Comments on: Can DSL handle success?

Low-cost DSL services not only are popular, at least one provider is oversubscribed in some areas.

[David Stamps]

Verizon - Boo!

I had a very high speed Verizon DSL for two years and found their customer service a joke. They started off by assuming the customer is an idiot and trying to blame the customer for the problem. They refused to answer the simplest question like is the internet down or is an internal problem. It is worse than calling the IRS. After one frustrating call, they told me that in 48 hours I might or might not be told that the interest was or wasn't down.
As a consultant I have set up numerous local accounts for small businesses over the years. I noticed that with the local cable company, I could also find a real tech to talk to in a matter of minutes and he would stay with me to resolve the problem.
When the local cable company started offering 2 MBS speeds at the same price as Verizon I switched and have never looked back.

[David Stamps]

Verizon - Boo!

I had a very high speed Verizon DSL for two years and found their customer service a joke. They started off by assuming the customer is an idiot and trying to blame the customer for the problem. They refused to answer the simplest question like is the internet down or is an internal problem. It is worse than calling the IRS. After one frustrating call, they told me that in 48 hours I might or might not be told that the interest was or wasn't down.
As a consultant I have set up numerous local accounts for small businesses over the years. I noticed that with the local cable company, I could also find a real tech to talk to in a matter of minutes and he would stay with me to resolve the problem.
When the local cable company started offering 2 MBS speeds at the same price as Verizon I switched and have never looked back.

[kitcar]

Ah, my old friend Verizon

After having ISDN from Verizon and "attempting" to switch to their DSL and telling them to forget it after four (4) months of no phone and no internet and after talking to the ISDN people who aren't allowed to talk to the phone people who aren't allowed to talk to the DSL people who are in Florida and can't talk to the ISDN or phone people in Texas who can talk to the local exchange people who don't know how the heck to hook up DSL since the DSL people are from a different company that Verizon people can't talk to who it turns out is owned and employed by Verizon, I told them to forget it, I'm getting cable. 3 hours later I had cable internet.

Verizon is still sending me bills for $849.32 for this experience. They did send me 7 DSL modems in one day. And charged me $99.00 each for them which was a very nice gesture since they never sent me the return labels for them that I requested after I was told in no uncertain terms that "these units have to be returned within 30 days or you will be charged $99.00 for your modem". They were unable to explain if I had to pay for the 7 modems that I didn't request that I never got the return labels for.

Recently they offered to settle the account for $21.00.

[kitcar]

Ah, my old friend Verizon

After having ISDN from Verizon and "attempting" to switch to their DSL and telling them to forget it after four (4) months of no phone and no internet and after talking to the ISDN people who aren't allowed to talk to the phone people who aren't allowed to talk to the DSL people who are in Florida and can't talk to the ISDN or phone people in Texas who can talk to the local exchange people who don't know how the heck to hook up DSL since the DSL people are from a different company that Verizon people can't talk to who it turns out is owned and employed by Verizon, I told them to forget it, I'm getting cable. 3 hours later I had cable internet.

Verizon is still sending me bills for $849.32 for this experience. They did send me 7 DSL modems in one day. And charged me $99.00 each for them which was a very nice gesture since they never sent me the return labels for them that I requested after I was told in no uncertain terms that "these units have to be returned within 30 days or you will be charged $99.00 for your modem". They were unable to explain if I had to pay for the 7 modems that I didn't request that I never got the return labels for.

Recently they offered to settle the account for $21.00.

[SimonMackay]

The double-edged sword that a service-provider faces

I was thinking over this issue about what an Internet service provider has to face up to when it sells a desirable Internet service for "a dime a dozen".

They have to think of what way they have to go to meet the demand. If the service is like cable or FTTH, it will also mean having to work out how many trucks that are available to roll out the technology to subscribers.

It may mean that the company may have to go into further debt to raise cash in order to provide the service. It would be an asset if the service is purely standards-based because they may have to have a second supplier "on call" to provide "infrastructure" equipment to meet the demand even if the regular vendor can't satisfy the demand quickly enough.

Thinking of a "waiting-list" scenario may have customers walking out of the special deal and in to the hands of competing service providers because they want it noe.

A good thing for the providers to do is to be able to have demand-satisfaction contingencies in place before they run that rock-bottom deal.

With regards,

Simon Mackay

[SimonMackay]

The double-edged sword that a service-provider faces

I was thinking over this issue about what an Internet service provider has to face up to when it sells a desirable Internet service for "a dime a dozen".

They have to think of what way they have to go to meet the demand. If the service is like cable or FTTH, it will also mean having to work out how many trucks that are available to roll out the technology to subscribers.

It may mean that the company may have to go into further debt to raise cash in order to provide the service. It would be an asset if the service is purely standards-based because they may have to have a second supplier "on call" to provide "infrastructure" equipment to meet the demand even if the regular vendor can't satisfy the demand quickly enough.

Thinking of a "waiting-list" scenario may have customers walking out of the special deal and in to the hands of competing service providers because they want it noe.

A good thing for the providers to do is to be able to have demand-satisfaction contingencies in place before they run that rock-bottom deal.

With regards,

Simon Mackay

[Quickshiper]

SECRET HARDWARE SUPPLIER NAMED!

I'M NOT SURE WHY VERIZON IS TRYING TO KEEP THEIR "HARDWARE MANUFACTURER" A SECRET.....THEIR NAME IS ON ALL THE DSL MODEMS. THEY USE *x*x* TO MAKE THE MODEMS.....AND *x*x*x IN THE BACKOFFICE.

[Quickshiper]

SECRET HARDWARE SUPPLIER NAMED!

I'M NOT SURE WHY VERIZON IS TRYING TO KEEP THEIR "HARDWARE MANUFACTURER" A SECRET.....THEIR NAME IS ON ALL THE DSL MODEMS. THEY USE *x*x* TO MAKE THE MODEMS.....AND *x*x*x IN THE BACKOFFICE.

[DAL]

amazing deal

For six years, I was a satisfied Dish Network subscriber. Three weeks ago, the local cable company (Mediacom) knocked on my door with this unbelievable offer.

My cable Internet access (Mediacom) is currently $50/month plus tax. Dish Network's monthly charge was $50/month plus tax as well.

Mediacom offered to cut in half my monthly Internet access fee to $25 and also give me the digital cable package for $25 at a rate guaranteed for TWO YEARS...WITH NO CONTRACT TO SIGN.

I had to go for it. So far, the picture/sound quality is slightly less than that of Dish Network, but I am going to ride it out and have an Internet/TV bill of only $50 for the next 24 months.

Thank you Mediacom. Just so you know...when the introductory rate increases, I'm going back to Dish Network.

[DAL]

amazing deal

For six years, I was a satisfied Dish Network subscriber. Three weeks ago, the local cable company (Mediacom) knocked on my door with this unbelievable offer.

My cable Internet access (Mediacom) is currently $50/month plus tax. Dish Network's monthly charge was $50/month plus tax as well.

Mediacom offered to cut in half my monthly Internet access fee to $25 and also give me the digital cable package for $25 at a rate guaranteed for TWO YEARS...WITH NO CONTRACT TO SIGN.

I had to go for it. So far, the picture/sound quality is slightly less than that of Dish Network, but I am going to ride it out and have an Internet/TV bill of only $50 for the next 24 months.

Thank you Mediacom. Just so you know...when the introductory rate increases, I'm going back to Dish Network.

[jdbwar07]

It's just a gimmick.

This is all really a scam.
They say "19.95 a month." Then in fine print:

-Only for the first six months. Then it's the real price, $30-40 a month.
-You must have a long term contract (a year or two). Heavy termination fees apply.
-Only applies to new customers.
-Must purchase company's phone service.

See, just a bait-and-switch scam. And 700k is really pathetic to qualify as "broadband."

[jdbwar07]

It's just a gimmick.

This is all really a scam.
They say "19.95 a month." Then in fine print:

-Only for the first six months. Then it's the real price, $30-40 a month.
-You must have a long term contract (a year or two). Heavy termination fees apply.
-Only applies to new customers.
-Must purchase company's phone service.

See, just a bait-and-switch scam. And 700k is really pathetic to qualify as "broadband."

[jdbwar07]

Broadband Scandal

If you care about the future of technology in America, please visit one of these web sites (they are really the same):
www.teletruth.org
www.newnetworks.com

These companies have been scamming us all along for the past decade or more. The major telecom companies have commit a major enron-like scandal by stealing $200 billion from us, the American tax-payers.

In the 90s, they made a huge promise to roll out a major fiber optic network covering the US. They would complete this by 2000. The fiber optic connections were to be at the least 45 mbps both ways. The original idea of broadband was much faster than a measly 1-6 mbps. This new development would help the economy and allow new internet applications.

In return for this, these companies were given $200 billion, from us, American citizens. And many government regulations to insure quality were eliminated.
However, they did not create this network they promised and instead they and their CEOs kept the $200 billion dollars.
Now America is the laughingstock of the world in broadband. The country that created the internet is now way behind other developed countries in internet connectivity.

While people in Asia get cheap 100mbps and faster connections, we're being conned into thinking 756k is a good deal.

Anyway, please look at the web site above. There is a book called "The $200 Billion Broadband Scandal" that the phone companies like Verizon do not want you to read. However, I'm not suggesting buying the book, but I recommend if you're an American taxpayer to look at the web site.

(I just discovered this and am not in any way connected to the author of the book or web site.)

[jdbwar07]

Broadband Scandal

If you care about the future of technology in America, please visit one of these web sites (they are really the same):
www.teletruth.org
www.newnetworks.com

These companies have been scamming us all along for the past decade or more. The major telecom companies have commit a major enron-like scandal by stealing $200 billion from us, the American tax-payers.

In the 90s, they made a huge promise to roll out a major fiber optic network covering the US. They would complete this by 2000. The fiber optic connections were to be at the least 45 mbps both ways. The original idea of broadband was much faster than a measly 1-6 mbps. This new development would help the economy and allow new internet applications.

In return for this, these companies were given $200 billion, from us, American citizens. And many government regulations to insure quality were eliminated.
However, they did not create this network they promised and instead they and their CEOs kept the $200 billion dollars.
Now America is the laughingstock of the world in broadband. The country that created the internet is now way behind other developed countries in internet connectivity.

While people in Asia get cheap 100mbps and faster connections, we're being conned into thinking 756k is a good deal.

Anyway, please look at the web site above. There is a book called "The $200 Billion Broadband Scandal" that the phone companies like Verizon do not want you to read. However, I'm not suggesting buying the book, but I recommend if you're an American taxpayer to look at the web site.

(I just discovered this and am not in any way connected to the author of the book or web site.)