FIOS TV Extreme HD

[limitup]

I never, ever use high definition but I am being charged $60 per month for it for 3 tvs.  My husband used it but he died last year and I simply don't use it.  I was told by a rep that if I drop the HD option that I now have, I will have but a handful (his words) of channels to view.  I am already paying for and receving  Verizon Freedom Essentials which has 229 channels.  Was the rep correct in saying if I dropped the FIOS TV Extreme HD I would have but a "handful" of channels to watch?  My bill is very high and without my husband's income I am having a hard time coming up with almost $200 a month. 

[UnnDunn]

Let's just get a couple of things straight...

FiOS TV Extreme HD is the plan that offers as much as 285 TV channels. There is a higher plan, FiOS TV Ultimate HD which offers over 370 channels (depending on where you live.) There is also a lower plan, FiOS TV Prime HD, which offers about 190 channels. See details of the TV plans here.

There is also a Local Channels plan. This plan allows you to watch all the channels you can receive locally via an antenna--maybe a few dozen channels.

It sounds like you have the FiOS TV Extreme HD plan.

Moving over to the phone side, Verizon Freedom Essentials is Verizon's nationwide calling plan for customers who do not have access to FiOS service. You probably have this plan because you had Verizon's regular telephone service before you got FiOS. When you upgraded to FiOS, you kept the Freedom Essentials plan.

Now you're on FiOS, you can get FiOS Digital Voice. It's essentially the same as Verizon Freedom Essentials, but it is designed to more tightly integrate with the other FiOS services.

My recommendation would be to take a look at the MyVerizon Upgrade and Renewal site. You can use that site to view all available FiOS plan options--TV, Internet and Phone--and you can figure out a plan that fits your budget and order it on the spot. Plus, the prices online are cheaper than if you order over the phone.

[Zoozoo1]

Don't make a change unless you want to pay even more--consider the details carefully. Freedom Essentials is a grandfathered package, and the equivalent costs more now. If you want to save money, reduce the number of set top boxes you have. I was in a similar situation and I made a change--since I don't really watch much TV it took me a while to realize that I was no longer getting the channels I WOULD watch. And by then it was over a month and I was locked in.