[ NNSquad ] Re: Free Press: FCC used 'flawed data' in broadband plan

[Larry Press <lpress@csudh.edu>]

On 4/25/2010 8:23 PM, Dan Gillmor wrote:
> > spectrum in the US where they advertise 50 and actually deliver close to 50?


"They" must be Verizon in this case, and perhaps they deliver a 
consistent 50 mbps over FIOS (for $140/month).  (What percent of US 
households can get FIOS and how rapidly is Verizon adding new locations)?

Verizon cannot deliver their advertised DSL speed in many areas where it 
is advertised and sold.  That does not stop them from signing people up 
then wasting fruitless truck rolls when the customer complains.

I recently signed up for Verizon 7 mbps DSL, and got around 1.4.  It 
turns out I am 9,000 feet from my central office -- no way to deliver 7 
mbps, but the marketing folks did not have access to that little detail. 
 Verizon happily signed me up and then sent truck out to investigate 
after having me run stupid tests over the phone for an hour.  The driver 
said he does about 5 truck rolls per day and about three are fruitless.

(See 
http://cis471.blogspot.com/2010/04/government-and-private-industry-can-be.html 
for more).

The bottom line -- even in a zip code where some folks can get an 
advertised speed, others cannot, and Verizon is too disorganized (or 
dishonest) to tell the difference.

Larry Press

  [ As NNSquad readers will recall, Verizon has announced that
    except in some areas already in negotiation or other process,
    they have now ceased their expansion efforts for FiOS -- no doubt
    to the vast relief of some existing ISPs in areas that FiOS
    doesn't -- and apparently won't -- be serving anytime soon.

      -- Lauren Weinstein
         NNSquad Moderator ]