connecting fios to my PC

If one has FIOS or some other fiber-optic phone/internet service, what connects the FIOS box on the wall outside with the FIOS router (or whatever) next to the computer and the inside phone line?

Is it Cat-5,6? Fiber-optic cable? 4-conductor phone line like has been used for 80 years (and before that maybe 3-conductor), usually round and white? If I use Cat-6 will it work better?

Reply to
micky
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My fiber line runs underground to my house - then the conduit rises above grade and into my house to a fiber-box < ONT > in my basement utility room. The ONT looks similar to the one in this thread :

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The fiber connection into this device is done by the service tech. I have one phone line out ; one Cat 6 to my internet router on the main floor ; and one Cat 6 to my TV box. The service provider included a battery back-up, at no cost, so the telephone only will continue to function after a power failure - for emergency calls or to phone the power company. I like the small local provider very much ; the speed and bundle pricing is quite good. John T.

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Reply to
hubops

Your phone will work as long as there is power to the concentrator up the street and all the others until it gets to the central office, as long as they have power. For all practical purposes there is no POTS anymore, powered by a big battery in the central office. Even old style copper wired phones are still slaves to line powered equipment along the way.

Reply to
gfretwell
[snip]

Yes, those batteries at the local "concentrator" (term used a bit loosely and expansively) will keep your pseudo-POTS line working during a power failure. For an hour or two or maybe five.

But that's it.

In the Good Old Daize, the Central Offices _all_ [a] worked off floating batteries with generator backup. If the utility power went out, the generators kickedin and typically had a multi day, or longer, fuel supply.

[a] yeah, there's probably that exception somewhere.

I recall, back in the days of One Bell System, It worked [tm], checking their daily telephone "newswire", voiced by Helen Banks and Marion Marshall. Nice little puffery piece.

Anyway... there was one of those multi state heavy duty ice storms which knocled out power for a _large_ area.

I remember her saying (number for illustration) that of the hundred and twelve CO's in the blackout zone, one hundred and eleven were operating ok on emergency backup power...

(And the other would be fixed in a couple of hours).

Reply to
danny burstein

I agree, it depends on the size of the batteries. But the telcos were not shy about having large batteries either, the installed base has been deployed for 40 years when reliability was a primary concern, so I'd suspect it's more at the longer end of your time range or beyond. If it wasn't there would be a lot of people complaining for decades about losing phone service during power outages. I've lived in quite a few different places and never recall losing phone service on the switched phone system during any power outages.

I agree that it's not long duration, like having a generator at the central office. But it's also not like you lose your POTS phone during the typical power outage that lasts a few hours either. Fretwell has a valid point, that even copper for many people probably won't last a long time if they are not direct into a CO. And unless you have experience with power outages of varying lengths, you really don't know how long it will last. I got rid of my copper, VOIP and cell works for me.

Reply to
trader_4

I have Comcast triple play which includes computer, VoIP and TV. I also have a FIOS connected phone line that I use for business which is treated like a land line and I assume if I wanted to connect to a computer and use internet that a tech would come out with a modem and router.

A consulting client pays for the business phone but I will ditch it when I quit consulting. It is billed like a land line, requiring extra long distance service and even extra to get things like call block and caller id.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

My area's fiber connection is less than 2 years old and hasn't been tested by a long power outage yet .. but our minimum power outages are in the 3 - 4 hour range so I suspect that the upstream fiber back-up is much more robust than the provided home UPS < up to 8 hours > although I'm not keen to find out ! John T.

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Reply to
hubops

I get 10mb DSL over copper here and that seems to be good enough, certainly better than "advertised" 50mb from Comcast that is down all the time. The box that converts copper to fiber is about a half mile away.

Reply to
gfretwell

It is and I do know.

Correct, that had copper back to the central office with no concentrators alone the way and nothing to power.

Correct.

Yes.

We don’t give them that choice. When the area has fibre to the home added, or VDSL2, the copper connection back to the central office is disconnected and the copper will eventually get ripped out.

Reply to
Rod Speed

We essentially do that but only way to succeed completely is to cancel them and come back as my neighbor does. Too much aggravation for us senior.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

It was negotiated by our eldest son. First thing he did was tell them we were going to quit and went from there. I think another son pays $240 for same deal and I'm sure some negotiation was required.

The most annoying thing is having to fight big increases when initial deal runs out. I equate it to buying a car with a fixed monthly payment for the first year and not knowing what payments will be thereafter.

When FIOS came to my house Verizon made a tremendous effort to get me to take full service beyond phone. There were the phone calls, the letters and people knocking at the door. They gave me a terrific 3 year offer and I told them I would accept it if I got it for life.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

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