Verizon Online DSL

I initially signed up for the Double Freedom Bundle, at $69.99. For this, you were given a free modem, the Freedom calling package, and 3/768 speeds. The first few times I tried to sign up for it, I was redirected to the " Call your local business office page ". However after a few days worth of trying I finally got through. I placed the order and waited for my kit to come. The kit came, minus the installation cd, so I had to call tech support and have them walk me through the installation ( to remove the " Walled Garden" that the Westell Modem ships with ). All went well for a year and a half. My only contact with Verizon was sending a check in each month to pay the bill.

Fast forward to about a month and a half ago. My landline phone stopped being able to get incoming calls. In addition, the line was so full of static that you couldn't hear who was on the other end. During this time, my DSL continues to work at full speed. I call repair,and they send someone to fix the line. They do correct the voice portion, but from then on my DSL effectively stops working. My download/upload speeds drop from 3mbs to 500kbs and sometimes to 24kbs ( that's right, slower then dial up ). The upload speeds are just as bad. I call tech support and go through the usual power cycling the modem, clearing the cache, etc. They test the line and it fails.

No fewer then 6 techs come out to try to fix it. One of them puts me on the phone with someone from the CO who tells me because of my line condition I can no longer get the 3/768 speeds, despite the fact that I had gotten them for a year and a half. He tells me that they are going to lower my speed to 1.5/368 to stabilize my line. Unfortunately, it's the same price as the higher speed that I had been getting. Luckily I am out of my contract. So I go a step further, and cancel my voice service and downgrade my speed to the 1/368 package, creating a dry loop. One of the techs discovers the problem is in the line between my home and the junction box, about a block away. He determines that out of the 25 available pairs, only 4 are in working condition. He also tells me that Verizon isn't maintaining their copper infrastructure any more, because of their focus on FIOS.

As of today, it still doesn't work. I still am getting the frequent disconnects and the speed varies from 24kbs to 640kbs. It's never higher then that, which is extremely frustrating considering 2 months ago I was getting 3MBS PROBLEM FREE. My line has failed the Verizon Tech Support line test more then 7 times. A tech called Saturday to tell me he tested the line. He said he found no problem and suggested I downgrade to , you guessed it, the 1/368 plan. Problem is, I am already on that plan and it still doesn't work. And Tech support tested the line, and no surprise, once again it failed. So again, a tech is scheduled to come out tomorrow.

So what's the bottom line? Despite all the mailings and phone calls I have received telling me to switch to FIOS, it's not an option. I'm renting and can't have it installed. Besides, DSL more then met my needs WHEN IT WORKED, which it did for over a year. From before when I never had a need to call Verizon ( and didn't even know the number to call ), I am now calling almost daily. And the problem remains. I've dealt with some unhelpful and even rude people, but the majority of people at Verizon have tried to help me. They are just extremely limited in what they can do. The truth is the copper infrastructure is falling apart. Verizon is focused on the Fiber aspect of the business, and to be honest, it makes business sense to a degree. However, if that's what they plan on doing, they should stop selling DSL and copper based service. Just like the dial up ISP's did when they moved away from that technology. In my opinion you can't continue to actively sell service on a technology that you have in effect abandoned.

So that's my review. If you google verizon dsl problems, you'll get a ton of hits. Unfortunately, I am far from the only one experiencing problems. After being a Verizon customer for 15 years, I am a breath away from cancelling not only my remaining dsl service, but my wireless service as well. It's just very frustrating to pay for something that doesn't work. Not to mention the hours on the phone with tech support, and waiting all day for a tech to arrive. If you have a choice, look elsewhere for your service.