Re: [PLUG] Anyone get Verizon DSL in the last 12 months?

[Paul <gyoza@comcast.net>]

Floyd L.Johnson wrote:

>Dear PLUGgers,
>
>I am considering committing a year to Verizon's $15/mo plan. Has anyone
>else here done so, and if so, what were the pitfalls? Did you experience
>actual bandwidth frequently < 100kbps, delays in provisioning, can't
>complete the installation without Windows XP/2003, or other stuff the
>RBOC had once been notorious for?
>
>  
>
Test the connection thoroughly during the first 30 days.  If it's a
problem, dump it.  After 30 days it will cost, I think, $70 to cancel.

I ordered the service for my father.  You can get DSL without Verizon
local service, but you would have to pay for the more expensive
full-speed DSL.  So, for him, we ordered Verizon local service and used
a 3rd party regional and long distance service.

When I reviews the online order, I saw an extra charge labeled "Central
Office Line Charge".  When I called and asked about it, the person said
it didn't appear on her screen and that she doesn't think that charge
would appear.  I think she was wrong, but I ordered over the phone
instead, just for the chance that I wouldn't be charged.

On the Web it also said that, if you order online, the first month is
free.  After the phone rep checked, she said she could offer the same
deal over the phone.  We'll see.  Again, I'm hoping to not get a suprise
when the bill comes in!

We were told that the service would be activated in two weeks.  We have
to wait for the modem to be shipped anyway and figure out how and where
to connect the filters.  (I've not new to this, but my father has one
wall-mounted phone, which is a new situation.  I might just split off
the line at the demarc or just inside the house.)

The person on the phone asked about my OS.  I said my father would use
WinXP.  She said, good.  Then I asked if there might be a problem using
Linux.  She said, no.  Although I doubt she really knows.  If you use a
router, it shouldn't matter.

Hey, I read that there is a bootable CD version of Windows.  That could
help, or a friend with a laptop should have XP since Microsoft forces
most vendors to install it.  Hopefully, you won't need it.

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