I currently have Road Runner Lite. We got this because Verizon DSL was not available in my neighborhood. My desire was to cut expenses. I had 2 options:
1. Verizon DSL and get Satellite to get rid of the overpriced cable.
2. Get Vonage and drop Verizon.
Big dilemma here. Vonage does not have 911, but Verizon’s customer service is one of the great banes of my existence, and un-lanced boil on my buttocks. Caught the various monopolies (who want onto each other’s territory oddly), I’m the big loser along with my checking account. The fact that Verizon has received an injunction against Vonage adds to my consumeristic angst at the moment.
You’ll note… I’d been trying to get Verizon DSL for quite some time. I’ve been getting the same answer “we are increasing capacity, we can notify you when it becomes available.” Notification never came. Like a lummox, I kept checking. Then I had an idea.
One of our neighbors moved into a gated community just down the street, but farther from the all important switching station which can’t seem to increase the capacity the extra half mile to reach my subdivision. I put THEIR number into the checker on the Verizon website. Bingo! DSL is available. Oh…. now I’m beyond curious. Why have we literally been ‘passed over’? Are those lobbyist commercials about the phone companies screwing the poorer communities true? There was a link to chat with a real, live person. It went something like this:
CS: How can I help you?
CM: I’m curious, why do the neighborhoods around me have DSL, and my subdivision doesn’t. I’ve been wanting to get it for 2 years (ei: I’m attempting to be a loyal customer and GIVE you my hard earned $).
CS. What’s your number, I’ll see if it is available? (inward groan, I see the inevitable coming). Sorry, it is not available at this time. We can notify you when it becomes available.
CM: What is it that actually determines if my subdivision can get it? I’ve been told it is mostly about increasing capacity.
CS: There are a number of factors, including capacity. But you have to have copper wires and (something my brain can’t quite figure out).
CM: Here’s the problem… The main road runs West-East out of the city. The older subdivision closer to the city has DSL. The newer, gated community to the East does too. It is only a year or 2 newer than my subdivision. My home was built in 2000. What gives?
CS: (checking, checking checking followed by a very technical explanation that the average human being would NEVER understand- as if I were explaining infra- versus supralapsarianism to her).
CM: Ah, does this mean I’m not ever getting DSL, period?
CS: Correct.
CM: Is it because my builder used inferior materials or something?
CS: I’m not sure, sir.
CM: I mean I have been literally passed over. Are those commercials true? Are you guys catering to wealthier communities (really, it is not like I live in a dump… this is a nice, non-gated community)?
CS: Of course not, but I’m not sure why. Let me check on FIO. (checking….) It is not currently available in your neighborhood. But we can notify you when it becomes available.
CM: Ah, that’s what I’ve heard for 2 years about DSL. Any reason why this time it is different?
CS: (long delay in communication)
CM: You’ve been very helpful. Is there I number I can call?
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