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How do i convince Verizon to bring either DSL to my area? What can i do?

Their is no broudband where i live, their are enough people out here just nothing here, im not sure what to do.

I wish i could just try getting DSL from Verizon and see what kind of speed i can get, where i live dialup is useless no matter where the access number

is.

Verizon is the only phone company where i live to, they own the lines for crying outloud.

I would willingly pay twice what others have to pay just to get DSL here.

Im so despirate.

I need something fast.

And do not sugest wireless, i refuse to be slammed with limits.. i need at least 2 gigs a day 30 days a week for all the things i need and have to do.

I tried satalite and it was a joke.

Is their a number for the main office of Verizon where i can talk to a major higher up and cry my eyes out to them?

Im at my wits end.

And no i can not move, it simply is not a choice.

Help please.

Comments

angeltony0

I came on verizons site for the same reason you are, I cannot believe if you have verizon phone service you would not be able to get their dsl!! But where I live they still dont have call waiting caller id and not sure when they will get it. But our population is around 2000 so they would definetely get customers. Right now I have satellite and its 60.00 a month, and have limited bandwidth, with that kind of money there should be no limit. Please Help someone

Liana

I know, its nuts, their at least that many here, i sware if another phone company comes into the area im switching, especialy if they can offer DSL.

I had satalite, it is worthless for someone like me, i do a lot of heavy surfing and gaming and more, i mean.. i would pay 100 or more a month for DSL.

I do not understand this.. i must be the only person willing to say anything, but i know their are others with computers around here where i live.

What i really do not get is how they can expand a service like FiOS to places where their is already competition while we sit here waiting, they have no competition here where i live, satelite TV would lose big time around here if FiOS TV was here, people here only got satelite cause it was the only choice.

As soon as FiOS or DSL is in my area i am possitive people here will drop the wireless BS, and i will convince them to.

Come on Verizon.. right now you guys are the only ones, give it time though and it will be too late for you here where i live Verizon, because cable will beat you to the punch.

Ucamuk1

Hi Liana

I don't work for any phone company, but I think I can answer your question.

DSL is only effective within a certain distance from the Central Office of your phone company. Back when I initially signed up for DSL, the number of miles was 20. Any more than that and the 'line' is not strong enough to support a DSL signal. And I'm guessing we are talking "copper wire" miles and not 'distance a bird flew' miles.

Now, perhaps with advances in technology distance limits have changed since then, but if you live out in the sticks, the odds are not in your favor.

Liana

They could bring FiOS then.. their are enough people here for it.. or i could go over Verizons head and provide a service for my area and cut them out completely, maybe start a local cable company and provide digital phone and cable and broadband and cut off any buisness Verizon does make here.

They dont seem to care about us here anyhow, im always having hell with the lines messing up and hearing voices from other people down the way on my line.

We are a growing community that needs better comunications technology.

I have been living here for over 10 years now and it is getting to be rediculous.

Not only are their plenty people living here but their are a lot of people in the surrounding towns of where i live.

By the time Verizon makes a move, it will be too late for them, they are digging their own grave.. so to speak.

People are not going to wait, i know im not.. im tempted to just cut them off and get a cell phone through sprint or AT&T.. Verizon has been nothing but a pain since day one when i moved out here.

Anyhow, thankyou for your reply, you were very helpfull, more then Verizon themselves.

lprice

I agree it can be aggrivating. The last house I lived in we couldn't get it for about 3 years. I used dial up for my banking and went to verizons web site every day and did the check for availability thing and after about 6 months of that they sent me a questionairre about was I interested in it (only told them every day for 6 months). We were able to get it about 3 months after that. We moved about 2 years ago and people living 3 houses down from me can get it but I still cannot get it here at this time. If I understand correctly it is because of the way that the phone lines were actually wired. It seems that they more or less spliced us onto another line rather than running a new one. I still go in as often as a I can and do the availability check. I dont have the means to start my own cable company so that is not an option. I don't even have a clear view of the southern sky so satellite isn't available to me either because I can't cut down 2 acres of my neighbor's trees. If you find a way to get them to bring it to you, please post something so I can try it.

highwaystar50

All I can say is don't get your hopes up even if you do finally get DSL service. I live 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles and if I get a decent

connection once in a while it's a miracle. Decent for me would be one continuous hour of connect time, yet it rarely ever happens. I've been logged on since 7 AM (it's now 10:04 AM) and I haven't been able to get through my email yet as my connection has been down at least 20 times in those

three hours.

Karl

mtpalms

[quote]Hi Liana

I don't work for any phone company, but I think I can answer your question.

Now, perhaps with advances in technology distance limits have changed since then, but if you live out in the sticks, the odds are not in your favor."[/quote]

Your information is either faulty, or Verizon has been holding out on me. I'd like to see some literature to back up the "20 mile rule"

I live 15 road miles from the main office, and 1/2 mile from an exchange buiding served by fiber optic and dsl is unavailable for me, according to Verizon. However, my neighbors 20+ miles from the main office, with their exchange, can get dsl. The only reason for this that I ever got was from 2 former employees, a line repairman and maintenance supervisor, and their best guess was that the exchange in my neighborhood was too outdated for dsl, but not old enough to be upgraded and Verizon probably couldn't be bothered to do it anyway for a mere 5000 residents. In fact, the retired supervisor remembered when the building was put up, about 15 years ago when Verizon was known as GTE in California.

Line condition has nothing to do with connection availibilty either as far as I can tell. My lines at home are good, they replaced all the lines a few years ago - with new copper, so I guess we will never have FiOS either. My lines at work, where I do have dsl (which is reliable too), are very staticky and there is a Verizon repair van outside our building at least once a month. When I moved in a year ago the Verizon installer said I was lucky my lines even worked and he dreaded making repair calls to our building.

I pay $80 a month for a 1.5 mps satellite connection at home, but if I could get dsl, I could work from home instead of paying $600 rent for an office in town in addition to a phone and dsl account which is $125. The disparity of broadband 'haves' and 'have nots' in this country really hits me hard in the pocketbook.

Even if there is some criteria about a 20 mile range, it doesn't matter because there is no way to contact anyone at Verizon in a position to make decisions, let alone actually help a customer out, if they are in fact, eligible for a dsl connection.

chuckfl

There does not seem to be much we can co. A few years ago Verizon stated I qualified for DSL, one of there people even teste3d my line and said

it qualified (real short distance). They gave me a start date than kept moving it for 5 months before they decided my line did not qualify. Dial up or

satilite have been my only options. So I will be going to satilite and probably cell phones. After 23 years with this same account and never a late

payment or problems Verizon would want to keep customers.

Provider7

Wow...so much to cover here. The first issue: Population in the community. We have a couple small towns here with populations of around 2000 too. They most likely will never get Dsl and Verizon won't consider it unless the community can come up with a petition of individuals that would suscribe to having the service. You need to take into consideration the massive expense of equipment needed to be installed in the office to overlap the Dsl service onto your existing phone line. Not to mention conditioning the cables going down the road and removing Loads; which way back when were useful in re-amplifying the dialtones. (Loads will block the Dsl signal)

In most small town like we have here you can basically call it "living in the country" which brings out the second issue. Distance...you have to be within 3.5 miles from our office or some of our remote hubs...so distance is very important. When I say remote hubs, some require extra equipment to be wired to make the remote hub act like a central office. (DSLAM)

Next line conditions...They definately matter...If your getting static on the lines it will greatly effect the quality of service you will recieve with upload and download speeds.

Finally FIOS...why not bring it to your area? This is a new product. They estimate that it cost the company roughly $800. per house just to run the wire past the home. This does not include the expense of installation time the installer has at your home which can be anywheres from 2 to 6 hours depending on the situations he runs into with the installation. So naturally they are going to go where they can get the most Bang for their buck so they can immediately re-coup some of their investment (highly dense popluations). This re-vamping their network with Fiber is a major undertaking and will take some time to get established.

I hope this info helps

Regards,

Walt

Message Edited by Provider7 on 01-02-2009 09:17 AM

mtpalms

Walt, I appreciate Verizon's reluctance to serve their customers if it is going to cost them an initial investment, in spite of the millions they spend in advertising that say things to the contrary. A petition? Who does one contact to get a petition? Verizon has never told me this was an option, they just put me on a list and tell me they will get back to me when dsl is available in my neighborhood, which will be never according to your 'helpful' information.

Now a reality check for you, Walt:

My parents live on a farm in central Nebraska, seven miles form a small town of 2500. It has one of the last private phone companies left in the nation, and probably serves 3500 customers or less (Cozad Telephone Company, if you're interested in checking my facts). This little private company has managed to not only install fiber optics to every home in town, but to every customer within their boundary, probably a 10 mile radius, maybe a bit more.

Walt, that is customer service. If you go to Verizon's Home page, you will see a big slogan splashed on the screen "INTERNET FOR THE WAY YOU CONNECT" Well no Walt, sorry, that is obviously not the case when a multi billion dollar company cannot provide the same service to all of its customers as a little phone company in central Nebraska does. They may be able to fool themselves by pleading poverty (obviously they can afford a bit of advertising though, even if it's false), but you can't fool your customers once they know the facts.Unfortunately most of the time they are shielded from the truth, because Verizon is their only source for 'facts'. Lucky for you and Verizon, this post will be seen by only a handful of their (frustrated) customers.

Hope this helps Walt. Happy New Year.

PS Here is a link to Cozad Telephone Co

http://www.cozadtel.net/

Obviously they don't have a multi million dollar advertising budget, but they do have what people want: BROADBAND.

Edited to remove the assumption tha "Walt" works for Verizon. My apologies, I don't know if he does or not, but I still dispute his 'facts'

Message Edited by mtpalms on 01-02-2009 08:37 AM

highwaystar50

I've been following this thread with much interest as I am in the same boat it seems. I have considered a satellite connection using one of those USB things but I'd still have to deal with Verizon and I just don't feel like contributing to their coffers any more than I have to. Plus I'd have to stop using AOL which can be a chore in itself to do. As I mentioned in my own post, this is more of a philosophical concern for me, e.g., how can a company advertise something and charge for it when they don't have any intent to deliver it? Is it okay if no one finds out about it or complains? Is it okay to ignore those who do find out about it and complain? I reckon they own me at least 50% of what I've been paying them as that's about what my service level has been since I've had DSL.I wonder if I can consider that "loss" tax deductible?

Karl

Provider7

mtpalms,

I am an employee of Verizon. I am a installer who responded to this post to share what i've seen here at Verizon in our area of Western NY. If it makes you feel better to climb down my throat; then go ahead and Vent. I just work here. When I mentioned the petition, it was suggested to me by an engineer that a community may have more luck by petitioning Verizon to get Dsl installed in their area. Personally I don't know who or when they decide how it's implemented, I only see the end results when it is.

Now, I wasn't aware I needed a "Reality Check". Advancements and improvements are happening everyday with companies all over this nation. Small and Large. Quite frankly I"m glad to see Verizon making the effort to advance their network. But again...I can't control who get's it or how it's implemented. I"m sorry. But to compare us to Cozad isn't really fair either. From what little I can find, their footprint basically covers a few towns whereas ours is all over the nation. To advance our entire national network all at once is a nice thought, it's not feasible.

May I ask you something?...Who provides your Cable Television and do you subscribe to them? If not, why?

Provider7

I just want to add something...I honestly understand your frustration. How do you think I feel?...I work in these small towns and they give me this truck with "DSL, get it now!" Plastered all over my truck. Personally, I would wish everyone could get it. I've even had people pull me over to ask when or if it's going to be implemented. What I find is most of those asking live too far from the office. So even if it was in their area it wouldn't reach their houses.

SusanNB

I am in the same boat Liana, heres what iam trying to do I am going to contact a local Office in my county and request a survey or petition or maybe for a Remote Terminal to be deployed because by this time my neighbors and I are trying to see how much it would cost and we would all split it but Iam sure it will be around 5 to 10 grand for the equipment not to mention the fibre fed lines they will be a whole nother issue but any way iam going to atleast try to get a petition going and see what they say. My dad has been a customer for 46 years and he is ready to higher a lawyer because in a way it's descrimination to give a service to certain parts of a town and say ok were done deploying our service here and forget about the people that have been there waiting( haha if verizon would of got to them and then waited they would of already profited by now haha, not to mention if they would of deployed DSL within this region they would of already profited from it.). Now iam already familiar with all the DSL facts and what not but what I do know Verizon being a multi Billion dollar company doesn't care about half of it customers because if it did it would have already served them by now. By the time they even think of our town they will already stop deploying FIOs and start giving the cities the next cut of the edge technology before they even get us past dial up for peats sake, and you can't say they won't because they've already done it with DSL and FiOS.

In my point of view highspeed internet isn't a luxury it's a requirement, every house hold needs atleast 1mbps connection to keep up with nowadays. I would of got wireless or satelite but i tried them both and my bills ended up being over $150 a month not to mention with Verizon Wireless I got the so called unlimited plan and got a $300 extra bill in the mail saying that I over used it. They never mentioned it as far as I heard. I have to upload alot of work to my Office at my job's Server so I can access it at work.

Bowbender

I'm in the same situation as the rest of you.

Five miles out from the central office.

My problem with having no DSL is this.

Way back, the internet was designed for the dialup. There was no other option. Now however, the internet has become so geared toward high speed, that many sites are completely useless to me. I can't wait for a site that is loaded with huge graphics or is highly interactive.

The other thing is updating the programs on your computer. Dialup users look at a 10mb file download and cringe.

I'm hoping this stimulus plan that has been passed will help some of us out, but I'm not counting on it. It always seems the money gets diverted to other things than the ones that were intended.

CharlesH

I hear giving Verizon baked goods will get them to get you service...but seriously it stinks when you are just outside the service area for a particular telecommunications product.

I havent checked pricing but Verizon Wireless offers those USB adapters that offer better than dial-up speed. I've even seen little routers for those cards. =P Just my 2 cents.

Bowbender

CharlesH,

I actually did try the Verizon Wireless USB modem. I am unfortunately in a "dead zone" when it comes to data service. My Verizon phone works, barely, but there is very spotty connection to data and certainly no EV. Just 1x.

I can see Verizon's point of view. I don't live in a heavily populated area and providing us with high speed might not be a good return on their investment. I do however think that most people out by me would jump at the chance to have access to some form of high speed. But yes, you are right, it stinks!

I am going to assume that fiber is even less likely to make inroads in our area. Am I correct in assuming that? What is the length limit of fiber if any?

Thanks

luv2quilt

They did this to me three times a couple of years ago. I would call the 800 number to find out why my order was cancelled; they did not know, so they would resubmit the order. I ended up with three modems in the end, before they finally told me the service was not available. Six months later, my neighbor has DSL. They live west of me, on the other side of the road, and my neighbor who is east of me, also on the other side of the road qualifies for DSL. Now my road is only a couple of miles long in total, with 8-10 houses on it, and the substation is at the east end of the road (about a mile from my house). I spoke with a DSL serviceman who happened to be on site this weekend. He was unsure why I was not able to get service and took my phone number. Today I spoke with Verizon (local and tech support) and they hung up on me! Great customer service. They keep trying to tell me there are not enough circuits available. Well then -- duh -- install more!!!!

By the way - today they told me there is no signup/call back list - so to those who are filling out the form that says to let you know when service is available in your area - FORGET IT..... you just have to keep hounding them. Me -- I think I'm going to call Hughes Net and get me a cell phone too! I may have to pay more, but at least I won't have to put up with Verizon's poor service.

mtpalms

Hughes Net is definitely a viable stop gap measure (I have Wildblue myself with few complaints - it is what it is - and both services are nearly identical), but paying $80 a month for a 1.5 mbps maximum connection is horribly expensive and it doesn't even qualify as broadband these days.

I get the maximum connection at 5:30 AM when most people are still snoozing, but the latency hits hard in the afternoon through the evening and on weekends. Once a page loads, it usually loads fast, but it often takes several minutes to even start. Especially with websites that use flash - particularly news and media outlets that automatically start loading video and video stream advertising - and that would be about all of them. I also end up downloading video streams I want to see whenever possible so they are viewable.

For a phone company, this corporation is a miscommunicative mess and no one ever really seems to know what is going on.

Anjel1

Have everyone you know...(and then some!) barrage your local office with requests... use a close major intersection or two, so you don't give all these people your address...it's based on requests around or through you...real or not!! Getting any ideas? The more
"Business entities" the better...you'll find out who the higher ups are by requesting only a supervisor...dsl # 800-567-6789...and good luck...I had the same issue!

hjason7812

i would like verizon here in my area period. the phone company here now doesn't want to do anything with the internet. i keep asking them when they are going to get faster speeds or fiber cable. and they whine about it so i know we will never get it but new homes get fiber put in but it is still on the copper lines going to the hub.

we need verizon to xome in to my county and put a fire under the phone companies but here.

as soon as verizon comes in and gets high speed internet here i will drop my current and go with them and so will many other ppl in my county.

so if you read this forum verizon please bring high speed here to my county and everything else you offer you will not regret it.

vztelecom

I've heard of people setting up petitions in their towns to get HSI where they live. Contact your local government office about it, they can help you (township supervisors, mayors etc.).

prisaz

I feel your pain. In the mid 1990s I was too far from Verizons Central office so I had a third party provide DSL. $625 to have the dry pair provisioned by Verizon and $90 a month gave me 768k/768k and 5 Static IP addresses. Business class. At the time cable was only one way and still required outbound dial up. It had to go, so I bit the bullet. Once Verizon had DSL where I could get it I switched. But that took 5 years.

Back to your issue. If Verizon is not in your area then perhaps you could go the same route. If Internet access is that important for you there may be a third party that can do DSL. By law the local exchange carrier must provide access to your line or another line to your property if available. But there could be many factors that cause line quality or distance not to work for DSL. If your location is not in a densely populated area then you may be out of luck. My brother is in the Shenandoah Valley Virginia and is service by Shentel, he just got 768k last year.

I hope Verizon does move into your area with FIOS because it's great. I think they have been moving into market areas where they previously had no copper. If Verizon does not provide phone service in your area there may be a reason. You should do as the other post says, and petition local government for changes.

mtpalms2u

FYI:

I am unable to log into my mtpalms account anymore. At home I either get a username and password do not match error, or a "zip code unavailable" error. When I tried to log in at work, I got the username and password do not match error, and when I try to retrieve my password it says, "The User is not active, Please Activate the account"

Back on topic.

I'm not convinced the copper argument or population density applies in my case. The only difference between my DSL-less neighborhood and the neighborhood next door, is the age of the exchange building; theirs is newer, but also further from the main office. Our neighborhood has new copper, the building has fiber optic leading up to it, and the population density is identical. It seems to me that upgrading our building would pay for itself relatively quickly.

I've looked at the fios maps, and it looks to me like they are rolling it out in urban areas that already have broadband internet, at least in my area. If an area had no "copper", and by that I assume you mean no phone lines at all, then it makes sense hat they are running fiber optic.

The issue for most of us in this thread is that they do not want to upgrade our existing equipment so we can get broadband. Imo, none of their excuses are viable.

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