As far as we know, Verizon FiOS does not have any IP control. They are using the Motorola QIP boxes that just don't support it (are there other boxes users have seen out there for FiOS?).
The way those boxes work is that the box does not offer any IP control. Instead, central servers at Comcast (or Verizon or whatever provider) receive commands from end users that eventually are translated into cable signals sent over the actual cable/FiOS network and interpreted by the box. This is very simple to verify. If your box is connected to Ethernet, unplug it. Notice that you can still control your box because the signal is going through the cable network not IP control. Notice also that there is almost no control whatsoever over the actual box. All you can do is change channels or hit record. So there are basically 2 commands. The app is doing all the work. It's a very quick and dirty, sloppy implementation.
Needless to say, the likelihood that such a backwards or non-existent control method can be safely reverse engineered, in a way that would be allowed by Verizon or another provider, is somewhat slim. Not impossible, but slim and with a reasonable danger that some provider would decide they don't like it and do something to prevent it.
The good news is that the only reason this is the case is that the content providers were caught off guard by this whole "app craze" and so they frantically (measured in multiple years for them which is what they call 'fast') added a control method that uses their cable bandwidth instead because the boxes simply weren't engineered for IP control. It bypasses the boxes in other words.
The new generation of boxes such as Comcast's Xfinity X1 we believe finally has actual IP support. Whether that will translate into a usable IP control protocol, we're not entirely sure yet, but it's a huge leap forward. So while there is hope for the future, the likelihood that the old Motorola boxes can be safely controlled via IP is pretty low, and even if we spent the huge amount of work to try to do that, (1) a provider might try to prevent it, (2) the control would be limited to the pitiful 2 or 3 commands available, (3) the new generation of boxes already being deployed uses a completely different method that should solve these issues.
So, long story short, we recommend IR for the older boxes and we're researching the next generation boxes. (We're not sure which box represents the next generation FiOS box like the X1.)