Verizon is rolling out FiOS in markets all over the country. FiOS is the “SM” (service mark) name for a suite of services involving Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) with which Verizon is going head to head with cable companies and other providers. They are bringing a passive fiber optic network to the each and every house in their footprint. This very high speed network provides digital phone service, high speed Internet, and yes, eventually cable TV. The roll out is expected to take five to eight years to complete.

Why should you care? Well for one thing the connections to the Internet are being offered in 5bps (downstream)/2bps (upstream), 15bps/2bps, and 30bps/5bps to start. Faster speeds than most cable and DSL offerings. Especially on the upload speeds. Most cable companies use fiber, but only to the neighborhood, not to the house. Their network is a “shared” bandwidth among their users. Verizon pricing and bundling of services will be compelling to many looking for competition to cable. FiOS will also integrate tighter between telephone, Internet access, and TV. Verizon is making these installs a “high touch” and personal customer experience. Unlike what they did with DSL.

Verizon installs a ONT (Optical Network Terminal) box at the premises. Fiber optic drop is connected to Verizon services and replaces the copper connections from a soon to be gone era. The one fiber connection will supply all the voice, Internet and video you will need. The standard ONT has 4 telephone ports, one Ethernet port, and one cable TV port that connects to the cabling in the home. Twisted copper pair for voice, Cat 5 for Ethernet, and RG6 for video is utilized within the home. In some cases the existing copper cabling in the home will not need to be replaced. Verizon is replacing whatever cabling is needed in the home as part of the FiOS install. Verizon supplies a router and supports multiple networked computers. Of course adding WiFi is easy by adding an Apple Airport or any other wireless access point or router.

Macintosh users should be happy to know that Verizon is supporting their needs as well. Even though the message does get a bit murky at times. I have read on some websites that FiOS is not supported on Macintosh OS X. I have also read that FiOS runs slower on OS X. I am happy to report, neither is true. In fact, I have seen first hand that FiOS is actually easier to install on OS X! Once they migrate your service to FiOS. You simply connect the Ethernet cable from the provided D-Link router to the Macintosh and you are done. No restart required. No software to load. Of course you can use your own router in most cases.

If you ask a Verizon FiOS installer what is the biggest problem getting FiOS running. You would probably be told Windows! Let’s face it putting an Ethernet card into a Windows machine can be a pain. Especially for Windows 95, 98, and ME. The network setup is also a pain… reboot, reboot, sound familiar. Sometimes the most time spent by Verizon technicians is getting the customers Windows machine to network.

As far as the reported speed issues. OS X runs at the same speed as any Windows machine on FiOS. The OS and machine have little to do the FiOS Internet speed. Seems the erroneous reports on some websites were due to incompatible Java based speed tests giving inaccurate readings. I have tested Macintosh OS X on FiOS and can confirm there are no problems with speeds being provided by Verizon FiOS.

What also makes it a bit murky for Macintosh users is the software Verizon wants to install on the customer’s computer. The software includes MSN which is not at compatible with Macintosh OS X. Is that a surprise to any Macintosh user? I bet not. MSN is the Microsoft Network is it not? Although MSN IM is Macintosh compatible, the full software is not. This may be a plus, in my opinion, as the software that Verizon FiOS wants to install is a bit invasive. It installs itself all over the Windows machine and adds Verizon logo, MSN software, changes IE settings, adds toolbars, etc. Many FiOS customers have chose NOT to install it on their Windows machine. How many of us know someone that has added broadband to their home or business and STILL either have AOL installed or worse yet STILL pay for the full AOL subscription! This software is not needed at all and is mostly marketing.

Macintosh users may end up being Verizon FiOS early adoptors. As many of them are creative profesionals working in print, video, audio, and media. They need to move large files around and sometimes work from home or remote offices. Who better can benefit from high speed connections at competitive prices? So Macintosh OS X users should not be afraid to try Verizon FiOS. Macs work just fine with FiOS.

This is a bit like the myth with Verizon Wireless EVDO air card using a PC card over the cell network for mobile road warriors. I have read early on, that the service did not work on a PowerBook running OS X. When in fact it actually installs and works easier than a Windows machine. You simply plug in the card and with two mouse clicks you are connected and browsing. No software to load! I use the Verizon supplied PC 5220 air card daily on my PowerBook. As do some of my colleagues. Not having to search for “hot-spots” anymore to connect to broadband is wonderful. It works rather well as long as you are in their broadband network footprint. I web conference, VPN, browse, use Skype, get email, and watch streaming video over the EVDO network regularly. Some auto manufacturers are also testing EVDO for factory installed GPS and computing in cars.

The misinformation regarding Macintosh OS X and support is as always frustrating. This goes to what to an old saying in the Macintosh community. Is that it is “easy to use a Mac, but sometimes hard to be a Mac user!” I am happy to get the truth out here. What I describe here is from real world experiences and my own observations and testing.

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