Verizon DSL or Optimum online

[djessop]

I am starting out using Express Scribe and need to get high speed internet. Currently, I have dial up access and it takes about 30 minutes to download 2 dictations. Which is better, Verizon DSL or Opt Online. I know Opt online is $10.00 more expensive and would like to save the cash if possible. Your feedback is appreciated. By the way I'm on Long Island, New York.

[krnotley]

I am starting out using Express Scribe and need to get high speed internet. Currently, I have dial up access and it takes about 30 minutes to download 2 dictations. Which is better, Verizon DSL or Opt Online. I know Opt online is $10.00 more expensive and would like to save the cash if possible. Your feedback is appreciated. By the way I'm on Long Island, New York.

We had Verizon DSL for a long time even though we were well outside the distance to the central office. Nonetheless--and I've had BIG fights with Verizon about our regular phone service--the DSL worked quite well. We've switched over to Verizon Fios (fiber optic), which costs less and is 5mb down, 1.5 up. The downside with Fiber, or was when we signed up, is that Verizon forces you to put your regular phone on their fiber optic cable, which doesn't function if the power goes out. They put a 4 or 8 hour battery on the phone to keep it up for that long, but if you have a serious storm, you either have to get lots more batteries (we did), or rely on being able to recharge your cell from another battery, such as your car. I don't know about Opt Online, but I do recommend Verizon Fios for internet. Good luck.

[djessop]

Thanks for the feedback. Do you mind me asking why you switched from DSL for FIOS? How long does a dictation take to download with DSL? I know DSL costs 14.99 per month. We don't do alot of cyber surfing, we are mostly interested in receiving the dictations in a reasonable amount of time. Thanks!

 

Des-

 

 

We had Verizon DSL for a long time even though we were well outside the distance to the central office. Nonetheless--and I've had BIG fights with Verizon about our regular phone service--the DSL worked quite well. We've switched over to Verizon Fios (fiber optic), which costs less and is 5mb down, 1.5 up. The downside with Fiber, or was when we signed up, is that Verizon forces you to put your regular phone on their fiber optic cable, which doesn't function if the power goes out. They put a 4 or 8 hour battery on the phone to keep it up for that long, but if you have a serious storm, you either have to get lots more batteries (we did), or rely on being able to recharge your cell from another battery, such as your car. I don't know about Opt Online, but I do recommend Verizon Fios for internet. Good luck.

[krnotley]

Thanks for the feedback. Do you mind me asking why you switched from DSL for FIOS? How long does a dictation take to download with DSL? I know DSL costs 14.99 per month. We don't do alot of cyber surfing, we are mostly interested in receiving the dictations in a reasonable amount of time. Thanks!

 

Des-

Hi Des,

 

FIOS is a DSL or broadband but it uses fiber optic cable which has a far, far greater bandwidth than copper coaxial cable (what we used to call "phone lines"). FIOS' slowest speed is 5Mbps download/1.5 Mpbs upload, whereas with the old DSL that came over the phone line--i.e. coaxial cable--our maximum download was 768 kpbs. In other words, the cheapest FIOS that Verizon offers is comparable in quality to a T1 line.

 

I regularly download audios in the tens of MB within 5 minutes or less, and can download hundreds of MB in 10 or 15 minutes. I believe the price you quoted for DSL is comparable to what Verizon is offering for FIOS, but that's for residential, not business.

 

Verizon's main reason for wiring up everything with fiber optic is to sell FIOS TV in competition with cable TV, which is still on coax. The fiber optic DSL service is secondary, and designed to attract TV customers. But because that's their aim, their focus is wiring up the suburbs, and they're much slower to put fiber optic in commercial areas. I would definitely go with fiber optic, whether it's Verizon's FIOS, or another company buying bandwidth from Verizon and reselling it under their brand, that's your choice. Good luck.

[djessop]

Hi,

 

Thanks so much for your comments. It me alot to decide which way to go. This is a great forum for ES users!

 

Des-

 

Hi Des,

 

FIOS is a DSL or broadband but it uses fiber optic cable which has a far, far greater bandwidth than copper coaxial cable (what we used to call "phone lines"). FIOS' slowest speed is 5Mbps download/1.5 Mpbs upload, whereas with the old DSL that came over the phone line--i.e. coaxial cable--our maximum download was 768 kpbs. In other words, the cheapest FIOS that Verizon offers is comparable in quality to a T1 line.

 

I regularly download audios in the tens of MB within 5 minutes or less, and can download hundreds of MB in 10 or 15 minutes. I believe the price you quoted for DSL is comparable to what Verizon is offering for FIOS, but that's for residential, not business.

 

Verizon's main reason for wiring up everything with fiber optic is to sell FIOS TV in competition with cable TV, which is still on coax. The fiber optic DSL service is secondary, and designed to attract TV customers. But because that's their aim, their focus is wiring up the suburbs, and they're much slower to put fiber optic in commercial areas. I would definitely go with fiber optic, whether it's Verizon's FIOS, or another company buying bandwidth from Verizon and reselling it under their brand, that's your choice. Good luck.