How can you tell what speed DSL is provisioned for?

[Netbrad]

Every year I visit my family in Lynchburg, VA and deal with increasingly slow DSL speeds.  Today it was a whopping .4 (yes point four) Mbps.  I power cycled the ancient 2750b modem and got 1.2 Mbps, which is great if it was still the year 2002.

I found out my in laws have been paying $90 per month for this inexcusable speed for years.  They could have paid for a custom fiber installation at this point. They tried to find their provisioned speed online but it just says "high speed internet enhanced."  How can we find out what speed tier we are provisioned for?  How can we find out if a newer modem or firmware is available?

[jonjones1]

DSL is provisioned when signing up for service. It depends on how from the CO you are located. Ancient do you mean a westell model? 

you can call and ask they should be able to tell you.

the problem is Verizon has been phasing out copper which serves dsl and old phone service. They have been placing the old dsl customers into the newer fiber optics.

but not every where. You can get better speeds going with a unlimited plan from a satellite provider, or just call up 1-800-VERIZON and see if Fios is available.

Fios gigabyte plan is presently $70 plus the rental of their router which you do not need to use so it would be $70+$15 for a cost of $85 a month. But if you buy a netgear router at Costco or Walmart or even Best Buy they run on special $55-$75 and you don’t need the expensive ones in the $400-$700 range. Check out online reviews for which routers customers purchase to enjoy Fios.

[gs0b]

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@Netbrad wrote:

I found out my in laws have been paying $90 per month for this inexcusable speed for years.

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Verizon does not reach out to customers and offer to upgrade them or reduce prices.  You need to contact them to find out what options are available for the specific location.  Use the social media support team for best results.  You can reach them by tweeting @verizonsupport or posting over in https://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzdirect.  Both go to the same team; choose based on if you like to tweet or post.

If FiOS is available where they live, SWITCH NOW!  If not, is there cable service available? Even that is very likely to be faster and cheaper.  No need to show loyalty to Verizon; they don't care.

[jonjones1]

I agree with you whole heartedly. The kudos button must have been disabled so I could not kudo you. But I give you 5+ kudos for your answer.