Verizon DSL → DSL and FIOS

My DSL connect has always been good, I get what I pay for. But I can only get the 3/768 service, which is ADSL. I asked about ADSL 2, 7MB service, but its a no go. Verizon just upped my rate to boot. $37/mth

So I frequently check up to see if FIOS has become available.
15/5 plan $44/mth is currently being offered. So I recently checked again, 3 separate days I check, low and behold, going thru the FIOS availability check, it states I can get FIOS now in my neighborhood. All 3 checks pan out, so I call the number given on the FIOS check page, wait on hold for over 20 minutes. I tell the person I am interested in FIOS, want the 15/5 plan, no contract, with a wired FIOS device instead of the wireless one offered. Wait another 10 minutes on hold and I am told that FIOS is not available. The person offers me DSL service, knowing I already have the DSL service. Merely a bait and switch tactic if you ask me.

How is it that I have to pay 95% of FIOS price for a service that is 60% less than the FIOS bandwidth?
How is it that I run thru a FIOS availability check 3 times, on different days, told that FIOS is available, and I am told by their live rep that its not available?
TWC has a 20Mb connect for $44/mth. I hate TWC, thru them out after only 3 weeks of service, they lied to me, ended up paying over $300+ for that 3 weeks of crappy service.

I am trapped, I cannot get any other services but the above 2 options. No other provider is allowed it seems. These 2 companies have a lock, no other providers are allowed, what a monopoly. I am beginning to despise Verizon now. Some 3rd world countries have better service options than me.
I live in the largest city in the states. My last bill for DSL and basic phone service was over $90. $90 bleeping dollars. Its a disgrace. Verizon gouges me, allows me no service upgrades, charges me $9/mth for inside wire maintenance, they have never been in my dwelling in 20 years, inside wire maintenance my behind.

This is what rampant, unregulated, monopolies are allowed to do now. Thank you congress, thank you supreme court for your lobbiests and pure greed.

rant over

inside wire maintenance is optional. if you don't need it you can drop it. you can also prune the phone down to the lowest cost measured service or jump to a CLEC like DSL Extreme and go dry loop (DSL W/O phone).

I jumped to DSL Extreme last March to escape Verizon's price increase from $32 to $37 on my 3/768 dry loop DSL. The first year promotional rate for 3/768 is $24.95 + a $2.88 "Supplier Surcharge Recovery Fee" (in the fine print when you sign up) = $27.83/month. It's supposed to go up around $5-$10 month after the first year. So far, so good. You do have to be aware of the steep early termination fee. DSLX also offers newsgroup access, does not participate in the "six strikes" program, and only keeps logs for 2 weeks as opposed to 18 months for VZ.

Edit: Sorry, this should have been a reply to spyknee.

I submit that you're mistaking malice and "greed" with simple ineptness and incompetence. Verizon personnel on the phone may not accurately determine if you have Fios eligibility.

Most of my chronic phone company problems have been solved, permanently by TWC.

But for those situations that don't allow telco to be eliminated, I've found that flagging down a telco technician working on your street yields results from the ground-up, that can't be duplicated on the phone. Look for a Fios van parked next to the PON pedestal and bug them.

I will check into this. good info.

Thanks for effort, but why would I want to get involved with a contract, that gives me no better service, to save $120. I want better service. Plus DSLX has many unhappy customers, I checked.

Did you read the part where I stated TWC lied, did not honor the service there rep sold me, and overcharged me for 3 weeks of bad service?

Yes, I did, and i don't doubt that was your experience, call centers, service reps and salespeople being what they are; I just don't find that defect exclusive to TWC. Sadly, one has to be hyper-vigilant when dealing with any consumer-oriented call center.

I acknowledged your choice; that's why I suggested a method to resolve your issues with Verizon from the ground up, which works for me in those situations where telco cannot be removed from the picture.

I do appreciate all the replies.

I am just tweaked because of the monopolistic way ISP's have divided up the the states. If you look at coverage maps, its obvious they have gotten together and discussed, behind closed doors, which provider gets which areas.

Did not the government break up MA bell way back when? ISP's now, are doing the same thing ma bell did. I personally believe they are paying off my buildings landlord, so that the landlord will only allow 1 provider in my building, TWC in my case.

My landlord allows no satellite dish's on building. RCN installed equipment on the same corner as my building. Its 5 feet from my building, no RCN in building.
Verizon has added equipment to the telephone poles, I believe its fiber equipment, no fios for my building.

It really irks me that my 3/768 DSL service costs me as much as, 15/5 FIOS service, 25MB/s cable services. TWC, my only cable option available, I tried. They took me for $300 for 3 weeks of service. Boy was it crappy service, got less than 70% of bandwidth I paid for. I could get no help from Federal and state consumer authorities, believe me I tried.

This is not incompetence, its greed! ISP monopolies are discussed all over the internet, its a rampant practice. Again, TY congress.............................

A small excerpt from Googling........
For many Internet users, it's likely the ISP's low rankings are no surprise. It's easy to compare ISPs in America to ISPs in other countries -- and find out, say, that the same data pipeline that would cost $200 a month in New York City costs $25 a month in Hong Kong and $30 a month in Seoul, South Korea. Meanwhile, across the United States, local provider monopolies abound, allowing companies like Comcast and Time Warner to keep broadband prices high while providing service that's subpar.

huh? how is any of this possible when their ISP only service has no contract and a 30 day money back guarantee. just get twc 15/1 alone (and buy your own docsis3 modem) i was also a late adsl holdout based on irrational fears and now realize i should have switched to twc years earlier. verizon has made it abundantly clear to shareholders and customers that they do not want to be in the adsl business any longer, so staying with them will only lead to future frustration and expense.

as for FiOS - it's not unusual for them to selectively service a building or block nearby, thus the confusion between their sales and provisioning departments as to your true availability. if your next door neighbors don't already have FiOS, chances are you can't get it yet, and it's also unlikely they will build out FiOS as promised by end of 2014, so don't hold your breath of EVER getting it. Verizon makes most of it's profits now from wireless, and has little interest in serving your wired needs. twc is all wired all the time, so they should jump through hoops to please you if you let them.

5 or so years ago I was looking into cable TV/internet. Based on my google search, the next day a TWC live rep/telemarketer called me on my home phone and began a dialogue. I stated I wanted home internet, Road Runner, and cable TV. She made me an offer, $29.95 for internet for 6 mth and $29.95 for TV for 6 mth, no contract. They charge me $30 for a tech to come out and install the coax and modem.

After 1 week of use, I was sent a bill for $300. After week 2, I was sent a bill for $700. Turns out they did not honor the package their rep sold me because I did not want there phone service, so I was being billed full rate for each service I had asked for. After 3 weeks, discovering how bad there internet service was, I canceled and was sent a bill for over $1000. I returned all hardware they supplied, cable box's and modem, directly to a TWC service center. I then received a bill for $160+.

I sent them a check for what I owed them, based on the services I agreed to at the $29.95 rates. This was about $30 dollars less than their bill. They refused the payment and turned it over to a collection agency. I broke down and sent the collection agency a 2nd check to be rid of them. 4 months later TWC cashed the original check I had sent them. About $300 in payments for 3 weeks of bad service. That's how.

Maybe I should of placed a stop order on original check, but bank wanted $45 to stop check, so I did not do the stop order. It was dam near 45% of the check amount.

When I tried to contact regulatory agencies, I was sent here and there, basically given a run around.

I kept all paper work and still have it all in a file. But since no regulatory agency would help, it was never presented.

Does this answer the huh?

It sounds like if theres FIOS equipment on the poles in the surrounding area, it just seems that your landlord did not permit Verizon to wire the building.