Verizon's DSL Gets Naked

Ant writes "According to Broadband Reports' news story, Verizon today announced they are now offering 'naked DSL' service (DSL without mandatory local service) in the Northeast. CBS/Marketwatch indicates Northeast customers (ex-NYNEX and Bell Atlantic) can cut or switch their local service with no penalty, starting today. The company insists the move will be national in time, but gave no timeline for when naked DSL would be available elsewhere. Verizon had promised this in May of last year, but then seemingly backtracked."

Wow

[jim_v2000]

If it makes it to where I am, I would gladly switch to dsl instead my cable. I don't need all the bandwidth that cable provides, but DSL costs just as much right now because I have to have a phone line with it. (I use a cell phone)

Naked by birth not intervention

[FidelCatsro]

Well shouldnt this really be the way it should always have been.
The fact they they try to impose a mandatory term of services on people is has always been something i have had a great deal of problems with (im not from the USA ,dosn't work like this where im from , they just hit you with a contract for 2 years).
Very few other service industry impose such penalites upon us , infact its quite odd to me that this behaviour has been allowed , are there not laws top prevent companys from abusing monopolys in this way .

Too Late

[poofyhairguy82]

Too little, too late for me. I asked them to do this for me at the begining of the year. I had used their DSL for a year, and I got about 3.0 MB down (400kbs up) for about 80 bucks a month. It would have been 30, except for the fact that the phone service costed the difference. I never used the phone, and I wanted cheaper DSL. When they kept saying it wouldn't happen, I dropped verizon and picked up my local cable company for broadband. I get 4 mb down and .5 mb up for 50 bucks a month, without Verizon's shit.

Re:US is ahead

[delirium of disorder]

They could just charge you for the DSL service and still run -48vDC on the line; it won't hurt you any. They don't have to actually assign a phone number to the line and won't have to pay for the load on there SS7 system to route the calls. Actually at least around here (suburban Illinois), mid 1990's DSL was a seperate line that your paid for totally seperatly from your phone service. I just upgraded mine to the kind that shares a line with the PSTN, and its a lot faster.

Re:US is ahead

[cbreaker]

Something tells me they could still pump the 48V down the lines even without local analog service, though..

Re:Too Late

[periol]

you're obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed. all you need is a dialtone, which verizon would have provided you for $12 a month. all this does is drop that $12 fee. if you paid more, there's only one place to point the blame, and you can do it tomorrow morning in the mirror right before you get in the shower.

Re:Verizon's FIOS Even Better

[Shimmer]

I wonder about this part of their FAQ:

Your router also contains special diagnostic software that can help us trouble shoot and correct problems should you experience trouble with your Internet connection. You will need to use the Verizon provided routers with the Fios Internet service.

Why do I have to use their router? What exactly does this "special" software do?

Re:Okay, quick question then:

[NerveGas]

For download speed, cable is tough to beat - ComCast currently offers 3 mbits, and I think they're moving up to 4 mbits - and even 6 mbits if you pay a little extra.

The downside of Comcast is the upload speed - 384 kbits. That's more than plenty for surfing, email, gaming, etc., but if you do large uploads (I regularly sync up large file repositories between home and an office server), then a DSL offering can get the nod - IF you get a service level with a reasonably higher upload speed.

All in all, nearly everyone I know (including gamers) prefer ComCast - but those with DSL from a company with decent uptime and network connectivity are rarely saddened that they don't have cable. Those with DSL from a shoddy company quickly end up switching.

steve

Re:About Time

[Doppler00]

I've been landline free since 2000. It's nice to see others too. I think this is what Verizon is realizing. So many people have gone to the CableTV + CableInternet + Cellphone combination because of the immense savings compared to: Cable TV + Plain Telephone + DSL Line + Cellphone service.

I for one wouldn't mind switching to naked DSL if it means my internet is only 1.5Mbps (oh how slow!) at $30 month instead of 4Mbps at $60/month.

Re:Too Late

[rawshark]

When I was living in Los Angeles Verizon charged a "Federal Interstate Calling Fee" which was about 6 or 7 dollars. I tried telling them that I will never make interstate calls on this line and they gave me some BS about it being required by law.

Bleah. Monopolies