Conventional wisdom is one should under promise and then over deliver. Verizon FiOS seems to have gotten this backward. As I commented a few weeks ago, FiOS service was scheduled for a speed upgrade from 15/2 Mbps to 20/5 Mbps, so I've been running speed tests every week, and on February 3rd my download speed did go up from ~15 Mbps to ~20 Mbps, but not the upload speed, i.e. the speed from me to other Internet locations.
Two days ago, I got an email from Verizon.
Fantastic news! Your Verizon FiOS Internet Service speed was automatically upgraded. Your current speed was changed from 15/2 to 20/5*.
Although your speed is increasing, your monthly billing will remain the same. If you receive a partial-month service charge on your bill for your new speed, it will be credited back to you on the same bill. If you have a router from Verizon for FiOS Internet Service, a new router is not required.
So the next evening at home (last night) I ran a series of tests. Unfortunately, despite the upbeat email from Verizon, my capacity towards the Internet remains stuck below 3 Mbps.
These measurements were against servers on the US east coast (NYC or Wash DC) using three different speed test services. Additional runs and use of other speed testers suggest the third result shown above is a bit of a fluke. The most consistent results are just over 20 Mbps download and 2.3 Mbps to 2.8 Mbps upload.
If they had promised an upgrade from 15/2 to 20/3 I'd have been very happy, but having been promised 20/5, I feel cheated. A cursory review of the FiOS overhead cabling in my neighborhood suggests there are only four other FiOS users close by. I wonder where their problem is?
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