Fiber-Optic Cable

Verizon FIOS is best, but expensive

Verizon's fiber-optic cable Internet service, called FiOS, has been topping the survey charts for both connection speed and overall customer satisfaction. The service relies on a dedicated fiber-optic cable system that's quite expensive to install. Rollout of the service is thus gradual and only within Verizon's 30-state service area.

If it becomes available in your area, and you want the fastest Internet connection available, reviewers at PC Magazine, PC World and others suggest snapping it up. Speeds start where cable and DSL usually leave off, at 10 Mbps (*est. $50 per month). You can get much faster speeds for accordingly higher prices -- 20 Mbps (*est. $60 per month) or 50 Mbps (*est. $145 per month). Uploading time is also much faster, ranging from 2 to 20 Mbps. Experts say the same fiber-optic network could support speeds up to 100 Mbps -- as has been tested in Sweden -- but this speed isn't offered in the U.S. yet.

The FiOS network can also carry digital TV, and available Verizon bundles can include a landline phone and/or a wireless plan. We did find a few complaints about Verizon FiOS bundles at Consumer Reports' Electronics blog -- mostly about delays in installation or repair. The complaints aren't limited to FiOS or Verizon, however; bundling seems to complicate contracts and installation of all the services.

Fiber optic isn't limited to Verizon, but Verizon is implementing it differently than other carriers, running it all the way to each house. Speakeasy DSL, discussed earlier, also uses a dedicated fiber-optic network, but not to each house. AT&T's fiber-optic cable network, called U-verse, reaches all the way to the house in new housing developments, but in other areas just to a neighborhood interface box. From there, copper wire runs to each house. It's not surprising that Verizon dominates the fiber-optic Internet provider market, with 90 percent of the market share.

AT&T's U-verse service is available mostly in the former BellSouth area. Download speed is currently capped at 18 Mbps (*est. $65 plus a TV package) -- much lower than the maximum speed of Verizon's FiOS. The U-verse bundles emphasize TV, offering the ability to record one TV program while watching another. Another option is to add digital phone (VoIP). Overall, though, reviews recommend the Verizon FiOS plan if it's available in your area.