Review by sullim4  UPDATED: 32 days ago member for 5.1 years, 412 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Redmond,King,WA
$35 per month (12 month contract)
about 2 days
Verizon (ex GTE)
"Quick install turnaround, connection is quite stable"
"Download is a tad slower than most cable connections"
"A great value for the money"
| Pre Sales information: Install Co-ordination: Connection reliability: Services: Value for money: (ratings match consensus)
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Although I just got the service three days ago I thought I'd write a review while initial setup was still fresh in my mind.
I signed up for the 3000/768 dry loop package from Verizon's website on a Sunday. I opted for the modem rather than the combined modem/router. Got it on Tuesday, plugged it right in, and it was working. Perhaps my expectations were low, but I was pretty amazed that I had a working connection 2 days after I signed up. Comcast required a tech visit and roughly a week's notice. The only thing I knock them on here is that their website is clunky in terms of figuring out what dry loop packages are available to customers.
Modem/router setup was surprising to me as I didn't know their modems acted as a DHCP server for the LAN. Once that lightbulb went off in my head, and I set the modem to bridge mode, everything was fine.
Again, I've only had the service for three days, but the consistency of the up and down speeds surpasses that of Comcast so far. I'm not getting any random clicking noises on my CallVantage line like I did with cable. The key word there is random - there is some definite pain while downloading large files and talking on the phone at the same time as the download has been cut in half. I'll need to fix that with some QoS tweaks at my router. However, my slingbox now has double the upload; that has been a really nice bonus.
Overall, I've been pleasantly surprised so far with Verizon's service. I paid $58/mo with Comcast's 6000/384 package (which included the mandatory limited cable bundling). Compare that to the $35 with tax that I pay for DSL and I really think the value is there for people who aren't heavy downloaders. Sure, I'll download an ISO every once and awhile, but I usually queue those for the overnight hours so it's not a big deal to me to lose some download speed. Add to that the fact that my upload has basically doubled and that Verizon doesn't packet forge and I'm a pretty happy camper.
--Update (6/23/08)--
After about a month and a half, I'm still quite pleased with the service. The consistency of the speed is what amazes me the most - it's been delivering as advertised. I switched my line to fastpath shortly after signup and it has indeed delivered "snappier" browsing than Comcast ever did, even with their increased speeds.
For $35/mo, you really can't beat the value. Most people around here use Comcast, which I think is a product of the contract that Verizon mandates, as well as the perceived notion that speed is always king. In my case though... the switch to DSL has worked out well.
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