I don't think it's gonna be hardwired/fiber connections though?

From everything I've read, i think Fios in Worcester will be supported by 5G. So basically they just give you a tank of a mobile hotspot router with unlimited data.

I'm not complaining as either way I'm going to give it a go. But sadly I think unless it's true fiber, spectrum is going to still be the better option.

Edit after more research and the below comment I realize i was wrong and it will hopefully actually be real fiber lol

The press release specifically states "fiber internet" multiple times so I think it might actually be true fiber!

The press release does say they are bringing the fiber optic network to new cities so I would think we would be actual FIOS and not a5g Hotspot as that isn't fiber optic. But who knows what we will get till we see it. I have had some Verizon people in my neighborhood going door to door I will have to make it a point to talk to them next time and see if they offer more details

Any new entrant into internet for the city is good because competition will bring lower rates for all providers and force spectrum to work to keep and retain customers.

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Prices from Verizon's website. Prices shown are with/without existing 5G plan through Verizon, so new subscribers should go by second price.

300 Mbps - $25/$50
500 Mbps - $45/$70
1 Gbps - $65/$90

Normally these prices are locked in for 2/3/4 years respectively but right now there's a promotion to lock it in for 10 years.

Also worth noting that these prices are not only cheaper than comparable Spectrum plans, but have symmetric speeds (same bandwidth upload and download) which Spectrum does not offer.

Yeah the news reports are super confusing. Because they say fiber is "coming", but then they also talk about 5G Home.

I'm wondering if they will offer 5G home first and start offering fiber once it is in place.

Idk I would love to know what they tell you.

I looked up my address and it's in my area now and I could sign up for service today and based on the speeds it's fiber it 5g.

Only downside is you will need a fiber optic terminal installed in your house before getting service and I am sure there is a charge for installation.

Oh nice.

Guess I'm stuck with Spectrum, as I'm in a appartment lol

So this is why spectrum suddenly decided to double my speed to 200mbps

Now do Clinton...

Probably attempting to catch views with the headline and trying to get more people interested in a 5G hotspot. While it does read as if there will be hardwired fiber connections, 70,000 homes and businesses across 7 towns/cities isn't a whole lot of coverage. Hopefully it will lead to additional buildouts over time, as I thought they were already done expanding.

when i plugged in my info the only thing i qualified for was "LTE home internet".

That s their new minimum iirc

Not having a cap of ~40Mbps upload is a pretty big deal

Plugged in my address (Worcester). "Home internet services are not currently available at your location."

Hopefully the competition inspires spectrum to stop committing highway robbery in their pricing.

So is it just the West Side right now? 🙄

Awesome news for Worcester folk. I prefer FIOS to Spectrum and competition is good in this industry. I don't live in Worcester but I'm hoping this means the neighboring towns will get it eventually too.

Anyone know if there is a complete list of towns that are part of the expansion?

Only certain areas will have access to Fios, they will roll it out slowly, so it doesn’t get congested and cause a massive backlash.

I'm sure I will have moved by the time its actually available but this is nice. I used to live in an area where fios and cox were both available, so they had to compete. prices were low, speed was fast, and we rarely had outages.

Would you mind sharing a representative address? I live around the corner from Worcester State, was told by a Verizon worker Fios was coming, been seeing them work on Marcy, June, etc., but can’t find any addresses that come up with service available.

On the west side, nothing at my house.

Screw corporate broadband. Municipal broadband is the better option.

FIOS is incredibly disappointing. I've had both FIOS and Spectrum, and Spectrum is the best by far. FIOS never delivered the advertised speed and outages were quite frequent. Lots of hidden fees too.

Comcast is actually better than FIOS, and that's not saying much considering that my AT&T 5G is better than Comcast.

I would assume it's near the Shrewsbury line or Auburn line. Or possibly downtown. Just taking guesses.

As someone who is a current customer of Verizon FIOS this is great news for Worcester. I live in one of the neighboring cities but when I play online with friends that live in Worcester, I always hear complaints of a shoddy connection or losing internet often with Spectrum from them.

We used Charter for years and there was ALWAYS outages. Atleast a few times a year. We switched to fios as soon as it came to our neighborhood. I think we have only had a service outage a few times in the last 7 or so years. They were also shortlived

I also worked in a Network Operations Center where we used Spectrum for Business for our remote sites. At least one remote site was down a day in Worcester county alone, but mainly Worcester (the city) itself.

Verizon wireless 5G internet has been available in parts of worcester for a few mo the now. $25 a month and no hard wiring into the house.

It's hardwired. Have it. Can confirm.

Wired up here on Webster sq/Tatnuck area.

1gig $89.99/month.

Speeds as expected in a general range of 400Mbps-1gig with spikes to 2.4 (when not running through my work docking station which caps at about 100 Mbps download/120 upload).

Generally, FiOS upload speed has been as fast, if not faster than download.

Called Charter to cancel, counter offer was 500Mbps download for $45 for a year. But considering I wasn't unhappy with their download but abysmal upload speeds (I dropped to constant 2Kbps upload speeds during working hours and FiOS price is locked in for 10 years… charter has been raising prices what feels like every year - last bill was $78. Just for internet) I said no thanks.

Just saying, 300/300 is the new bare minimum Fios offers. If you qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program, you can get it for 100% free.

Just letting you know, there are loads of discounts you may be applicable for that you can apply even retroactively. For example, the First Responder Discount (police, EMT/EMS, nurse, teacher, veteran, active military, firefighter,) gets you $15 off if anyone in your house is one. Higher education discount is $10. And if you qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program (essentially any government assistance, including Medicaid or Masshealth, you can get up to $60 off the gig package. If you have a VZ phone line, that’s a $25 discount too. Some stack, some do not.

Bring it to the Bancroft tower area then, I want it but you won't sell it to me.