DSL speed question

Factual Questions
1

I’ve finally lost patience with my super-slow dial-up modem, and am considering hooking up to a DSL connection through my local phone provider, Verizon.

The “Enhanced DSL” package that i am considering says that speeds “up to 768Kbps/128Kbps.” However, one of the caveats on their sign-up page is that download and upload speed can vary according to the condition of wiring in your location etc. etc. I live in a rented apartment and would be willing to bet that the lines around my area (in Baltimore) are not really new.

What i was hoping for was some feedback from fellow Dopers about how widely the download speeds vary among DSL users. Any information you could give would be most appreciated. I don’t want to fork out $50 a month for a service that ends up being only a small imporvement over my current one (although my current service is so slow it’s hard to imagine that the improvement would not be very noticeable!)

2

I am assuming that you have Verizon as your phone provider and also who you would order your DSL through. There is no way for Verizon to determine what your lines speeds would be. Aside from line conditions there are factors like computer config, network congestion, and server/router speeds at the webisites you visit.

My best advice is to give it a try. You have a 30 day money back guarantee which will you give the chance to determine wether it is worth your money or not. Spoken like a try Verizon online Dsl sales rep dont you think? :smiley:

Also…you have a hilarious sig. Just thought I would mention.

3

Just to second what pezpunk said.

However, if you live more than a mile or so (damn, I hope I’m remembering that right) from the nearest Verizon central office, you would be much better served with a cable modem. Basically, the further you live from the CO, the longer your download time. And you are right, your building probably has copper running from the street, so that will also adversely affect your download time.

Waste
Flick Lives!

4

I had DSL service in an older building in Boston for about 3 years. The download speed was always between 50 kilobytes per second and 70 kilobytes per second. That is very typical of DSL and there is no way that it could ever be anywhere near as slow 56k dialup. DSL is good but cable is 4 - 6x as fast as DSL if they are both maxed out. I loved my DSL but I like my new cable broadband even better.

Still, DSL is worlds ahead of dialup. I say go for it if that is your best available option.

5

I don’t think that is 100% true GLWasteful. There are other factors besides distance as I mentioned. I’ve had customers near the end of the “loop” getting better speed than those a mile from the CO. That is not always the case, but it happens. Also you would have to consider the cable provide in the area before coming to the conclusion that cable would be faster. Some areas are so saturated with cable users that speeds are hardly better than dial up at times.

6

The first thing you will notice is that Verizon’s customer service is one of the very worst examples in the industry. They will tell you anything to get you on board, then once you’re paying, nothing happens.

After being sucked into a bureaucratic loophole with no DSL for–I kid you not–nine months while still paying for it, I finally got the bright idea to send out an e-mail that began something like this:

“I have been invited to testify before the House Commerce Committee regarding your company’s incompetent customer service…”

Boom. Fat pipeline restored in seventy-two hours, with periodic calls to make sure everything is A-OK.

Verizon’s actual service, though, is pretty darned skippy. It is mated with that Winpoet crap; Winpoet’s most important feature is that it appears to automatically degrade your upload/download speeds by a good twenty percent. Once I was up and running, I was trapped at about 600up/96down (while paying for 720/128).

You can blast right through that by going on over to the Tweak Test at www.DSLReports.com . I had to change my MTU settings and a few other features, but since I did I get a solid 716/128 all the time. That’s more than close enough after all the bullshit I had to go through.

Their service used to go on the skids a couple of nights a week, but things have since improved for me to the point where it’s only down on a bi-monthly basis. Still, that’s worth keeping in mind when you’re setting up for the first time and run into problems. Verizon’s customer service is not cognizant of their own service outage updates, and will waste your time all night long troubleshooting your computer when their own lines are down.

So before even calling them, I recommend you take ten or fifteen minutes to run the 800-number gauntlet until you find the number that gives a recorded message about what service is down where. If your area is on the list, give up for the evening.

Oh, and take down peoples’ names and employee numbers. They are much more polite and efficient when you do. I also sent out “smoochie” e-mails when the occasional CustServ superstar came along.

7

I second the opinion of cable being better than DSL. Of course, my ISP is Optimum Online, the fastest ISP in the country according to dslreports, so YMMV. However, I’ve also heard from many sources, including dslreports, that Verizon DSL customer service is a nightmare. So if cable is an option, I’d recommend giving it serious consideration.

8

pezpunk:
100% true? No. But the odds decrease that you will get those lightnin’ fast download times the further out that you are. It has been too long since I last worked for TPC to remember anything absolutely, hence my parenthetical bet hedging in my previous post.

And you are absolutely correct that cable may not wind up being any faster, but from my own anecdotal experience, as well as that of numerous others, it probably will be.

YMMV

Waste
Flick Lives!

9

For the record, I do have cable and like it quite a bit. However, the question was about speed fluctuation with DSL and not about opinions on whether to get DSL or cable I decided to answer the op.

Service issues are another story. While I do not for a moment doubt the frustration that sofa king went through, you must remember that Verizon is a huge company with over a million DSL customers. The vast majority of users would be very happy customers. Unhappy experiences are ALWAYS more traumatic than happy ones and often prompt people to write (as they should) about them.

As many people here mentioned web sites like dslreports are great resources for highspeed internet opinions. I would recommend looking at how other ISP’s in your area besides Verizon did as well.

10

Many thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. I had heard that cable was better than DSL, but i spoke to Comcast last week and they will not be cable-internet ready in Baltimore City for another year or so, apparently. I’m not sure whether there are other cable providers who are currently available in my location, but i think i remember hearing that cable internet was not yet an option around here.

I will indeed take people’s advice and check out other DSL providers, as the consensus seems to be that Verizon’s customer service is nothing short of disastrous. As for DSL speed, if i can get the same performace as Shagnasty describes (50-70kbps) that will still be about 20x as fast as my current dial-up system, and so would be well worth the money, IMO.

Thanks again, and if anyone has any further comments i’d be happy to hear them.

michael

11

The problem with “other” DSL providers, is that ultimately, they have to go through Verizon for the actual connection. If it’s through your phone line, it’s through Verizon. So basically, you’re stuck with all the problems that having Verizon entails anyway. When I had DSL through them it was out at least 2 nights a week where I couldn’t connect. I eventually cancelled as soon as Optimum Online became available, and I freaking love the Cable modem.

Though problematic DSL is still 10x better than a 56k modem.

12

Be careful about other dsl providers - they are reselling verizon dsl service. Mindspring/earthlink sell 1.5mb/s dsl in my area but under close questioning they sell the same 760kb/s that verizon sells in fact the same tech might install it (Verizon’s tech) - they say 1.5mb/s because in some areas it is but they don’t tell you that’s in another part of the country.

go with verizon - try it out and if you don’t like it cancel (they have a trial period).

Also verizon dsl used to be better (and still is for some of us who singed up early) the monthly rate was $39 and you could get that down to $35 (mine still is $35) and they give you dialup backup (also useful for traveling) local numbers in the eastern US (now that feature goes for an extra $10 (apx)

13

I have Bellsouth DSL at work, and normally get speeds of 140kilobytes per second. We have had it for about 10 months, with downtime overall being less than 5 minutes the whole time. Latency has been very good too.

I have Comcast cable access at home, and usually get about 100k per second. It’s been down once for about 30 minutes in the 1 month we have had it. Latency is good, but not as good as the DSL

We used to have @home cable internet, and it would often get transfer rates as high as 800k per second. But seems we lost that when @home got sucked in by comcast. Latency was excellent.

14

k2dave’s comment about earlier subscribers paying $39 (instead of $49) a month, and sometimes being able to get it down to $35, reminds me of another question.

I am notoriously bad at pushing for discounts etc., but i was wondering how flexible these Verizan people are in terms of costs. I mean, i get a call at least once a month trying to persuade me to sign up, and they seem desperate for business. Also, this industry is one of those economic concerns with high fixed costs, and very little extra cost involved in adding one more customer to the network, so theoretically it is in their economic interest to add a customer at a discount rather than to lose the customer altogether. However, i have long-since realized that such economic rationality is only pushed by corporations when it is in their interests, and is ignored the rest of the time.

Obviously, if there is some flexibility on price, i would be better off signing up with a representative over the phone, rather than signing up on the web.

Anyone have any thoughts on this issue? Thanks again.

15

I am sorry but you will find there is no flexibility with cost through Verizon. The current offer is either $29.95 for the first 3 months $49.95 after free modem, and activation. No commit. and 30 money back offer.

If you order through the website you get the first month free.

I am 100% positive on this answer as this is what I do for a living :slight_smile:

16

pezpunk, you’ve been very helpful, so maybe i can pick your brains a little more with a couple of Verizon-specific questions (and if anyone else has opinions on these issues, i’d love to hear them, too):

  1. I know the website says no signup, and that you can cancel at any time (provided you give back the modem or pay a fee), but at least one person on this thread (Sofa King)suggests that Verizon sometimes keeps charging even when no service is being provided.

  2. I’m actually comtemplating moving house in about three months or so, but would remain within the same four or five block area. Could i easily transfer my Verizon DSL account to my new abode?

  3. If i sign up online, how do i get the DSL modem? Does Verizon ship it out, or do i pick it up somewhere? And how easy is it for a computer dunce like me to set the whole thing up?

  4. I have been given a choice of Genuity or Qwest to be my “Global Service Provider.” Is one of these better than the other?

17

YOu should be able to get the $5/month discount off $49/month if you have certain calling packages. ** pezpunk** should be able to fill you in to the details - if not your verizon rep should.

Also I can understand why they upped the price but I think it’s a mistake to charge for dial backup. In my area dsl is about 4x slower then cable and pricer and the one thing it had over cable
was dial backup (and travel dialup). also one could say that since dsl goes down more often then cable (1hr/month compared w/ 20min/month) that they should provide dial backup but again being able to use it during traveling is a nice extra. It also used the verizon dialup isp service so it’s not like their maintaining the numbers just as backup.

end of rant - i still think verizon is the way to go.

1 - Verizon has always been very helpful to me - I don’t think it will be a problem if you cancle w/i the trial period and call back to confirm the cancelation #. Billing might be delayed though - you might get billed then credited though.
2 - possible but not for sure - ask verizon what happens if I move to a place that you can’t provide service. Also ask them what happens if you move and they can’t provide the same speed.
3 - Mine came fed-ex. I think you can pick it up at places too.
4 - I don’t know - I chose quest becuase their web site showed a map of the US while Genutiy (was called something else) was mainly text - really that was the deciding and only factor.

Genuity is owned by verizon btw. For some reason that I can’t remember I was glad I chose quest. Also the dial backup numbers are specfic to the GSP’s - so you may want to look up the dial backup numbers for your area (then again it’s a pay service now :frowning: )

18

Okay, let me give these a shot. Oh and k2dave is correct about the calling plans. That is handled through the phone company though and I work for Verizon online internet so I am not 100% familiar. While you do get $5 off you may end up with calling services you don’t really need anyway.

  1. k2dave is correct on this answer too (k2dave want a job? :slight_smile: ). Canceling is easy and you will be refunded any money charged during your first thirty days. It may take a billing cycle or two to hit but you will get it. Please remember that the site does say that speeds are not guaranteed. So while SofaKing mentions he was paying for 768/128 technically he is not. Those are the top speed attainable on that package. If it’s possible to get them he certainly should however there are no speed minimum guaranties.

  2. Technically speaking your move should be easy. Sometimes it is not though. It all comes down to planning on your side. Remember that while you are an existing customer with DSL, your new house’s phone line will be new to the service and will need to be prepared for it. This takes 5 bus. days. In order to avoid downtime I would suggest turning the new phone line on early. Once “active” the testing system takes about 3 bus. days to recognize the new number. At this point we can place the move order. So altogether you will be looking at about 8 bus days. This can be difficult if you are keeping your existing number as you probably will not be able to move it to the new location early.

  3. The DSL modem typically comes via UPS but depending on your area that could be different. If it comes UPS you will need to have someone over 18 sign for it.

  4. Genuity vs. Qwest is a personal decision so I am told. everyone have a different opinion. In theory it shouldn’t matter. Most people go with Qwest. k2dave is right again about Genuity being connected to Verizon indirectly. Genuity was former GTE’s backbone. It was sold off during the merger and now contracted I believe.

I hope this helps. If you need any other info, don’t hesitate to ask!

19

Oh and k2dave I do agree completely about the dial up situation. It should be free but it isn’t. At least if you have access to the net away from home you can still check your email for free by loging in to start.verizon.net

20

pepunk I had limited success in accessing my email via the web. I think it’s better now but at one time (about 6 months ago) it was frequently down.

What is the story for us who are still paying $39/$35/month and have free dial up - is that going away anytime soon. I know you can’t do anything about it but that gives me strong insentive to go w/ optonline.

Also about your email address. at one time you could get email addresses like myname@bellatlantic.net which now works as myname@verizon.net

now you get an email address like vze34723ny@verizon.net that they assign. you can request an alisas that is in the format name1.name2@verizon.net that you can use as an email address no numbers allowed and you will get a dot inbetween.