A thumb of the nose to Verizon

[vsp]

I finally talked my buddy Rick into joining the modern age and ordering DSL. His kit arrived via UPS a week or two ago, and he's been patiently waiting for the connection date.

The original date was May 31st. He then got a message (before the 31st) saying that it had been delayed to June 6th; he THEN got a message on Tuesday saying that his service could now be activated. When James Earl Jones is on your answering machine, you tend to believe it, right?

So I went over last night and did the tinkering for him -- installed the 10/100 card, installed its drivers, plugged in the modem, plugged in the DSL filters, ran the software. This wasn't rocket science, but he'd rather have me do it than even pretend to know his way around hardware. The DSL light on the modem blinked incessantly instead of going solid, and thus the install failed on Account Setup. "Call Technical Support at 1-800-567-6789," says the software. Sure.

Note that the install documentation _specifically tells you_ to install stuff after 6 PM on the activation date, as this is what makes the story fun. I call the number, shove through the protective layers of automation, and get this:

"The office is now closed. Please call back during normal business hours of 8 AM-6 PM."

Let me get this straight... the DSL installation process specifically requires new users to run it at a time when no tech support will be available, then directs them to seek tech support that won't be available if the install fails.

Riiiiight.

Brainstorming, I figure it's one of a couple of things:
1) The modem is fried.
2) The phone line is too shitty to support DSL. He gets around 28.8 on a good day with his 56K modem as it is.
3) Somebody screwed up the activation date, and he REALLY won't be activated until June 6th.
4) Some sort of major cockup on Verizon's end.

Time will tell.

[SteveDallas]

Have you looked at their DSL service-on web page? I found it was pretty accurate in telling whether the service had, or had not, been turned on yet when I was going through my little 3-step upgrade process.

Wait, something's messed up. The first time I called, because my 768 hadn't jumped to 3.0, it was about 12:30AM. I had to wait till business hours to talk to billing, but I definitely had that first call & talked to a guy who determined that my line had been provisioned in a unique manner in the wee hours.

[wolf]

I know you love DSL, vsp, but you seem to have a lot of problems with it.

A little over two years ago now I went to the comcast office in norristown, they handed me two boxes, I went home and screwed in a couple pieces of coax, and haven't had a significant problem since. I think I remember one, maybe two outages of less that 15 minutes over that period.

[vsp]

Originally Posted by wolf

I know you love DSL, vsp, but you seem to have a lot of problems with it.

The service _itself_ has been superb, with few exceptions. The _tech support_ can be excruciating, as you need to fight your way past the first few waves of drones before getting someone who can actually diagnose things instead of reading a checklist.

In the years I've had my 768k DSL, I've had only one period of downtime I can think of that required intervention, and that was cleared up in thirty seconds once it reached Level 3 tech support. The uptime has otherwise been very steady, the USENET servers have unbelievable retention for a major provider, and transfer speeds have been very consistent at all times. They had a region-wide DHCP issue recently that fucked up Guild Wars and had a lot of people (myself included) upset, but they seem to have fixed that within a couple of days of hubbub being raised, which I can live with.

Where I've had problems with them is not with what I've had, but with what I've sought (faster speeds) and been told that I could have, only to end up being disappointed when it turns out the person who said I could have it was a fuckwit.

Originally Posted by SteveDallas

Have you looked at their DSL service-on web page?

Heh. I just plugged in my buddy's phone number, and this is what I got:

<img src="http://img233.echo.cx/img233/2203/dsl3vc.jpg" border="0" width="577" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" />

The second block contradicts the fourth. If the Scheduled Ready Date is indeed still June 6th, then why is the "You may now install" checkbox checked, and why did he get a recorded phone call from Verizon saying "You may now install" two days ago?

When I called the phone number on the DSL installation documentation and checked order status, it said "Your service is active as of May 31st," not June 6th.

SOMETHING's cocked up date-wise.

What killed me was that as an existing Verizon customer, I can dig up tech support and work around issues. (I found a chat function thing on Verizon Online's web site, but I needed a working Internet connection _and_ a Verizon Online login and password, which he didn't have yet, to activate it.) My friend Rick, on the other hand, can barely work a toaster when it comes to technology, and people like him who need basic-level support most are the ones being told to install at a time when the support isn't available. Hah?

[elSicomoro]

I found out last week that I can't get DSL at the new crib...we're out of range. I now have to deal with the cable company. And Charter makes Comcast look like they can do no wrong. They are horrible...horrible horrible horrible.

[tw]

Originally Posted by sycamore

I found out last week that I can't get DSL at the new crib...we're out of range.

The game is completely changed again within four years. Verison is installing direct fiber to every home. Plans to have it everywhere within four years. The service, called FIOS, has been first introduced this year. One fiber for everything - phone, internet, and even cable (like) service. Copper wire service is finally being obsoleted. Complete with backup power redundancy that cable does not provide.

Question remains not about the bottom ISO layers (hardware) but about service at the higher layers - commonly known as the ISP. Verison has had a few problems, previously, with ISP service. Granted, no where as near as bad as some ISPs, but still, their DSL reliability has not been as good as POTS phone service. And that is what we will soon expect from Verison & Comcast. And so a new market competition begins these next years. Finally, some competition for the last mile of service.

Comcast - less expensive, slower, and marginally less reliable hardware. Requires that you also have TV cable service.

Verison - faster, probably slightly more expensive, includes POTS type phone service, power backup system means slightly more reliable service, and will have (but not yet) cable TV type service.

Meanwhile, Qualcom third generation technology means that wireless should join the market within the next few years.

[elSicomoro]

Originally Posted by tw

Comcast - less expensive, slower, and marginally less reliable hardware. Requires that you also have TV cable service.

Are you saying that this is the case now or in the future? Currently, you do not have to have Comcast cable to get their internet service, though it costs $17 a month more w/o cable ($60 vs $43 for cable customers).

[tw]

Originally Posted by sycamore

Are you saying that this is the case now or in the future? Currently, you do not have to have Comcast cable to get their internet service, though it costs $17 a month more w/o cable ($60 vs $43 for cable customers).

You will know when fiber is coming to your neighborhood. For three months, Verizon trucks will be everywhere, on every street, either wrapping fiber to their existing copper wire, or splcing those fibers into a junction box. Fiber is currently available in Doylestown PA, in NJ, in TX (some old GTE locations) and many other places that currently have Verizon service.

[vsp]

It's certainly coming to my Philly burbs -- the flyers have been coming in the mail every week for a couple of months, the posters are on bus stops on my street, and there are even Verizon FIOS table-covers in the Exton Mall food court.

That's not to say that it's available YET, but they're working on it.

[Undertoad]

I've been connecting to myself from my Verizon FIOS connection. I am a fiber customer. 15mbps down, 2mbps up, 49.95 a month.

They buried the fiber to my curb documented in this thread. It took another SIX MONTHS before they actually made the FIOS service available to me.

But everything has been flawless so far.

[vsp]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

I am a fiber customer. 15mbps down, 2mbps up, 49.95 a month.

Bah, I hate you. Even when it becomes available in my area, I can't get the 15mbps speed without "upgrading" to Windows XP. Not that 5mbps/2mbps won't be a sufficient hike from 768k/128k...

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

I've been connecting to myself from my Verizon FIOS connection. I am a fiber customer. 15mbps down, 2mbps up, 49.95 a month.--snip

That'd be worth it. I'm at 1.5 down/ ?? up for $33/month for standalone DSL from Qwest (). NO phone service from them, Vonage rocks.