FiOS versus Cable in a Battle for My Internets

The phone company has been sending Stella some postcards lately with a bit of intriguing information: FiOS has come to my neighborhood. We're seriously considering making the switch to fiber optic internets, but I'm just not sure.

Could it really be that much better and faster?

Here are the decision points, most of which, I realize, are irrelevant and crazypants. And yet:

1. Which company is likely to be a more reliable source of customer service? Qwest or Comcast? Who knows?
2. Which company is less of an evil, crippling monopoly? They both kind of are.
3. Is it really faster, the fios?
4. Would the productivity gains we make by ditching the cable television at the same time (because that's what we're thinking about doing) have a multiplying effect on any internets speed increase that we might also see?
5. Can Mr. Commute live without hot and cold running ESPN?

You see, it's quite a quandary.