The Amazing, Ongoing Saga of Verizon DSL (the condensed version)
IN PREVIOUS EPISODES:
Me: Hi, I have 768/128 DSL. You now offer 1.5/384. Verizon: Yep, we do. Me: Me want. Verizon: Sure. Order's in. Check in a week if it's not up yet. Me: Kthxbye. (a week) Me: It's not up yet. Verizon: Says here that it is. Me: It's not. Verizon: Lemme check... (transfer) (transfer) You can't have, too far. Me: But me want! Verizon: Move closer. Call back again. Me: Poop. (monthly cycle begins) Me: I still want 1.5/384. Verizon: (transfer) (transfer) (transfer) You're too far away on the loop. Me: Poop. (repeat monthly cycle eight or nine times) IN LAST WEEK'S EPISODE: Me: I still want 1.5/384. This is a recording. Verizon: Sure. Me: What? Verizon: Sure. Order's in. Me: The loop distance was bad before. OK now? Verizon: Sure, you're good now. Check back in a week if it's not up yet. Me: Kthxbye. Me: It's not up yet. Verizon: Says here that it is. This is a recording. Me: Not this shit again. Verizon: Lemme check... (transfer) (transfer) (transfer) You can't have, too far. Me: KABOOM VENT RANT RAGE Verizon: Call local office. Maybe they can run a new wire. Me: Kthxbye. AND NOW, TODAY'S EXCITING EPISODE: Me: Local office? Different Verizon Number: Nope, we're just a phone bank. Me: They said THIS number was the local office. Different Verizon Number: They're on crack. What you need? Me: I still want 1.5/384. They said maybe you can run a new wire. Different Verizon Number: They're on crack. Here, talk to them. (transfer) Me: ... Verizon: Hi, it's us again. Me: KABOOM VENT RANT RAGE WANT SUPERVISOR Verizon: Wow, you're not happy. Me: You noticed. Verizon: Wow, the other departments are on crack. Me: You noticed. Verizon: Don't worry, we're in rehab. WE'RE the sane ones. Me: We'll see. Verizon: No supervisor, in meetings. Me: How con-veeeeeeeenient. Verizon: Running tests. (hold) Running tests. (hold) Running tests. (hold) Running tests. (hold) Call back later today. Me: Kthxbye. TUNE IN LATER TODAY FOR THE THRILLING CONCLUSION! |
I had Verizon DSL. I have the emotional scars and therapy bills to prove it. Learn from my mistake and call THIS man:
http://www.s-3gim.mb.edus.si/timko1/.../Cable_guy.jpg |
As aggravating as Verizon's customer service is, going from Verizon to Comcast is definitely not an improvement. Hell, I wish I could get someone other than Comcast for my CABLE TV; I'm not throwing more money at them.
I like DSL, and really can't complain too much about the Verizon DSL I've had; connectivity has been rock-solid over the last couple of years, the USENET feed is awesome, and I haven't been submerged in spam or promotional offers. I don't have to watch my connection speed bounce up and down depending on how many of my neighbors are downloading Swedish scat porn at once. (Not that there's anything wrong with Swedish scat porn.) But my dad lives a mile farther away from the Verizon station (and he would know this, as he worked for Verizon for 25+ years), and HE has 1.5/384, yet I can't get it where I'm at. That's aggravating enough, but being told TWICE that I'd have it within days and then being denied (without a phone call, email, or any other notification of the denial) is a bit much. |
I had several long, ongoing battles with another DSL-provider-from-Hell, Qwest. Their reps have no reservations about lying. At all. And then they falsify their notes in the Qwest call logging system. Here's the breakdown of the first exchange of fire:
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My Verizon (BellAtlantic at the time) DSL installation went off without a hitch, and has been mostly reliable for several years.
Based upon this experience, I recommended it to my parents. Big difference. It took literally a year of constant phone calls, hardware replacements, software installation, and phone line replacements before it worked. Apparently one of the internal DSL modems they used for a while had a 50% ( ! ) failure rate. Not incompatibility, hardware failure. And they spent months trying to get the damn thing to work in my parents' computer. |
vsp, forget about Verizon. Contact www.pa.net. It looks like they service your area. They do DSL. They have outstanding customer service. They are a relatively small sized outfit so you get the personal touch. They offer DSL. Do it today. They are competitively priced too.
I have them for my home connection. I like them a lot. |
Quote:
(610) xxx-xxxx did not pre-qualify for PA.net DSL service but it may still be available. If you think that you live in an area that is serviced by PA.net's DSL, please fill out the following form. We will attempt to manually qualify your telephone line and contact you with the results. It would be $5/month more than I'm paying now for the same service (minus Verizon's news server), or $25/month more than the service I'm trying to browbeat Verizon into providing. If Verizon was still at $50/month for DSL, it'd be more tempting. |
Oh well. Good luck with Verizon. Seriously.
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AND NOW, THE THRILLING CONCLUSION:
Me: Calling back as asked. Verizon: You want what? Me: (tells tale of woe once again) Verizon: You won't get 1.5. Me: Why not? Verizon: Too far, and wrong infrastructure. Me: And my dad? Verizon: Different infrastructure with a remote terminal, though I don't know how he's getting 1.5 either. Me: Okay, leave him alone. Can mine be fixed? Verizon: No. Me: Poop. |
In the meantime, Verizon is currently installing dedicated fiber optics from each house to the CO. That is a T1 equivalent line from every house to the CO using fiber. A T1 line is typically 24 phone lines in one wire. They are literally installing fiber in every service area of every PA exchange as fast as they can hire help. Found anengineer walking the streets that would be fibered that week - which defines the horse whose mouth provides this information.
Distance alone is not a limiting factor on DSL. If your neighborhood is serviced by a concentrator or a SLIC, then you cannot have DSL. The copper wire must be instact from your home to the CO - no amplifiers, splitters, loading coils, or taps permitted. Any of these can result in no DSL service. |
bragging:
i just got upgraded to 1.5 for free without asking by dejazzd. goddamn it's fast. i downloaded a new netscape version in 2.5 minutes. it took 3+ hours to get the same download at work. wohoo www.dejazzd.com i'm near morgantown, vsp, so i doubt they reach you. you are house hunting, yes? there's a really neat old house going up for auction nearby soon. lemme know if you're interested in details. i can get to west chester in 20 minutes, btw.... |
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Yes, but you don't have to deal with Verizon. You deal with the nice folks at PA.net.
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