My brother and I live 5 miles apart. Am I wrong to suggest Verizon should perhaps standardise it's pricing structure?

As for the distance issue?: I can download at my max rate of 180 kbps whether the uploading server is located in the UK, Australia or across the street, so I am still not sure how the information you have provided relates to why my neighbourhood's data transfer rate is capped at a precise 180 kbps. Another poster is suggesting this cap is not a result of Verizon's artificially shaping the traffic in my area or managing our data transfer rates. Really?

said by Eldega:

It does seem that you think that a DSL connection is shared among a neighborhood data line, like cable.
DSL subscribers have a dedicated connection, and so you're more likely to get the speeds you are paying for.

I would suggest you take a read at this link:
»computer.howstuffworks.com/dsl1.htm

said by Smithson:

In my opinion' Concast is the greediest company on the planet, and I refuse to deal with them.

said by Smithson:

There is a communications monopoly in this country. Fact.

said by Smithson:

Companies such as Concast and Verizon have not kept up with the pace of Internet technology as have such countries as Japan and Denmark, and that is also a fact. The American communications infrastructure is outdated and inadequate to meet the needs of our contemporary digital world.

said by Smithson:

Your self-satisfied hyperbole and dismissive tone do nothing to discredit my assertions, which are common knowledge to anyone who doesn't listen to Verizon's marketing waffle or have a stake in defending it.

said by Smithson:

As for the pricing issue: Basically you are suggesting that if I go to the produce market and the guy in line ahead of me is charged 1.00 per pound for Iceberg lettuce (there is not a special sale), but I am charged 1.00 per half pound of the same exact lettuce, I should either accept the discrepancy without complaint or go to another produce outlet?

said by Smithson:

And I understand exactly how DSl works.

said by Smithson:

A data-pipe can't be congested or a node doesn't have a max capacity? Are you kidding me?

said by Smithson:

Do you think the customer service rep. reads you the fine print over the phone when you open an account?

said by Smithson:

The standard terms of service contract basically says we (the corporation) will do whatever we want, but we'll try not to be too blatantly unreasonable in order to keep the payments coming in.

said by Smithson:

DSL is distance related? What does that mean? Please enlighten me. I am always eager to become less ignorant. Distance in relation to what? My brother, who also has Verizon DSL, lives 5 miles from me. He can send information to me at 400+ kbps, and I can send information to him at less than half that rate. Our respective computers are equidistant apart, so if the discrepancy in our download speeds has nothing to do with Verizon's hardware or infrastructure, why are my neighbourhood's max DSL download speeds capped at 180 kbps? I am not getting 'up to' anything. I am artificially throttled at 180 kbps max because the data pipe in my neighbourhood simply cannot handle the transfer rates a higher bandwidth allowance would create. I do not live on top of the Himalayas. My house is just as close to the main highway and utility poles as my brother's. Verizon has told me: 1.5 mbps is the 'only' package available in my area. I am not a Microsoft certified computer specialist or Geek Squader, but I'm not completely stupid either. The datapipe in my area is obviously over-congested, and our bandwidth is being micromanaged.

said by Smithson:

I have a Max 1.5 mbps download package, the only package available to me. My brother has a 3 mbps package (and he really does get those download speeds) and we're both paying the same price. That was my complaint.

said by Smithson:

I await further corporate mumbo jumbo.