There are several different ways to receive your high speed Internet, television and telephone signals. There are many more companies around fighting to obtain your custom. Among them is the fairly new branch of one of the older providers in the United States. This is Verizon FiOS.

FiOS History

Verizon is the “parent” company of Verizon FiOS. Verizon emerged in 1983 as Bell Atlantic. When Bell Atlantic made a merger with GTE Company in 2000, the result was Verizon. Verizon FiOS grew out of the company’s exploration of and decision to implement optic fiber technology as an integral part of the delivery system. In 2009, 3.1 million clients chose to use Verizon FiOS with 2.0 million electing for Verizon FiOS television.

The Use Of Fiber Optic Technology

Verizon FiOS does not rely on traditional cables to transmit its data. Instead, it uses fiber optic technology. Fiber optics offers optimal bandwidth and decreases various types of interference, including that created by weather disturbances. The glass wires tend to be thinner and lighter, but need extra fortification to strengthen them for outdoor and underground employment.
The use of fiber optic technology has found favor because it is digital rather than analogue. It is, however, labor intensive. Verizon FiOS is slowly expanding their market by replacing the old technology with the new, using union labor. During the replacement and addition, Verizon FiOS is employing a 100% fiber optic system.

Company Products and Services

To bundle or not to bundle, that is the question. Do I want to try to save money and pay a single bill, or do I wish to mix-and-match and spread my wealth around? With Verizon FiOS, you have a choice. You can do either. You can even opt for 2 and not 3 of the products offered by Verizon FiOS.
Verizon FiOS does encourage bundling. There are usually special offers on the “package” deals. These are Verizon FiOS Triple Play or Verizon FiOS Double Play. The former provides you with the Big Three: high-speed Internet, HD television and telephone. Prices range in accordance with the specific packages you want. It can be the usual basic or you can add more features.
This same applies for television, Internet and telephone. For example, if you want, you can add Verizon FiOS Security Suite to heighten the security against viruses, phishing, etc. This will cost extra as will opting for more movies for your television or such telephone features as unlimited calling. If you wish to save money, check for bargains but be wary. Verizon FiOS will lock you in for a year, sometimes alter the rate for a product or service after 6 months and then even double the cost in the coming years.

Conclusion

Verizon FiOS is working on expanding its move into digital TV and fiber optic technology. The expansion is slow, but eventually, it will take over all aspects of the delivery system across the United States and elsewhere. Verizon FiOS will need to offer inexpensive rates if it wishes to compete with other digital companies, both local and those who have national dreams such as Comcast XFINITY. We discussed that a bit in our previous post Vonage vs. Comcast XFINITY. Besides this, there is also AT&T Uverse which is another competitor n fiber optic field.

After doing a research on Vonage vs Comcast xFinity and writing a post about it, I also conducted a quick research in order to compare Vonage and AT&T Uverse voice services. Here is what I found.

Vonage vs. AT&T Uverse VoIP

Vonage vs. AT&T U-verse Voice is a tricky battle as both services offer great features. When I was researching new phone services, I found that Vonage had the best features and the best quality. But there were a lot of details I had to sort through in order to find that Vonage was the right service for me.

There are a lot of differences between Vonage vs. AT&T Uverse voice. Some of these are the service plans. Vonage has four residential service plans. First one is Vonage World offering unlimited calling, both locally and long distance, plus unlimited calling to other countries like Canada, India, Mexico, totaling in over 60 other countries like France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Japan and China. The second one is Vonage Basic 500 Minutes plan which is limited to 500 minutes of local and long distance with no international calling included (you can still make international calls at very low rates). The third plan is Vonage Pro which includes 5 international destinations (Italy, France, Spain, United Kingdom, and Ireland), and Vonage Companion which is a software which you install onto your computer and use it just as you use your phone. This is great for those that travel. Finally, the fourth plan is Vonage Lite which is really light as it comes with 200 minutes of local and long distance calling only. It also comes without Unlimited 411 Directory Assistance which is the part of all other Vonage calling plans.

Vonage also offers a readable voicemail feature that provides the customer with access to his or her voicemails through text message or email. This is especially helpful if you want to check your voicemail in a crowded place and couldn’t hear the voicemail. The standard features are similar to those of AT&T U-verse Voice, where there are services like call forwarding, caller ID, call block, call wait9ing and 3-way calling. You can also keep your existing number with Vonage, and you get 411 access (except with Vonage Lite). All of this is for a very low price, starting at just $9.99 for Vonage lite (online only), and $17.99 for Vonage Basic. Vonage World starts at $14.99 for the first three months, while regular price is $25.99. Vonage Pro is $34.99 per month. All plan prices exclude taxes and other charges that may be applicable in different states. You get to choose your equipment, too, and install it yourself, making it an easy and customized transition from your old phone service. You still use your regular phone which you plug into Vonage router. AT&T Uverse Voice can’t really be used as a stand alone service, but would require at least AT&T Uverse high speed Internet service.

The Vonage vs. AT&T U-verse Voice battle continues with the features of AT&T U-verse voice. One of their features is called click to call, which is a feature where you can see your missed calls and return them from your AT&T TV service. The problem with this is that everyone can see your call history and calls on the TV.

Like Vonage, you can control your phone service account online. This is helpful because both phone services allow for access to phone accounts from any computer. Also, AT&T offers the ability to check messages from both AT&T wireless service and AT&T U-verse voice plans from home and from any computer.

Now, the quality of both AT&T U-verse and Vonage voice comes into question. This cannot be commented on much without actually using both first. From what I could find on various forums, some people found that Vonage had much better call quality while others made that statement for Uverse VoIP. I guess if you are new to both, you may want to check the terms of service and see if any contract is involved, and then go by the price. That will make it less painful if you have to get out from it and go with other phone service provider.

The conclusion is that with both services there are basic and advances features, AT&T offers separate international rates, however, and this can be added on top of the $30.00 per month service plan fee. So from the price perspective, Vonage wins this Vonage vs. AT&T U-verse voice contest as it offered a cheaper service plan. If you’re only after a cheap yet full of calling features phone service, plus if you call any of over 60 countries included into Vonage World plan, you’re definitely a candidate for Vonage.

On the other side, if you are also after a fast high speed Internet, plus a TV service with advanced on screen and DVR features, and a lot more, then you should consider AT&T Uverse.

Vonage is a phone service that provides easy connection to family and friends through a phone network that relies on the Internet. It uses a method of phone connection called voice over internet protocol (VoIP). This means that phone calls are transmitted over the internet to the person who is receiving the phone call. It is not necessary for both parties to have Vonage for this to work. The only things that the Vonage customer needs are a high-speed Internet access – like cable or DSL – a touch tone phone, a US or Puerto Rico billing and shipping address, and a Vonage phone adapter.

Many think that Vonage provides the best in VoIP phone service. The connection is terrific and it doesn’t sound any different than a phone line. Vonage is very easy to set up. Connect the adapter (router) to the Internet, plug in your phone and it is ready to go. Also many think that the price of Vonage is not only competitive with other phone services, but is actually better than some phone services, including service from the old-fashioned phone companies (landline phone). While people search for a new phone service, after they had gotten tired of expensive bills from the existing phone company, they find providers like Vonage but get a little intimidated. It seems too good to be true.

Could you really just plug in your phone to make it work over the Internet? The answer is yes, it is that easy.
The most popular plan among all Vonage calling plans is Vonage World. This plan is fully packed with calling features and includes over 60 countries worldwide without extra charge.
With Vonage World people find a lot of other great features. With Vonage World, you can call anyone in the US, Mexico, India, and Canada, plus 60 other countries, like China, the United Kingdom, Japan and France. You also get unlimited calls, incoming and outbound, to all 60 countries.

The cheapest plan, called Vonage Lite, offers standard features like caller ID, call waiting, call transferring, voicemail, and a lot more. Vonage Lite, as opposed to Vonage World, offers 200 minutes of outbound calling to anywhere in the US, Canada or Puerto Rico (rates for international calling apply). It also offers unlimited Vonage to Vonage calls, when you call another Vonage user.

You can also get Visual Voicemail. With Vonage World comes visual voicemail which is a service that takes voicemails and transcribes them into text messages or emails, then sends you the messages. This is great for people that work in a noisy office and can often not hear their voicemails when they check them.

When you switch to Vonage you get to keep your existing phone number when you join. This is applicable not only to the Vonage World plan, but any Vonage phone service plan. 411 directory assistance also comes in the Vonage World plan. People that make a lot of international phone callas are especially happy with making decision to get Vonage World plan.
The only backdraw that some may experience is the lower quality if their Internet connection is not good. Also, Vonage 911 calling does not work as a standard 911.