Can you beat Verizon?

[glatt]

So I'm reading the contract for the FIOS, and in the section where I promise I won't be a spammer or kiddie porn guy, it says "it is a violation of the agreement and this AUP to: ... post off-topic information on message boards, chat rooms or social networking sites." Uh-oh.

[HungLikeJesus]

Yeah, we'll be watching you.

[lookout123]

Why did a container cost more than the Cola inside? Massive profits because the 'not monopolies' could set excessively high profit margins.

Because the company paid for the advertising that put their product in front of people. People chose to buy the product to the point of brand loyalty. Because people received value for their money and were satisfied in doing so.

The soft drink industry might not be the best comparison TW.

[HungLikeJesus]

Yeah, now I'm thirsty.

[skysidhe]

Originally Posted by glatt

Crap. They answered it. But it took them like 16 minutes.

What is annoying is to get someone new who reads through the handbook.

I find that esp when it comes to computer help.


So how is Verison as a carrier over all? The family plans are more expensive than T Moble and AT&T also ,AT&T does not seem to have much of a coverage area.

[glatt]

Got the FIOS installed on Tuesday. Went very smoothly. The installation looks neat and professional. I must say, the bump up in speed from our temporary dial-up to fiber optic speed leaves me breathless. My parents were visiting, and had their laptop. With the wireless transmitter located in the basement, they had an extremely strong signal everywhere in the entire house. I'm quite pleased.

I've been on vacation the last week, and haven't checked the Cellar. There are 179 threads with new posts, and today promises to be busy at work. It will take a week to catch up.

[tw]

Originally Posted by glatt

Got the FIOS installed on Tuesday. Went very smoothly.

Describe what boxes you got and where they are installled? Was any of this installation outside? How was it mounted? Does the internet modem have Wifi, ethernet wires, and a connection to other boxes with a coax cable? Or does the wifi and ethernet router get connected by ethernet (RJ-45) connection? What did they provide as a UPS? Something separate?

As noted before, I have seen many variations of FIOS. Just wondering how many more are out there?

[glatt]

The fiber optic cable goes from the telephone pole at the end of my driveway through the air to the side of my house. It uses the same wall anchor that the original copper phone service uses. It drops down next to the original service box outside, and comes into the basement through the original service hole (which had been cleared of the original copper wires.) Inside, there is one large box mounted to the wall. The fiber terminates in there. There is a battery backup in that box. Coming out of that box are a phone line, a coaxial internet cable, a ground wire, and a power cord. The phone line goes to the original phone mounting junction located at a nearby joist and connects to all the phones in the house. The coaxial cable goes to a separate wireless router supplied by Verizon. This router has 4 Ethernet ports, and I've got two of them used by cat5 and cat6 I fished upstairs for the current computer location and also a future computer location. My father tested the wireless signal with his laptop, and it's very strong throughout the entire house. The power cord plugs into a compact surge protector that is plugged into a new GFCI outlet I installed. The previously mentioned ground wire is clamped to a nearby pipe that goes from our boiler to an upstairs radiator. (I think, but am not certain, that this constitutes a good ground, because metal pipes appear to be used continuously from the water service entrance to the boiler and then to this radiator pipe. They are also tied in to the gas pipes and the electrical panel ground.)

I can post a picture if you are interested.

I find the ground wire curious. I'm not sure what they are grounding. It must be the phones in the house, but I think that system is already grounded from the phone junction on the joist. The electrical system is already grounded. And the fiber optic cable is not conductive.

[tw]

Originally Posted by glatt

The coaxial cable goes to a separate wireless router supplied by Verizon. ... The previously mentioned ground wire is clamped to a nearby pipe that goes from our boiler to an upstairs radiator.

That seems to be the more common installations. Earlier installations put that FIOS to copper interface box outside the house.

That ground wire is improperly connected. Grounding to any pipes is no longer acceptable - a code violation. A ground wire must attach to the same rod that also services or served the AC electric box, cable, and old phone ground.

No longer acceptable is dumping electricity into any pipe. Any ground connection to pipes is only to remove fault currents from those pipes. The connection to existing AC electric ground must be via a dedicated wire; not through pipes.

Anything that can conduct electricity must be safety grounded which is one reason why FIOS boxes have a dedicated safety ground wire.

No cable TV on the FIOS installation?

For convenience, write the WiFi broadcast name and WEP code on a sticky label located near the assembly where that information is easily read without moving any boxes.

This sounds like the new FIOS standard hardware. No longer see new installations with the FIOS interface modem outside the house.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by tw

No cable TV on the FIOS installation?

Nope. Not for us. We have a rooftop antenna.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by tw

Grounding to any pipes is no longer acceptable - a code violation. A ground wire must attach to the same rod that also services or served the AC electric box, cable, and old phone ground.

Yeah. It's weird. I need to take another look at it. I'm not sure why it's grounded in the first place. It's also plugged into a grounded outlet with (I think) a 3 prong plug.

[classicman]

tw - why would they put it outside if they can do it inside? The nema enclosures are so much more expensive and having the connections internal seems to be smarter anyway.

My neighbor had FIOS installed about 3 months ago, but the box is on the outside (front too) of the house. OH and the cheapest green "clay" blocks the moisture from entering the box. It looks terrible and doesn't really seal the whole in the bottom of the box either.
I haven't done that type of work in 20 years and I easily could have done a better job than that.

[Undertoad]

We've been experiencing the first problem with FIOS.... slow DNS.

I've switched us to OpenDNS.

[tw]

Originally Posted by classicman

tw - why would they put it outside if they can do it inside? ... OH and the cheapest green "clay" blocks the moisture from entering the box.

Outside for same reasons that a POTS (conventional telephone) NID, AC electric meter, gas meter and shutoff, etc are also outside. For example, service performed without anyone being home.

Electrical clay is perfectly good moisture protection. Normally, electrical clay is black. Clay is rarely applied 'pretty'. A better clay seal is a lump to make a moisture resistant barrier.

Of course, better installations also use a drip loop before entering a box or building.

[tw]

Originally Posted by glatt

I'm not sure why it's grounded in the first place. It's also plugged into a grounded outlet with (I think) a 3 prong plug.

If AC plug is removed, the box has no safety ground. A failure in TV isolation (for example) could result in a hot box. The earth ground may also serve other functions such as RFI reduction, transient protection, etc. Devices that are not moveable traditionally also have dedicated safety grounds. One could argue it both ways. But simpler and safer is to dedicate that ground - that may also be earthing a ground separate from the receptacle safety ground.