PDA

View Full Version : So long Verizon



Matt Meiser
05-13-2009, 8:42 AM
While it remains to be seen whether anything will actually improve, it looks like I'm getting my wish to no longer be a Verizon customer...

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090513-707272.html

Funny, because I actually made the suggestion to a supervisor at Verizon a year or two ago that if they weren't interested in actually serving our area then they should sell out to someone who is. I'm sure its just a coincidence that it occurred just one week after I filed a complaint with the public service commission about numerous phone issues I've had due to Verizon's lack of maintenance (by their own admission.) :)

glenn bradley
05-13-2009, 8:45 AM
Congrats (i hope) Matt. I know this has been an issue for you. I jumped to U-verse for internet as soon as they became available in my area. Time Warner was offline for hours at least once a week. Very poor design.

Matt Meiser
05-13-2009, 10:07 AM
I went to Frontier's web site and noticed they actually have email addresses for contacts in each region. So I emailed the one covering Michigan welcoming them to the area. Already heard back from her and a local contact. And unlike the people at Verizon, these people have last names, email addresses and phone numbers that don't go to a voice recognition system. I'd bet its two years at least before the deal closes and Frontier has time to evaluate and even start to make changes, but for the first time in 5 years I feel like there's hope that something will happen.

On a related note, apparently my PSC complaint is getting some action as Verizon is replacing a couple hundred feet of cable near my house today. This is the same section of cable they told me needed to be replaced 5 years ago, but they couldn't get approval to do it (which was noted in my complaint.)

Anthony Whitesell
05-13-2009, 3:32 PM
Verizon sold out aorund here to Fairpoint Communucications and service went to heck in a handbasket. Unfortunately, they're the cheapest DSL option in town.

Matt Meiser
05-13-2009, 3:42 PM
This should tell you something about our area--the tech that works in our area has been here several times today while they address my PSC complaint. We were discussing the Frontier deal and he's excited and looking forward to it. How often do you find employees who are happy they are being bought out?

I guess they've known for a week or two but couldn't say anything. I had asked him last week when things were going to get better and he said something to the effect that they were working on a plan for some big changes--this is what he was referring to.

Jim Kountz
05-13-2009, 3:45 PM
I went to Frontier's web site and noticed they actually have email addresses for contacts in each region. So I emailed the one covering Michigan welcoming them to the area. Already heard back from her and a local contact. And unlike the people at Verizon, these people have last names, email addresses and phone numbers that don't go to a voice recognition system. I'd bet its two years at least before the deal closes and Frontier has time to evaluate and even start to make changes, but for the first time in 5 years I feel like there's hope that something will happen.

On a related note, apparently my PSC complaint is getting some action as Verizon is replacing a couple hundred feet of cable near my house today. This is the same section of cable they told me needed to be replaced 5 years ago, but they couldn't get approval to do it (which was noted in my complaint.)

Oh boy Matt do I have some bad news for you. You're getting Frontier?? Whoo boy are you in for a shock. Prepared to have outages weekly. Have your modem freeze up sometimes daily requiring you to unplug and reset it. Bills that never come, payments that never get applied. I have my Frontier bill paid automatically every month like most of my other bills and Frontier insists they dont get them half the time. Funny because everyone else seems to get theirs just fine with no complaints. When my one year old modem (DSL) took an early retirement it was over a week before someone came out. When they did he replaced the modem but left my network in shambles. I was a couple of days getting my other computers back online. It was a nightmare. Ive had Frontier here since the dawn of the internet because its our only choice for high speed. Believe me if I had a chance to go with Acme internet with Wiley Coyote himself as my serviceman, Id take it in a minute over Frontier.
Good luck with it and I sincerly hope you have a better experience.

David G Baker
05-13-2009, 3:58 PM
I read on the Net that AT&T is buying up a bunch of Alltel towers in rural areas of several states and Michigan was one of the states listed. The price was in the low billions as well. Wonder where all of this money is coming from? It may have been a stock swap like the Verizon deal with Frontier.

Matt Meiser
05-13-2009, 6:00 PM
Jim, the good news for our area is that the existing infrastructure is so bad that they will pretty much have to start over. The cable they replaced today was installed in the 50's according to the tech. This is overhead cable, so 50 years in the sun, rain, snow, lightning, etc.

David, I don't know about the deal here, but this video (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=9468811) explains AT&T.

David G Baker
05-13-2009, 11:54 PM
Thanks Matt. I knew that there had to be an intelligent reason or explanation for the AT&T's circle of life, the video explained it in a way that I can understand even after I take my medications. :D
Thanks for the laughs.

Ed Labadie
05-14-2009, 8:13 AM
Well, I had my Verizon land line disconnected yesterday. I haven't used it in a couple of months so why bother paying for it.
I'll give Verizon credit, they have the absolute worst automated phone system I've ever called. Absolutely impossible to get anywhere...say this, say that or punch 1 or 2 or 3...I just punched "O" 'bout 5 times and it thansferred me to a real human.

Good riddance.

Ed

Rick Moyer
05-14-2009, 2:52 PM
Well, I had my Verizon land line disconnected yesterday. I haven't used it in a couple of months so why bother paying for it.
I'll give Verizon credit, they have the absolute worst automated phone system I've ever called. Absolutely impossible to get anywhere...say this, say that or punch 1 or 2 or 3...I just punched "O" 'bout 5 times and it thansferred me to a real human.

Good riddance.

Ed

We tried to have our Verizon landline disconnected, but the automated phone system was painfully impossible to deal with. After 45 mins. my wife finally got someone, who then was unable to do it and said she would have to call back:mad:! This was back in November/December as we sold our home and moved in mid December. We are still trying to resolve the billing. They're customer service is the absolute worst I have had to deal with.
It'll be two cans and a string, or we'll learn smoke signals, before we ever use Verizon again.

Brian Effinger
05-14-2009, 2:57 PM
Matt - if that is the same Frontier that used to be Rochester Tel., in New York, then Good Luck. From what my parents tell me, they are horrible. My dad got so aggravated with them this past winter, that he not only canceled their dsl service they also canceled the phone too.
That last part really sucks for me, because now the phone number that I have known all of my life is disconnected. And now I've got to try and remember a number for my mom and a separate one for my dad. I've caught myself dialing the old one a few times already.

Frank Hagan
05-15-2009, 1:33 AM
Verizon is slowly getting out of the "landline" phone business; I think they see it as a dying business. And they offer a VOIP telephone service on their FiOS fiber service (which gets pretty good reviews). I suspect they see that as a growing business ... internet, tv and phone service via fiber optic cable to the home. Plus wireless high speed internet, and wireless phone service with home base stations (repeaters you install in your home for better reception).

The Alltel/AT&T swap is probably because Verizon bought Alltel, and in markets where VZ and Alltel were the dominent players taking "A" and "B" bands, VZ has to divest of one of them to satisfy the FCC. There was a spin-off Alltel company that had to be created for some markets, and I suspect it is this spin off company that AT&T is getting.

Verizon and AT&T are also heavily invested in the new wireless spectrum in the 700mhz range (freed up by the move of TV to digital). They spent billions to acquire portions of the spectrum across the country to enable their LTE ("Long Term Evolution") service ... basically data plans for wireless devices. Verizon spent more, IIRC, to get a cleaner section of the spectrum, while AT&T spent less but has to deal with interference issues.

In the interest of full disclosure, I work for a company producing ground mounted HTS thin film RF filters that the wireless companies use to increase range, throughput and decrease interference on their cell towers. BUT, all of this is conjecture as I don't have any inside info on what the companies are thinking with these moves.

Ed Labadie
05-15-2009, 8:12 AM
We tried to have our Verizon landline disconnected, but the automated phone system was painfully impossible to deal with. After 45 mins. my wife finally got someone, who then was unable to do it and said she would have to call back:mad:! This was back in November/December as we sold our home and moved in mid December. We are still trying to resolve the billing. They're customer service is the absolute worst I have had to deal with.
It'll be two cans and a string, or we'll learn smoke signals, before we ever use Verizon again.

Thanks for the info Rick.
As of this morning it wasn't disconnected yet. I'll give them another day or 2 before I call the phone system from hell again.

Ed

Matt Meiser
05-15-2009, 8:18 AM
Frank, with the announcement of the Frontier deal, I'd say Verizon has moved to rapidly getting out.

The service tech has been sharing a lot of information with me since we are seeing each other every day. I'm not sure how much is his conjecture and how much is real, but apparently Verizon has wanted to sell our territory since they bought GTE. And that's why they haven't been spending money out here. Yesterday he told me that there is a remote terminal 2-1/2 miles from my house. He says if they put up a couple hundred yards of cable that they could not only eliminate our noise issues, but he thinks its served by fiber and if they put in a DSL module (not what he called it, but I can't remember what its called) they could provide DSL here too. But Verizon won't do it. He says that is the kind of improvements that Frontier is planning to do quickly after closing on the acquisition. Apparently they've lost a large percentage of our neighbors as customers due to the noise issues. I know both of our next door neighbors have abandoned land lines. We might drop one, but I need one for work and we need a landline for our alarm, at least for now.

I'm looking forward to the LTE and or Wimax rollouts and I think that's the real solution to an area like where I live. Realistically, if someone could provide us with a high-bandwidth, reliable data connection they could provide all our telecom needs. I'm no wireless engineer, but it seems like with the range of Wimax and I would assume LTE, you could put up a single tower in an area with low population and serve everyone.

Phil Thien
05-15-2009, 9:13 AM
Aren't some of the gov't stimulus dollars supposed to be going to inproving infrastructure in rural areas? Buying all this copper could be a smart play.

Butch Edwards
05-15-2009, 9:30 AM
mercy... I've had Verizon for ever without a hitch... I dropped the LL due to having Cells, but STILL have their DSL. the times that I did have problems were due to a faulty modem that they took care off in a very timely manner.they are getting away from home phone biz, because that is a declining market. I would too, if I were making the decisions..so would you guys, I'd say!! that video about AT&T was hilarious!!!!! :)

Frank Hagan
05-15-2009, 5:44 PM
Frank, with the announcement of the Frontier deal, I'd say Verizon has moved to rapidly getting out.

The service tech has been sharing a lot of information with me since we are seeing each other every day. I'm not sure how much is his conjecture and how much is real, but apparently Verizon has wanted to sell our territory since they bought GTE. And that's why they haven't been spending money out here. Yesterday he told me that there is a remote terminal 2-1/2 miles from my house. He says if they put up a couple hundred yards of cable that they could not only eliminate our noise issues, but he thinks its served by fiber and if they put in a DSL module (not what he called it, but I can't remember what its called) they could provide DSL here too. But Verizon won't do it. He says that is the kind of improvements that Frontier is planning to do quickly after closing on the acquisition. Apparently they've lost a large percentage of our neighbors as customers due to the noise issues. I know both of our next door neighbors have abandoned land lines. We might drop one, but I need one for work and we need a landline for our alarm, at least for now.

I'm looking forward to the LTE and or Wimax rollouts and I think that's the real solution to an area like where I live. Realistically, if someone could provide us with a high-bandwidth, reliable data connection they could provide all our telecom needs. I'm no wireless engineer, but it seems like with the range of Wimax and I would assume LTE, you could put up a single tower in an area with low population and serve everyone.

I think the deal with Frontier ended their land-line business in several western states. I'm guessing about the plans to move to VOIP through their FiOS product. You may see some action on the wireless side, as stimulus funds are earmarked for broadband for rural areas (kind of like the rural electrification projects of the early 1900s). I've read that Clearwire is already bidding on some.

My Verizon land line is horrible; when I was on dial up, I could never get more than 26,400 bps even with every 56k modem trick in the book. When it rains, we can listen to Mexican radio on our phone ... pick it up and enjoy the fiesta. But they won't do anything about that noise, as they only guarantee 300 baud service. But they are slowly installing fiber in our community, and I keep hoping they'll get to my house soon.

I don't know about the tower spacing with WiMax or LTE ... my impression is that while they will use new base stations (Motorola and Alcatel-Lucent are happy), they will use the same towers. But perhaps they don't need them as close together as they are now. Its a huge investment, and absent the Federal funds for "rural broadband", I'll bet it would be quite a while before they got to the less populated areas.

Chris Damm
05-16-2009, 8:10 AM
I've never had any problems getting Verizon service quickley. Of course it helps that my oldest daughter is a bigwig down in Dallas. I'll have to wait and see if Frontier works out.

Jim Becker
05-16-2009, 6:14 PM
And they offer a VOIP telephone service on their FiOS fiber service (which gets pretty good reviews).

The normal telephone service on FiOS is not VoIP. It's just POTS over fiber and has been since they introduced the FiOS infrastructure. The sound quality is excellent, but it retains the tax structure and costs the same as the copper voice service. They are only now introducing a VoIP option of their own in some markets after they cut the cord from one they were reselling.

---
Matt, Frontier does indeed get mixed reviews. Hopefully, they will do you well in your area. BTW, the DSL hardware that needs to be added to the RT serving your area is called a DSLAM. It is very likely that the RT is served by fiber, although that would depend upon how long it's been there.

Matt Meiser
05-16-2009, 10:20 PM
Yep, that's what he called it. I'm going to go out there some day and see if there are any of those warning stakes about buried fiber. Once Frontier takes over, I'll call and beg them aimed with some information. I suppose if I plugged in some addresses near there I could figure out if there's already DSL capabilities at that terminal as well.

Frank Hagan
05-16-2009, 11:38 PM
The normal telephone service on FiOS is not VoIP. It's just POTS over fiber and has been since they introduced the FiOS infrastructure. The sound quality is excellent, but it retains the tax structure and costs the same as the copper voice service. They are only now introducing a VoIP option of their own in some markets after they cut the cord from one they were reselling.


I didn't know that .... it actually makes it better if its the standard POTS line (911 works like it should, etc.) At least for us. We were thinking of dumping Dish Network now that we don't get distant networks anymore, and going with a TWC bundle, but I am not sure I like the idea of the phone being VOIP only. If VZ gets the fiber in for my half of the street, we'll go with their bundle.

Jim Becker
05-17-2009, 8:41 PM
If FiOS becomes available to you Frank, jump on it. The video programing blows away any cable system picture quality and you actually get the Internet bandwidth you pay for. And yes, it's not VoIP. While I'm in the business of selling IP telephony to businesses, I'm not comfortable with it for home "land line" use...yet, although power outages do affect FiOS as the Optical Network Termination uses your home's power and only has a limited time backup battery. (can be extended greatly by adding a larger UPS in front of the ONT power system)

Jim C Bradley
05-18-2009, 11:26 PM
Hi,

Are you guys and gals sure you are not talking about COX phone, HS internet, TV package???

I'd like to enjoy,

Hope you enjoy,

Jim