The cable guys have tried to fight back by offering free services and other incentives and have implemented ?boost? and metro ethernet technology. There is also some talk about doubling the speed based on a new technology that is being developed.

The cable companies would use their existing infrastructure and lines with the new technology, but the new developments would allow for a superior and speedier service. The cable company's headquarters houses the new system.

The main complaints from cable customers concern the bandwidth caps on their connections if they have sustained high usage over a few hours. Recently, cable companies have removed this cap. Customers though, have not noticed the change. The main issue this cap was targeting was those customers using shareware software.

The bandwidth issue caused many customers a lot of headaches, and trying to get the cap removed took a lot of effort and time on behalf of cable subscribers. Other issues with the cable providers included high usage of internet in certain areas and the affect it had on all customers, and they way inclement weather affected service.

Going with FIOS alleviates this strife for most people since bandwidth is not an issue. The Fiber Optic networks that Verizon has laid out are almost limitless compared to the cable companies? coaxial copper networks.

Verizon fell behind with installation due to high demand, but the reliability has been for the most part, above average. The best part about the infrastructure being brand new is that there is little to no service interruption once the service is up and running.

Unless the Cable companies start changing out their older copper distribution equipment, FIOS will become the leading Internet connectivity provider. If and when ?John Doe Cable? does upgrade to newer cabling technology, it will cost them millions of dollars. Maybe if they replace all of the old copper, gather it all together, melt it down, and recycle it they can recover some of that money.