Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dsl and verizon

Picking a good plan

pulled_levers — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:10:11 -0800

In need of a cheap high speed internet/cable package shared among 7 college girls in MD and not sure where to start. Help! Six other girls and I will be moving into a house in College Park, MD 20740. A friend of mine has looked into Verizon for a plan. Unfortunately, she says that that particular plan only works with flatscreen TVs which we do not have.

I have looked at comcast as well as reviews of comcast saying that they are overpriced with not-so-great customer service.

After looking at some DSL vs Cable sites, it seems that cable is pricier but has faster connection. Because the internet will be shared among seven girls, I wanted to know whether or not paying for cable will become a necessity and if we should go for a package that has a minimum of X MBPS.

I would prefer a high-speed internet service coupled with a fairly basic TV cable plan. I am worried about internet being too slow if shared between so many girls. I am also bringing a wireless router to the house (will the internet company I choose help me install that at all?).

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed because we are moving in in two days and classes start on Monday. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Out of the frying pan into the fire

mkb — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:19:47 -0800

I am in the process of switching from Comcast cable to Verizon DSL. I am trying to figure out the wireless situation in my house. So Verizon is offering a free netbook to new DSL subscribers, and I don't have any particular affinity for Comcast, so I decided to try it out.

With Comcast (which is actually still running), I have the following setup:
- Motorola cable modem
- Linksys WRT54g v 2.2 running Tomato and boosted output power

I have this unit set to forward BitTorrent, SSH, and icecast ports to one machine at home.

Verizon unexpectedly sent me a modem for my new service that also functions as a wireless access point and a router. It's a Westell 7500. It seems to be almost as configurable as my Linksys, and it looks like there is no need to boost the output power in order to get up to my office. The only missing feature appears to be DynDNS.com updating; the new router uses TSIG authentication which is only available on paid accounts, and I can just punt this to one of my computers.

So, is there anything I am missing that would be worth me keeping the Linksys around? Does this router have any hidden gotchas?

How do I get Verizon to fix my dsl?

geos — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:22:22 -0800

How do I get Verizon to fix my DSL? I have had intermittent connection problems on my dsl line since it was installed. The problem went away for the winter and came back in the spring. So, it took me 4 calls to get a worker out to my house. The guy who came lowered the speed on my connection and said if this didn't work then it was a problem back at the office. Lowering the speed didn't work: how do I get them to fix this?

Calling dsl tech support i get caught it in a loop (don't even get me started on how they refused to talk to me if i admit i'm using linux) doing the same bullshit diagnostic flowchart. Escalating to the supervisor seems to have gotten a guy to come out last time, but that was very trying.... is there some magic word, or easter egg hidden in this nightmare of corporate tech support that will get them to actually make my dsl functional?

The Old Scary Black Wire

nnk — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:48:45 -0800

Is it worth the effort to get Verizon to come out and update the external phone wiring, specifically, I don't have "the gray box" (NID) I've been having problems with my DSL. Service has been very erratic and I've spent lots of time on the phone with Tech assistance. Finally I unplugged my phone (was using a splitter) and plugged the router directly into the jack. So far, everything is working fine.

But, while working through all this, I discovered how scary old the phone wiring is both in and out of my house. I can't even begin to describe the mass of old wires wound around little screws and such inside the house -- but I do know this, there is no gray box on the outside of my house. My phone service comes to my house on a wire, wraps around some kind of a ceramic holder and then down the wall and in through a hole in the masonry by the basement (and wraps around all some grimy fittings and screws on the wall inside).

. . . I am also wondering if I can get them to install the gray box and not charge me (and I kind of wonder if they're at all invested in this kind of stuff what with the advent of Fios and the slow, but coming death of the landline) -- I am really kind of doubting they'll update the interior for free, but I kind of figure the outside is there domain.

I have a very limited budget for this stuff -- So I am trying to figure out what to do.

More than one DSL connection in the same house?

Dreamcast — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:52:28 -0800

Is it possible to have more than one DSL connection in the same house? I've been sharing a DSL connection, and have decided I'd rather just purchase my own. Is it possible to have more than one DSL connection in the same house? Would I be charged an additional fee for anything (I don't know if they'd need to install a separate line or not, and if that'd cost me money)? This would be with Verizon, if it matters. Does anyone have any experience doing this, if it's possible?

I could call and ask Verizon, but I don't have much desire to talk with their customer support.

Additionally, since we also use Verizon phone services, would the "discount" also apply (one package is usually $35 a month, but only $30 a month if you have an existing Verizon phone service)?

I need a new old DSL modem!

ScarletPumpernickel — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 20:07:00 -0800

Help me find and buy a working Fujitsu/Orckit Speedport DSL modem in Los Angeles for use with Verizon DSL. DSL abruptly stopped working after many years of solid service. No reconfiguration of any kind. Stopped during heavy rain, which always seems to cause cable/phone probs in L.A.

Verizon puts me through variable isolation and troubleshooting by the numbers. Says the modem is most likely kaput, but won't replace the Fujitsu. They want to move us to ATM, cutting off our service for an additional week to ten days (!)

So I want to buy a replacement cheap crappy Fujitsu modem and get back to my surfing. I found several on ebay, but I'm going to end up waiting 7-10 days for delivery.

So who can sell me one in Los Angeles, fast?

Fujitsu/Orckit Speedport DSL modem (model ORfast-R3-A-SA-Br-POTS-US)

Thanks!

Comcast v. Verizon

jk252b — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:21:19 -0800

What internet service to use in Cambridge, Massachusetts? Does anyone have experience with both high speed internet options in East Cambridge, Mass, that can tell me what the practical differences are between Verizon DSL and Comcast cable internet in the neighborhood? I know that technically Comcast is faster than Verizon (6 mpbs v. 3 mbps), but is there any real difference when it comes to every day usage? Does the fact that there seems to be a Verizon central office on Bent Street in East Cambridge (just a few blocks from my new place) mean that it may actually end up being faster than (or comparable to) Comcast which shares the bandwidth among all subscribers in an area?

Anecdotes about people's real experiences in this neighborhood would be most helpful to me!

Verizon standalone email account?

cyrusdogstar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:18:36 -0800

Does Verizon offer any method of preserving your '@verizon.net' email account, independent from having DSL service with them? First off, I realize the definitive answer for this lies with Verizon themselves, but I'm still exploring my options and aren't yet ready to spend time on the phone with their support or sales departments; so I'm looking for anecdotes/deeply-buried FAQs beforehand.

Secondly, here's the issue: we've had Verizon DSL for years, recently moved, and are having connection problems at the new place which may be due to our distance from the CO (and thus unfixable). So I'm thinking of switching us to cable broadband.

The hitch is that my fiancee's primary email address -- used to keep in touch with friends & family, and for career-related networking (she rarely has a long-term job and needs to stay in touch with local industry folks in order to find new work) -- is the Verizon one that comes with the DSL account.

I'm hoping that Verizon will, somehow, offer a standalone email service (especially since we'd still be using them for phone service) or at least some sort of residual forwarding service (i.e. keeping the email account active for another year or so and forwarding it to a new one).

Has anyone heard of Verizon doing such a thing? Are there other options I'm not thinking of?

New Verizon DSL user: Is their e-mail really this suck?

desuetude — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 08:22:07 -0800

Just got Verizon DSL. A simple question: Is it just me, or is their web-based mail client incredibly, weirdly pokey? It seems to take forever to open up my mostly empty in-box.

Does Verizon DSL still suck or have they cleaned up their act?

jason's_planet — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 08:55:29 -0800

I live in Queens, NY. I want to take the plunge into broadband. Verizon is offering a pretty good deal ($18.00 a month for as much bandwidth as I'll ever use) but I am a little leery. Four or five years ago, I was hearing nothing but complaints about Verizon's DSL offerings. So . . . does Verizon DSL still suck or have they cleaned up their act? I'd really love to hear from Verizon DSL customers who live in Woodside, Astoria or Sunnyside, if you're out there and have MeFi accounts.

Either I'm an idiot or they're idiots: help with Verizon DSL and outgoing mail please

baltimore — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 21:02:46 -0800

My DSL-fu is failing me. How do I get Verizon DSL to let me send mail from my mac.com account? I've followed all of the recommended settings. Set my smtp to outgoing.verizon.net. Set it to authenticate. But it's rejecting my (otherwise working fine) password.

Any tricks to setting up Verizon DSL to work well with other mail services?

Thanks for any clues.

Is there a cheaper phone/DSL package than Verizon in Brooklyn, NY?

ParisParamus — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 19:15:03 -0800

I live in Brooklyn, NY, and seem to be a slave to Verizon: a DSL/Unlimited local/regional phone package for which, with taxes, etc., runs me nearly $100/month. Has anyone figured out a way to pay less for comparable services? I've even thought of sharing a DSL or cable modem via a wireless router with my neighbor downstairs....thoughts? And what makes it worse, I also have a Verizon cell phone--another $65/month...