Verizon install from H**L!

[chenrikson]

Fortunately, this was not my experience, but a good friend has spent the past week trying to get a satisfactory install of VZ Triple Play. The install began last week as the installer found that the nearest fiber main line was 700 ft. up the hill from mt friend's house. In the pouring rain the installer tried first to run the line thru the woods, but then decided to run to the nearest pole and thence underground to the house. The next day the ONT was installed and a couple of the TV's hooked up. I should note that the install involved a HD/DVR and two of the small digital converter boxes as my friend doesn't have HDTV as yet. This picture quality was pretty bad, so the installer said someone would be out the following day at 12:30 with a meter to check the lines. 12:30 came and went and by mid afternoon my friend called VZ to see what was going on. Apparently no work order had been submitted - so another day down the drain. The following day another installer showed up and completed the wiring, but the picture quality on all three sets was "fuzzy", there is background noise on the phone, and the 25/25 internet speed is running about 23/23. After some experimenting with composite vs coax connections the next installer decided that composite was better so fastened 10' of composite cable to the back of one of the sets with cable ties -- and explained that Fios was far advanced over the sets my friend has so he shouldn't expect good picture quality. I note that he was switching from TWC and had very good picture quality from them. Yesterday another installer showed up who was supposed to have the correct meter to check signal levels. This person didn't have a meter at all, but said that all the lights in the ONT were green so all should be well. In the meantime my friend did a direct comparison of VZ vs TWC as he still has TWC hooked up. TWC has a clearer picture at this point. The background noise , and sometime static on the phone remains a problem and, the internet speed is still down somewhat. VZ has promised that a tech with the correct "Sunrise" meter will show up this afternoon to check things again. We shall see. I note that the several other installs I am familiar with have gone very well -- and hope that VZ can get this one set up properly. YMMV

[chenrikson]

To follow up. VZ installer "Dennis" showed up and went very carefully through the whole system. He replaced the small digital converter boxes with HD STB's and did some research on the phone problems. The net result is that the customer is now very happy with the Fios triple play package. Dennis, it seems was raised on this sort of thing as his father ran a satellite dish business just south of here and Dennis was raised on C-Band!. The moral of the story -- well nothing perhaps, but it is clear that the expertise of your installer can make a difference.