Well, I canceled FiOS. Ultimately the download speeds were 6 MB/sec slower than Comcast cable and upload speeds were 6 MB/sec faster. For running a server or VPN or getting files off your computer the upload speed is more important but for everything else the download speed is. I had some fancy screenshots of various tests but have since misplaced them so you'll have to deal with the text version.
FiOS Download speed: Consistant 25 MB/sec (rated at 25)
Comcast Download speed: Consistant 30 MB/sec
FiOS Upload speed: Inconsistant 2-20 MB/sec (rated at 15)
Comcast Upload speed: Inconsistant 2-8 MB/sec
Verizon gives you more upload speed but then kills any chance that you'll ever use it by blocking port 80. Thanks guys. The workarounds like using zoneedit to do a web forward were all slow and hackish. If someone clicked on grantmcwilliams.com what appeared in their browser URL bar was grantmcwilliams.com:8080 which isn't very pretty. I might have lived with it had it been fast but it wasn't.
So there were several strikes against Verizon and their FiOS.
- Port 80 is blocked
- Upload speeds not as fast as advertised 80% of the time
- Couldn't move the router between ports like I was promised
- I had to use their router and change my bridged wireless network configuration
- Cost $120 more a year than the same speed of service from Comcast
- They're Verizon
As soon as I canceled my FiOS I got an automated call that said my service was scheduled for disconnect and I needed to pay. Coincedence? Maybe, see number 6.