes/fees charged in addition to the listed rate; my bill is 99.95
There are five ppl on this pipe and we never see speed tests below 10mbps.

Your day to day browsing is really not any faster than my 6mbps roadrunner but once you have VPN connections to work and downloading from subscription usenet services, streaming services like CNN video, youTube etc are quicker and having a webserver now serving at 2mbps UP instead of 384kbps UP make a HUGE difference.
Over all I am very happy with both internet and TV service.

As far as websites not being able to serve faster than 10mbps, I would disagree, we host our VPN/Citrix/OWA servers in a QWEST cybercenter and while we have a 6mbps dedicated pipe, it is burstable to 100mbps and it will handle those bursts rather well. We only serve 600 users and no public sites, so I imagine that if someone actually hosts a hightraffic site there, they would dedicate more bandwidth than 10mbps. and from a business perspective it is not really that expensive.

[Allen Ash @ Jun 28th 2006 6:45PM]

The tech who installed my FIOS service last month told me that they were going to increase the speed by the end of the year, but holy crap! I thought he was talkin' like 25mbps or something...

[Mike LaCon @ Jun 28th 2006 6:53PM]

FiOS has been in my town for about 4 months, I still haven't gotten it. I've used it though!

[ChillyWilly @ Jun 28th 2006 7:01PM]

Qwest and Comcast only here in Utah. I would love to get FiOS, but even Qwest is slow rolling out DSL here.

To those that can get fiber, congrats.

[Allen Ash @ Jun 28th 2006 7:07PM]

PS: To answer James' questions, I have the upper tier plan that is 15mbps down and 2mbps up. I don't know if there's a cap, but I do know that Verizon is planning to offer TV service with lots of HD programming, so there would have to be a pretty large allowance for data useage.

[CoolGuyRandall @ Jun 28th 2006 7:11PM]

"Administrating" isn't a word...I think you mean "administering." Let's not underestimate the importance of mastering our own language ;-)

[the antique @ Jun 28th 2006 7:43PM]

Holy crap. I have a 5 Mbps FiOS connection right now and it's working great. This would be even sweeter. Imagine the amount of torrents I could be running.

[wired pasture @ Jun 28th 2006 7:51PM]

What's the coax technology they're using?

[Nate @ Jun 28th 2006 8:02PM]

Said CoolGuyRandall, "Let's not underestimate the importance of mastering our own language."

Tell that to the rest of America. I'd say Engadget has a stronger grasp of the English language (American-style) than most folks. I mean, have you -heard- people on the street speak lately?

/end off-topic.

[Bryan @ Jun 28th 2006 8:35PM]

Up to 15 Mbps/2 Mbps - $45 a month.

http://www22.verizon.com/content/consumerfios/packages+and+prices/packages+and+prices.htm

When will the update show up? I doubt they'll give us 100mpbs for $45. The current top-end is 30mpbs for $180.

[Curtis @ Jun 28th 2006 9:13PM]

I know they are planning to roll out their digital tv service soon as well (supposed to be way better & cheaper than comcast). The article states that the 100mbps would be for the home user, which means they will probably make the price fairly reasonable. The reason the 30mbps business service is so expensive is because the upload rate is higher than the home user (5mbps vs 2mbps i believe). It would be awesome to get 100mbps down/20mbps up for like $59.99 (wishful thinking)

[Peter Rojas @ Jun 28th 2006 10:03PM]

"Administrating" is a word:

http://www.answers.com/administrating&r=67

[eh @ Jun 28th 2006 10:53PM]

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=04FBC7244CDE6F1D

[William McGough @ Jun 28th 2006 11:14PM]

Or if you are willing to shell out 12 and a half thousand a month, you can always get 300MBPS through optimun online lightpath. http://www.optimumlightpath.com/Interior221.html
But if you are going for something that expensive, you might as well go all the way and get an OC192 - 9.6 gigabits per second with an "If you have to ask..." pricetag.

[Neal @ Jun 29th 2006 1:04AM]

Has anyone with FIOS felt that the DNS resolution times are lengthening? I've had FIOS in Boston since it rolled out, and it certainly feels (nothing scientific -- Boston centric) that the DNS resolution slows the overall super-fast experience. On the other hand, WoW patches show just how fat these pipes are...

[Beat Bolli @ Jun 29th 2006 2:57AM]

"a new technology to allow the use of coaxial cable instead of Ethernet"?

Have you ever heard of thick and thin Ethernet, young one? ;-)

[187 on John Doe @ Jun 29th 2006 5:00AM]

Me Want Me Want Me Want.
God. I could download all the stupid pathces and whatnot inside of seconds. That would be beautiful. But I'd really need to know the upload speed, because I have a video blog and make my own DVD and such. Man I would be happy if a tenth of that is upload speed!

[John @ Jun 29th 2006 6:10AM]

Wow, that's expensive!
I've had 100Mbps down / 20Mbps (that's average, it can sway up to 80Mbps, the limit is the network, not the ISPs decision) up for several months now, and I pay ~$37 a month for it, no cap, no throttling, no blocked ports.
The fact that they're charging people $179.99 a month for 30/5, that's madness.

[LuckyFIOSCustomer @ Jun 29th 2006 7:43AM]

This post is deceptive. The only "news" here is about the new router, which is capable of delivering up to 100-mbit speeds...adding this router won't automatically give you higher bandwidth if you're not paying Verizon for a higher-speed package. It's a nice upgrade, though. The router I got with my FIOS installation was just a lame, run-of-the-mill D-Link ethernet router (not even wireless). I've heard that (in Pittsburgh anyway), they're starting to bump up the lower-end 5 Mb FIOS customers to 10 Mb at no charge--maybe 100 Mb for less than $100/mo. isn't so very far away after all.

To all of you who don't have FIOS yet, I sympathize. It's so worth it.

[adam @ Jun 29th 2006 9:01AM]

not much good unless you can network it throughour the home...

http://www.ustecnet.com

[Dave @ Jun 29th 2006 9:17AM]

I just got FIOS last week. (Long Island NY. I went with the 10/2 $34.95 package. All I can say is WOW!. My cable modem claimed 15/3... but it benched at about 7/2 on it's best day and mose typpically 4/1.2.

Well with FIOS I ALWAYS get the full 10/2 claimed. They seem to have plenty of bandwidth to spare. I can go to a full 30/5 for $54.95 if I want to... But frankly I don't think I need that much bandwidth right now.

Advice... get FIOS as soon as it's available.

[Nick @ Jun 29th 2006 10:41AM]

Neal:

I've been noticing that too! Drives me crazy.

[rob @ Jun 29th 2006 1:00PM]

I've had 15/2 FIOS since January '06. It works great but since it is not the business level service (i.e. dynamic IP) there are blocks on hosting ports such as 80 etc.

As for the video service, I was talking to a buddy who installs the FIOS and they are ready to flip the switch here (Camarillo, CA) once the city gives the thumbs up. He didn't mention the new routers but my guess would be that if you need it to get the video bandwidth then there would most likely be an open pipe for data once you are paying the video + internet monthly fees. I can't see them dedicating X amount of bandwidth for data and a different amount for data. Especially since they are looking at this technology to kill the cable companies. The more you give the better the better the press!

By the way, our cable provider, Adelphia, gives us a paltry 5 HD channels for the bargain price of $14.00 a month! Oh and if you want ESPN HD, add another $3.95! Bastards....

[ItsonlyMostlyCool @ Jun 29th 2006 2:50PM]

Earliest FIOS adopter in my zone, with the whole package... Love the 15/2 data, especially for work-from-home VPN, the phone is no noticeable diff from copper (which is cool enough), so I'm happy there.
I just wish the TV offerings were a bit better. Their on-demand movie catalogs and even what they offer through the premium channels lag waaaay behind the cable behemoth I left to come over to the light.

And the DNS chokepoint seems to be happening in Texas as well. Takes a bit to find the page. Once you've found it, then *BOOM*, it's up. But if it takes as long to find it as it took another ISP to load it....

[ooglek @ Jun 29th 2006 5:04PM]

Whee! I'm getting the ActionTec router M1424-WR installed sometime soon! I had the Dlink DI-604, but it has been a bit flaky, and the promise of a better router pleases me. This post mentions the ActionTec MI-424-WR, but in reality the unit is the M1424-WR (not I (eye) but 1 (one)).

I am getting the upgrade for FREE because I bumped my service from 15/2 to 30/5 ($10 more? Sure!) and offered to agree to a 1 year contract (I've been month-to-month since it was installed Nov 2, 2004). I already have the video service, and it's quite nice.

The ActionTec M1424-WR Specs

[ooglek @ Jun 29th 2006 5:07PM]

Oops -- The specs:
http://www.actiontec.com/products/broadband/4port_wireless_broadband_router/featuresnew.php

And an image:
http://www.actiontec.com/products/broadband/4port_wireless_broadband_router/images/ports.jpg

[Cody @ Jun 29th 2006 11:20PM]

I'm a veteran user of FIOS, got it about 2 years ago. I live in Rowlett, TX (about 15 minutes from Dallas) and only used the 5/2 plan. When we first got it hooked up, it came with a wired D-Link router. When we moved into our new home they gave us a new wireless D-Link router standard. In addition to the Internet comes the phone service which is crystal clear (your calls really do sound better) and just recently we got the TV service. With just the basic package it comes with about 15-20 HD channels (that's including your local channels that when there's a show broadcasted in HD you can go there to watch it in true HD). The picture is AMAZING. Nothing compares to it. It's just an overall great experience with everything being so fast and yet so cheap. If it comes to your area, GET IT.

[Justin @ Jun 30th 2006 3:23AM]

I currently pay 54.99 a month for the 30/5 option, and was told they would bump me to 45 meg down for free... so perhaps this will fall in the same price range :) :) :)

I'm in Leesburg, VA

[bluedawgtt @ Jun 30th 2006 11:29AM]

CoolGuyRandall..

Administrating
http://www.webster.com/dictionary/Administrating

Administering
http://www.webster.com/dictionary/Administering

I'd say you need to put a grasp on the English language.

[Giri @ Jul 6th 2006 11:54AM]

Verizon would be upgrading the speeds at no extra cost
They have already started the process. Parts of NY should already see the speed change
Those who have 5/2 would move to 10/2
Those who have 15/2 would move to 20/5
Those who have 30/5 would move to 50/5

[BigJ @ Jul 13th 2006 10:05AM]

Verizon is accepting orders in Kirkland and Bothell WA. Redmond is currently under construction

[Bryan @ Jul 23rd 2006 3:22PM]

I got 30/5 two days ago on Long Island, NY. A "Mr. Winkler" claimed over the phone the $50 would buy me 50/5 but everyone else at the company says that service costs $100. I have very few ways to use all this speed but speakeasy.net confirms it and the company set up all my computers correctly. The new Actiontec router is powerful as far as signal strength; better than my AirPort Extreme. In Japan you can get 100/100 for under $50.

[Jonathan @ Jul 27th 2006 12:59PM]

FiOS comes to WA. My next door neighbor had his FiOS installed on Tuesday. It seems he's the 16th FIOS installation in WA State. My installation happens tomorrow - so we're on the bleeding edge around here. We're both signed up for 15/2 service. We're getting the ActionTec MI-424-WR router - the signal actually comes in on Coax from the outside box, like cable modem. I'm not sure what this MoCa stuff is all about, but the installer was talking to my neighbor about FiOS moving to Coax-based in-home networking in the next year.

Right now, WA FiOS doesn't have TV service, but it should come along next year sometime.

Anyway, I loved DSL when I got it, but my 700kbps performance on DSL doesn't cut it anymore. I'm ready for FiOS!

[Hae @ Aug 15th 2006 11:30AM]

[Justin said]I currently pay 54.99 a month for the 30/5 option, and was told they would bump me to 45 meg down for free... so perhaps this will fall in the same price range :) :) :)

I'm in Leesburg, VA[/Justin said]
I live in Springfield, Virginia and have been using the 15/2 package for quite some time now rather than the 30/5 due to the significant price difference. User Justin, as well as a handful of others, said they were able to upgrade to the 30/5 for ten dollars more than the 15/2. How can I get this upgrade for similar pricing rather than the $180 / month?

[jason @ Sep 1st 2006 2:36PM]

i got the 50/5 line.. its fast, what else can i say. im a network admin and some of my GigE box's max out my connection, but i wish upload was faster... sigh. 50/20 would be dope. jdawg353 on aim pez

[Thomas @ Mar 5th 2007 10:32PM]

The reason why Verizon is rolling out 100Mbps routers is because FiOS has almost limitless possibilities with speed. We don't offer more than 30 right now because nobody else is, plus it will compete with our own T1 and T3 services which are much more expensive.