Verizon's claims are pure BS. When I did some work for a company called CrunchButton, I figured out (using my fiance's phone) that Verizon had towers that weren't connected to anything. They were just there to provide you with 'full signal' (your phone never connected to these towers) so they could claim coverage in that area. You couldn't make a phone call from that area on the Verizon network. Meanwhile, my T-Mobile phone showed three bars and worked flawlessly.
Sadly, I've also been very disappointed with FiOS speeds lately.