FIOS on Htrea

[fauxklore]

For the most part, I like having FIOS (fiber to the home) for the speed and quality of the internet service. The phone service is more problematic, but acceptable. But every now and then, the service goes out, with a busy signal on the phone line and no (or very very slow) internet connectivity. Usually, this fixes itself within an hour or so. But it was out when I got home Monday and still out when I got up Tuesday morning, so I called Verizon.

I had to make my way through the typical annoying phone tree. Their automated tests claimed a problem with my battery backup. So, when I finally talked to a human, she insisted the problem was that I didn't have power. Except that, of course, not only did I have power, I had not had even a momentary outage. (I can tell because the clock on my oven is very sensitive to power outages and was not flashing.) She insisted that I must have tripped a circuit breaker. I checked the circuit breakers and none were tripped. She then decided the problem was with a battery backup unit and I asked where it was. She said it would be in my basement or garage. Having neither a basement nor a garage (well, I have a spot in the complex garage), this was not exactly a satisfactory answer. She would not believe that I have a condo in a complex that was wired for FIOS before I moved in.

Anyway, I had to leave (with the problem unresolved). When I got home, I asked the condo management office where the battery backup is. They didn't know, but told me two of my neighbors were also having FIOS problems and called Verizon. And when I got back from the evening event I was going to, my service was back.

But I am convinced that Verizon has subcontracted their customer services to a call center on Htrea, the Bizarro world from the Superman comics.

Comments

[ron_newman]

Do FiOS phones work when there is a real power outage?

[fauxklore]

They're supposed to - as long as the battery backup unit is working. I do have a cell phone (on a pay as you go system as I don't use it much), so I'm not that concerned about that aspect.

[ron_newman]

This is why I like plain old-fashioned telephone service -- it generally works even when the power is out, and it doesn't require any batteries either. I would not like to be in an unheated dark apartment, unable to call the electric company or 911.