Michael

I know about google gigabit but it has significantly limited coverage. Google often gets into things that aren't profitable but when you are talking about fiber, losses may be more than even Google can endure. It would be nice if Google was successful with it's system but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I'd be surprised if Google becomes a major player since AT&T went from a major player to being bought out by Southern Bell primarily due to the debt load with it's cable expansion (now Comcast) and Verizon's FIOS expansion has come to a near standstill.

Even with Provo giving Google their cable system, I can't quite figure out how they'll become profitable after upgrading the system and giving free internet service to all residents and gigabit service to different public instutions. Also I suspect Google has been installing their initial fiber in cities with above ground utilities and it'll likely become very costly when it has to be installed underground all the way to the home.

However without a major upgrade in the internet infrastructure, that is mostly wasted speeds.

Steve_

It's not just a competitor for TV though, obviously the internet is used for many other things too. I doubt it's going away any time soon. Ultra HD for example.

Funstuie

so can anyone recommend Xfinity (comcast) for internet and TV?

I want a high speed connection, NBC sports and NFL.

hungryhorace

Only if FIOS isn't in your area would I consider Comcast. I'd also chuck out their DVR and use TiVo.

phodg

I use DirecTV for TV and Comcast for phone/internet. My internet has been pretty much rock solid so far (about 2 years now).

Funstuie

TV is the big shocker for me. I want sports but I don't want 450 channels.

Anyway I am leaning towards Direct TV for TV (the house we have rented has a dish already) and Comcast for internet (mainly because right now there is no cap on data) but the data cap is going to be a real annoyance. How do people who download TV shows etc get round the caps?

Steve_

Comcast and Netflix have an agreement, which I personally think is illegal (as it violates net neutrality), so what people do is get Netflix.

Is there a data cap? I didn't think there was one.

Anyway, yet another nail in the coffin of cloud-based services imo. If any were needed. Why pay to download your own stuff that you uploaded when you can just keep it on a local HDD?

H Bomb

I am going top give slightly different answers to Bob. We moved from London to NYC last month.

1) We have an LG TV that we bought last year in the UK - was a £1500 TV and selling it would have lost a a big chunk only to have to buy another one here. If it says 50-60Hz 110-220v on the back you are good. However, we didn't have to pay to ship ours so I guess you need to take into account shipping costs if you are paying them.
2) Our apartment was set up with Verizon Fios - so it made getting them easier. We got the Ultimate package in 2 rooms - costs $180 (inc tax) ish / month (phone, TV and internet). You can watch every UK Premier League game (including Saturday 3pm KO) - some are on the TV but you can get all via the Fios app. And it is not like Sky where you can have SkyGo on only 2 devices - you can put it on as many as you want - so you can watch every game at the same time. It's a total sports overdose!
If you are an Arsenal fan - I can recommend some great pubs too!
3) No idea

hungryhorace

You pay $180 for FIOS each month? Wow, you are being massively ripped off. What TV could you possibly hope to watch here that is remotely worth paying for apart from the football? We pay $100pcm for 75/75/phone line/medium TV package (includes NBC sports).

To watch the football on your tablet, don't bother with the god awful FIOS app, use the app from NBC Sports which is far better.

Also: spending 1500 GBP on an LG TV is insane. You could have bought a top of the range Panasonic Plasma for that.

Jerseygirl

That's more or less what we paid for Verizon FIOS when we lived NJ. We pay around $220 per month now in Toronto for a crap TV service, slow internet speeds and a land line. We wouldn't bother with the land line but it was more or less free with the other 2 services.

H Bomb

We compared prices to TWC, but Fios worked out cheaper. And we had TWC in our temp apartment and it was a load of crap!
I am a big NFL fan - so wanted access to NFL Network and Redzone. Also wanted movie channels and HBO. Was surprised you have to actually rent the boxes here.
Works out the same as what we paid for Sky in the UK sop didnt quibble too much - and we have the option to drop channels if we wish.

hungryhorace

Well avoided re TWC. FIOS is the best solution available IMO. Isn't the box rental a joke? It's just another profit maximiser for them. I bought a TiVO for $99 and bought a lifetime sub when one of their $399 offers came through.

hungryhorace

$220? *gulp*

Bob

I wouldn't go that far...their app is a bag of wank too.

hungryhorace

Well, I did think after I posted that, but I reasoned that the FIOS app was even worse