Switch from 25/15 to 15/5 FiOs Internet service?

[CapnCrunch]

Anyone made the switch from 25/15 to 15/5 FiOs Internet service?  Is there a big difference in surfing speed or does it simply affect larger downloads and uplaods?

Any issues with streaming to TV?

[Hubrisnxs]

i don't believe you will notice a difference in browsing, but you may notice a difference in streaming music/videos etc.... and large downloads. 

[spacedebris]

it will make no difference in surfing speeds. Quite honestly for browsing the internet, there really is no perceptual difference between 1Mb and 100Mb. Again, for just browsing.

Now for streaming Videos (youtube, hulu, netflix, etc) you really dont need much more than 3 Mb. 3 will stream an HD program nicely.

Anything beyond 5 is really just for bragging rights for most people. Remember, that its not only your speed in question. Its also the speed of the site you are connecting to. For example. Lets say you have a 25Mb connection. But the site you connect to only has a 5mb upload speed. Then you are only going to get it at 5Mb. Doesnt matter that you have 25, 35, or even 100. You will only get it at 5. Now where this makes a difference is say that they can only send at 5 and you can receive at 25. That means you have 20 left over. So you can download another 4 files all at 5 at the same time before you run out. Allowing you to multitask. The question is then, do you do that much downloading that you need the extra, or are you like most of us that only stream a single movie at a time?

The problem is that residential internet speeds are so much faster than the majority of the business sites out there.

So unless you are a Heavy P2P user, you are not likely to need more than the minimum Fios speed. (unless you want bragging rights)

[prisaz]

Well when I had the 15/2 service which most of FiOS started out with. I ran into issues when son was streaming video to his PC, daughter was looking on youtube or playing a game, wife was watching VOD, and I wanted to download something. Went to 20/5 and things were better, but from time to time I could see it. Now 35/35 I get all I want and never run into slowdowns. It all depends on how your connection is used and who uses it. I have 4-5 PCs 3 STB and one DVR. Not that all is used at one time. But I have had three video streams going and while two people were sufing the web.

[CapnCrunch]

Thanks for the responses.  The only real streaming I do is Netflix to my Blu-ray player.  Some are HDTV quality streams.  Usual uploads are pictures and files around 10-20 MB to a FTP.  I also game on Xbox 360 online.  Overall I just wonder if downgrading from 25/15 to 15/5 FiOs Internet service is really worth the $10/month savings.  I'm thinking for that uses that I listed probably a better idea to stick with what I have.

[spacedebris]

Well if you do those individually then the slower speed would work fine. But if you do those in any combination, then yes, you would be better off where you are.

[CapnCrunch]

I'm usually firing the broadband on almost all cylinders.  Streaming Netflix while on Internet at the same time.  Sounds like it's not worth the $10 savings for what I use it for I'm better with 25/15.

[prisaz]

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@CapnCrunch wrote:

I'm usually firing the broadband on almost all cylinders.  Streaming Netflix while on Internet at the same time.  Sounds like it's not worth the $10 savings for what I use it for I'm better with 25/15.

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If you do any uploads, you may be able to get the 25/25 for the cost you have now. 25/25 is what they are offering. I am not sure if that would change anything in your bundle or not. Because the 25/15 tier has changed to 25/25. Just an idea if you are looking at more value for your dollar.

[bbithead1]

Verizon was nice enough to DOUBLE MY PRICE going from 25/15 to 25/25 ... nice, huh!  I was paying $14.99, now it's $35 minus a $5 discount.  So is it really okay to go down to 15/5??