FiOS internet with DISH TV - is it even possible?

[begood]

So I posted about this over at Bogleheads, but then I remembered the amazing I.P. Daley, who I hope will weigh in on this!

[Copied for efficiency]

I currently have DISH network satellite TV and use Verizon's mobile broadband for (extremely limited) internet.

I have the opportunity to get Verizon FIOS for both TV and internet, but I'm wondering if it's possible to keep my DISH network TV and just get Verizon FIOS for internet? I googled but don't see any information about whether there are reasons NOT to do that.

Why do that? We're pretty happy with DISH. I have two DVRs full of programming I don't want to lose. I can easily switch plans with DISH, going from $100/mo to $20/mo without a lot of hassle. I don't need better TV. I need better internet.

So it occurred to me that maybe I could keep my DISH tv and just get internet from Verizon. But I guess it's not that cut-and-dried? I might be required to get home phone too? I don't want home phone!

I might still end up ditching DISH and going with Verizon for both TV and internet, but I thought it worth asking about. :)

[MustachianAccountant]

You can get just FIOS internet from Verizon.
I think their lowest tier plan runs around $65/month plus router rental ($10/month) plus taxes.

[cautiouspessimist]

The cheapest FIOS price quoted to me when I was trying to cancel all of my Verizon products except for internet was 79.99/mo. Plus router fees. This was for 35/35 (which is what I had at the time and was told was the lowest tier). This is the 'unbundled' price. It's possible that there's a regional difference, but that's my experience from just a month or two ago.

[Daley]

Well, from what I recall correctly, one can get just FIOS internet (the 25/25 package) starting at around $55/month+taxes+fees+equipment+extortions with a two year contract. Of course, it's rather atypical that FIOS is available in Verizon regions where DSL isn't technically viable as well, and expect the out of contract price to be quite a bit higher.

Keeping this in mind, one needs to remember that if DSL is available through the Verizon copper in your area, and you switch to FIOS, Verizon permanently severs the copper POTS network going to your house. That means you're now 100% dependent upon Verizon FIOS service for wired internet access, starting at that above mentioned price, and can never go back to a cheaper third party dry-loop DSL provider like DSL Extreme. So, do remember this.

As for Dish, if a directional OTA antenna can't serve you, do keep in mind that I think that there's still the one-time option of what they call their Welcome Pack and includes Comedy Central, Boomerang, Food Network, and TBS amongst others, IIRC. You should be able to get it, locals and public access for $15/month + tax and DVR fees ($10/month w/o locals)... but the package can only be switched to once. If you're going to pay for television, and you're considering FIOS, and you're facing contract pricing anyway... you might as well check the bundle pricing versus the separate options.

It's just a matter of pricing and what you're comfortable paying for.

[SaintM]

Did you consider Sling TV?  $20/mo, without a contract, for several major networks over the internet.

[begood]

Well, from what I recall correctly, one can get just FIOS internet (the 25/25 package) starting at around $55/month+taxes+fees+equipment+extortions with a two year contract. Of course, it's rather atypical that FIOS is available in Verizon regions where DSL isn't technically viable as well, and expect the out of contract price to be quite a bit higher.

Keeping this in mind, one needs to remember that if DSL is available through the Verizon copper in your area, and you switch to FIOS, Verizon permanently severs the copper POTS network going to your house. That means you're now 100% dependent upon Verizon FIOS service for wired internet access, starting at that above mentioned price, and can never go back to a cheaper third party dry-loop DSL provider like DSL Extreme. So, do remember this.

As for Dish, if a directional OTA antenna can't serve you, do keep in mind that I think that there's still the one-time option of what they call their Welcome Pack and includes Comedy Central, Boomerang, Food Network, and TBS amongst others, IIRC. You should be able to get it, locals and public access for $15/month + tax and DVR fees ($10/month w/o locals)... but the package can only be switched to once. If you're going to pay for television, and you're considering FIOS, and you're facing contract pricing anyway... you might as well check the bundle pricing versus the separate options.

It's just a matter of pricing and what you're comfortable paying for.

Thanks, Daley! I ran through various scenarios with my mister last night, and we decided to go with  bundling TV/internet with FIOS on a 2-year contract: $137/mo (all fees/taxes included) for 50/50 internet + preferred HD TV - 2 boxes, 1 multi-room DVR. No home phone. And I ordered an Amazon Fire TV device for all our streaming needs.

Yes, we're going to roll around in our idiot boxes for a while. We've been waiting five years for broadband internet. I could not even get Verizon to run DSL lines out to my house! The permanent cutting of copper lines doesn't worry me too much, Daley, since we never had DSL as an option anyway.

We fully recognize that we're clinging to the waning curve of 20th-century technology. Maybe in two years, when our contract is up, we'll be ready to join the 21st century and go OTA for locals and stream everything else. As Saint Michael mentioned, Sling TV could be a game-changer... but I'm not ready to be ahead of that curve. I love the idea of Sling TV, though, and will eagerly wait to hear how well it works!

We'll be saving about $60/mo by switching from DISH TV/Verizon mobile broadband to Verizon FIOS, even after we add in $10/mo for Netflix.

[Daley]

Thanks, I.P. Daley! I ran through various scenarios with my mister last night, and we decided to go with  bundling TV/internet with FIOS on a 2-year contract: $137/mo (all fees/taxes included) for 50/50 internet + preferred HD TV - 2 boxes, 1 multi-room DVR. No home phone. And I ordered an Amazon Fire TV device for all our streaming needs.

No problem, glad to help... but I'm going to tell you this right now: their 50/50 internet package is RIDICULOUS. You don't need that sort of speed. Save even more money and use their slowest 25/25 package instead, which is still five times faster than you'll really ever need. Also, you need a punch for spending $60+ a month on television. If you're getting this sort of broadband speed now, now is the time to ween that habit, not two years and $1500 later.

If locals are that important and you don't want to hassle with an OTA antenna just yet, just remember how cheap you can get locals with a few extra stations through Dish in comparison to the TV bundle through Verizon.

Even with the inflated cost of FIOS internet, you have the opportunity to get your entire internet/television and a part of your communications budget down well under $100/month, and every $10/month saved is equivalent to something like $2500 permanently invested.

[begood]

Hey, Daley! I may drop the internet speed to 25/25 and save $10/mo. My reasoning for going with the 50/50 was that it's the only place in this whole process where I'm "ahead of the curve" - that is, video isn't going to get less resolution going forward, and we don't seem to be going backward in terms of demand for speed/capability. It's also their newest equipment - their 25/25 modem/router technology is several years old - single band, with less options, such as the ability to turn off wifi access to my daughter's iPod overnight. They're offering 500/500 mbps service, so 50/50 is on the lower end of their spectrum. Do you think 25/25 will still be sufficient in two years, when my contract ends?

I love TV. I used to apologize for it because my cohort was more intellectual and watched a lot of PBS while I veered toward less lofty fare and lots of sports. Now I apologize for it because of its cost. But we're basicallly FI: no debt whatsoever, one kid to get through college, and one remaining parent (who doesn't need financial support). My mister (who makes the money - I just spend it!) just shook his head at me last night when I ran through the other options: OTA/streaming/Sling TV; DISH TV/FIOS internet/phone; one box, no DVR.

If I had student loans, or a crushing mortgage, or credit-card debt, I'd say, yeah, go ahead and punch me. We splurge on three things: our kid, travel, and ESPN. We don't buy concert tickets or go to pro (or even college) sports games. We hang out with friends and travel to visit family and play board games and cheer our teams on (mostly long distance, since we are Up North and they are Down South) and watch Modern Family with our teenager.

I'm not trying to get the cheapest option out there for communications. I'm trying to get the best price for what I want.

[Daley]

I'm not trying to get the cheapest option out there for communications. I'm trying to get the best price for what I want.

Understood.

Do you think 25/25 will still be sufficient in two years, when my contract ends?

Even a 3D, 1080p video stream with Dolby Digital Plus audio only takes about 10Mbps at most. That alone is already at ridiculous hedonic adaptation levels that do nothing to increase the substance quality of the entertainment presented itself. FI or not, you (or anyone else) don't need 4K now or ten years from now. Deliberately choose less. If seeing Bob De Niro's mole hair already doesn't make Heat a better film, neither will the ability to see what is in his pores.

Regarding parental controls, the low tech option of taking the device away after hours is always free, and impossible to work around. Also, consider using your own router, then you aren't locked into dependency with Verizon and their equipment to let you do what you want with your network.

Lastly, because there's love here for you, I want to encourage you to read Jerry Mander's Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television and Marie Winn's The Plug-In Drug: Television, Computers, and Family Life... keep an open mind, and consider what these people have to say on the subject.

All the same though, glad to see you lowering the bill.

[begood]

I'm not trying to get the cheapest option out there for communications. I'm trying to get the best price for what I want.

Understood.

Do you think 25/25 will still be sufficient in two years, when my contract ends?

Even a 3D, 1080p video stream with Dolby Digital Plus audio only takes about 10Mbps at most. That alone is already at ridiculous hedonic adaptation levels that do nothing to increase the substance quality of the entertainment presented itself. FI or not, you (or anyone else) don't need 4K now or ten years from now. Deliberately choose less. If seeing Bob De Niro's mole hair already doesn't make Heat a better film, neither will the ability to see what is in his pores.

Regarding parental controls, the low tech option of taking the device away after hours is always free, and impossible to work around. Also, consider using your own router, then you aren't locked into dependency with Verizon and their equipment to let you do what you want with your network.

Lastly, because there's love here for you, I want to encourage you to read Jerry Mander's Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television and Marie Winn's The Plug-In Drug: Television, Computers, and Family Life... keep an open mind, and consider what these people have to say on the subject.

All the same though, glad to see you lowering the bill.

I appreciate the love, Daley, and I will definitely look for those titles. I do try to  keep an open mind, and this forum and its participants have helped open my eyes to many wonderful things: steel-cut oatmeal, ad-laden Pandora, PenFed... I'll try to think of our media consumption as an evolution in progress.

It is true that as our lives have gotten busier and our kid older, we are watching WAY less television than we used to. We just don't have time! We do try to keep up with our college basketball teams, which would be easy if we lived where they were located, because we'd get local broadcasts, but instead we rely on the ESPNs, Fox Sports 1, et cetera.

And I waited a long time to share Buffy the Vampire Slayer with my daughter, and as we've watched seven seasons of it an episode or two at a time, it has proven to be a bonding experience at a time when it can be hard to find shared loves and common interests. Oh that she were a basketball fan! ;)

We watched the UNC-Duke game last night - an overtime barn burner! But before that, we went to a high school basketball game, stood in the stands, rooted on our team to a playoff win - also in overtime! Being there is better, of course. But watching the college game on TV helps me feel like I'm still connected, still part of the bigger picture. It feels like being home, just for a little while.