Verizon responds to Cablevision's Optimum Ultra service

By on Apr 30, 2009 at 9:10 AM
Services April 30, 2009

Honestly, we absolutely love it when a company ignores its instincts along with the onslaught of advice from its PR firm and talks, err, smack. Despite what some flacks may tell you, people want to hear it like it is and sometimes PR-ified nonsense does more harm than good. Then again, sometimes the opposite is true. Like this time, for instance. Verizon has publicly responded to Cablevision’s new $99 Optimum Ultra 101Mbps residential Internet service in much the same manner a preteen with a hand-me-down Sega Genesis would respond to one touting a brand new Xbox 360. If you’d like to forgo reading Verizon’s response, here are the key points found within:

  • Cablevision’s network is old.
  • Delivering 101Mbps is easy.
  • If a few people in the same neighborhood are heavy Ultra users, it will rip a hole in the space time continuum
  • People don’t want fast Internet service
  • Verizon can offer speeds waaaaaaay faster than 101Mbps — we just don’t want to
  • Optimum Ultra’s upstream is 15Mbps and we offer 20Mbps [in the $150/month package]
  • Most servers you hit on the Internet are way slower than 100 Mbps
  • Cablevision just wants bragging rights
  • Nanny nanny poo poo

While there is a valid point or two buried deep within the ‘we’re better but we choose not to be’ cries, the bottom line is that this was the wrong approach to take. Wrong. Verizon first contends that there is no demand for faster Internet service in the home, then concludes with the canned “the future is gonna be faaaaaast” claim. Well, Verizon, the future isn’t going to be fast unless service providers take incremental steps toward making it so.

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  • blah

    Man I miss NJ… best I can get down here in GA is Comcast or AT&T DSL, both of which are quite slow compared to what I used to get on OOL.

    Oh… I also miss the shore

  • Albert

    I switched to FIOS, had both it and optimum at the same time for awhile. I switched back to optimum. Optimum is faster and better in every way (I had the best FIOS package and optimum BOOST at the time). Every test I ran, optimum was faster, I didn’t get the advertised speed with FIOS, but I do with optimum.

  • Babylon9

    This sums it up – IT’S OPTIMUM, OR IT’S NOT.

  • Bob Plissken

    This sums it up in a nutshell…. its optimum, or it’s not.

  • BigEd

    There are no caps residential or buisness with Cablevision. FIOS is DSL. Now before anybody thinks that it is a put down let me explain. DSL was a good service provided over an existant aging copper infrastructure. FIOS is DSL running over Fiber. Hence delay, speed, and distance from the CO is now non-factor in receving good and fast service.

    For muy money I still prefer Cablevision but let C & V fight it out and let the consumers get the binifits!

  • Compair

    While I think that Verizon as a wireless provider is better than most. If I watched more tv than on the computer perhaps I would go for the fios since I do beleive that on that end they may actually have something over Optimum but as far as my internet, where my link to the world is I must admit that Optimum does take a substantial lead. I just did another spead test where my download was over 31mbps and my upload was over 5 mbps. Now I would go to the ultra but I dont think that there are alot of websites that could realy provide the services to support those speeds. I will wait a while and I will because I remember dial up too!

  • Bob Plissken

    Its Optimum… Or Its Not

    29.533 Mbs Down —- 5.122 Up

    Any Questions

  • http://pclab.pl Hugo

    Verizon is the worst ISP I ever had, dsl or fios, its useless and their support and technicians are ridiculous and if you like to spend hours on the phone just to find a quick answer go ahead, get verizon, they are the best in wasting your time….

  • Kritikal

    Verizon’s customer service is HORRID, I have friends that use FIOS and wish Optimum was available in their area. Good luck getting a static IP with their CHEAPEST plan for under $150. Optimum offers static IP with ALL their plans, up and downstream are both consistent with what they advertise, unlike FIOS. Verizon has to trash talk Optimum otherwise they lose 75%+ of their subscriber base in areas where they compete with Optimum. In every test imaginable, Optimum wins hands down. Only exception is upload speed (paying $70 more for 5mbit more upstream (20mbit $170 FIOS compared to 15mbit $99 Optimum), losing 61mbit downstream (40mbit $170 FIOS compared to 101mbit $99 Optimum)), nowhere near an even remotely reasonable trade-off.

    Optimum FTW!

  • Uri

    I have the optimum ultra and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I live in the city and trust me when I say, ultra will not give anywhere near 100 mbps on average. During business hours I get around 50 mbps and at night it can drop to 5-10 because the wiring shares the same cables as the TV service. Stay away from optimum online. I will be switching to the 50mbps verizon fios the second it is available.

    • chuck

      i work for cablevision, you might have a contention issue-meaning the channels that give you the internet service might have to high of a volume of usage in your area

  • Jesse

    I just got ultra, it’s so much faster than Fios, i average speed between 90-100mbps down and 14-15 up at all times…i have fios at home and its much slower…hence i just ordered ultra.

  • scott weber

    Verizon does not slow down when other users are on because it’s fiber optic cable actuall gives you a direct connect to the CO so you are not sharing the same connection with others. Each cable can hold many individual connections to the source. I have used both and Verizon is better.

  • vz blows acrosstheboard

    OPTIMUM OWNS, FIOS BLOWS.
    Firstly Verizon is the most evil teleco i have ever encountered that only spews BS lies and thrives on ppl being ignorant/uninformed. They make ppl think that just because fiber is in the house that means its better == BS. Modern cable infrastructure is mostly fiber, they only use coax from the pole/switchbox to ur house, that saves them and u money on running fiber into the premises which wouldnt add any benefits to the enduser or the cable company. Modern embedded signal processors are now fast enough to transmit data over copper as fast as most fiber implementations. The only advantage fiber has in this situation is that the cable can be longer without needing a repeater to boost the signal(less attenuation). which in the case of cable infrastructure is usually meaningless. So wats left, speed, price, and stability of the service. Since both infrastructures are mostly fiber, the stability is the same, and the speed/price are much much better from optimum. Verizon loves raping their customers. Both TV services offer the same quality HD service so that claim vz makes thats its the best quality, is yet again another lie. So in comparison of FIOS and OOL, only a retard picks FIOS if OOL is an available option.
    I also wanna mention how badely their wireless services are. They use oldschool cdma2000 technology, that in no way is able compete with the speed, quality, and availablity of gsm/umts/hsdpa. For some reason ppl think verizon has the best service, and I think that is due to BS advertisements, and retards trying to justify their expensive crappy phones/service. Also the phones they use are exclusive to them(totalcrap) or are manufacturer modified gsm phones made to work with cdma which are released months after the gsm versions hit the market. The latter are made poorly made cuz they use crappy cdma chips that are bigger and use more power which stresses the original(gsm) design of those phones resulting in inferior overall quality compared to their gsm counterparts.
    P.S. the security on the VZWireless network is a joke, a 10yr old with some skills can evesdrop on and/or hijack any phonecalls u make.
    P.P.S evesdropping/hijacking is also possible on gsm but is harder to achieve. Shh ;)

    F U VZ

  • VZ is Garbage

    OPTIMUM OWNS, FIOS BLOWS.
    Firstly Verizon is the most evil teleco i have ever encountered that only spews BS lies and thrives on ppl being ignorant/uninformed. They make ppl think that just because fiber is in the house that means its better == BS. Modern cable infrastructure is mostly fiber, they only use coax from the pole/switchbox to ur house, that saves them and u money on running fiber into the premises which wouldnt add any benefits to the enduser or the cable company. Modern embedded signal processors are now fast enough to transmit data over copper as fast as most fiber implementations. The only advantage fiber has in this situation is that the cable can be longer without needing a repeater to boost the signal(less attenuation). which in the case of cable infrastructure is usually meaningless. So wats left, speed, price, and stability of the service. Since both infrastructures are mostly fiber, the stability is the same, and the speed/price are much much better from optimum. Verizon loves raping their customers. Both TV services offer the same quality HD service so that claim vz makes thats its the best quality, is yet again another lie. So in comparison of FIOS and OOL, only a retard picks FIOS if OOL is an available option.
    I also wanna mention how badely their wireless services are. They use oldschool cdma2000 technology, that in no way is able compete with the speed, quality, and availablity of gsm/umts/hsdpa. For some reason ppl think verizon has the best service, and I think that is due to BS advertisements, and retards trying to justify their expensive crappy phones/service. Also the phones they use are exclusive to them(totalcrap) or are manufacturer modified gsm phones made to work with cdma which are released months after the gsm versions hit the market. The latter are made poorly made cuz they use crappy cdma chips that are bigger and use more power which stresses the original(gsm) design of those phones resulting in inferior overall quality compared to their gsm counterparts.
    P.S. the security on the VZWireless network is a joke, a 10yr old with some skills can evesdrop on and/or hijack any phonecalls u make.
    P.P.S evesdropping/hijacking is also possible on gsm but is harder to achieve. Shh ;)

    F U VZ, You Dirty SCUMBAGS

  • Eddie

    @Uri (guy claiming to have ultra in the city):
    I call a hearty BS. Time-Warner Cable services NYC, not Cablevision. But nice try. ;)

    • Mac

      Actually, Cablevision services the Bronx, Brooklyn and Long Island. TWC services Manhattan and Staten Island (and Queens, as far as I am aware).

      FiOS is actually not a bad service (I like the TV and the internet is fine for what I use at home) but it is just not work the extra cost, the lousy customer support, the contracts and the bogus taxes and fees.

      I worked in sales at Verizon, and they do not give a second thought to completely BSing people to sign them up. They lie about contracts, taxes, and everything else. They just don’t care. I work for Cablevision now, and would never go back to Verizon. I make more money, work with good people, and don’t have to lie my ass off to get sales.

  • DW

    I’m sorry but Optimum was awful. I mean, if you loved waiting 10 seconds for every HD channel to load then go ahead. How about the internet? Had issues every month and they kept sending technicians who didnt know what they were doing. FiOs picture is much clearer, our bill is 50 dollars cheaper with MORE than I had with Optimum AND the features are much nicer with FiOs. Optimum is the poor mans service, the only difference is the bill can be cheaper than Optimum. Oh also I love at around 6 pm when everyone is home from work the internet with Optimum would be insanely slow…Optimum is a joke.

  • DGVET

    NYC – Bronx Fios speeds 35mps/28mps, I switched after having Optonline since they started here, and I must admit no drop in speeds 24hrs a day. Oh and what the he’ll is news 12 the Bronx boring news, I’d rather watch C-SPAN.

  • dmac

    My cable bill (triple play) went up $50 more than a third of what it was! That is insane, what are my options??

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