The need for speed

[SteveDallas]

I had previously had my DSL through a small local ISP that was reselling Verizon. At the time I got it the speed was 768/128, and the cost was less than Verizon. Over two years later, I'm getting the same speed at the same price while Verizon has lowered their price and upped their speed. Their latest offer of $29.95 for 3.0/768 service was simply irresistable, and my existing ISP seemed unable or unwilling to come close to either the price or the speed. Which is probably, ultimately, Verizon's fault, but I decided it was too much of an upgrade not to get. It was complicated because Verizon's pea-brained computer system apparently couldn't handle an ISP change and a speed upgrade at the same time, so first they moved me over, then after I complained that the speed was the same, they determined that since they had already put me in the computer for 3.0, the only thing they could do was change me to 1.5, and then (after I called and asked them again--because they can only handle one order at a time) change to 3.0.

The whole business reminds me once again (like I need it) why I can't stand dealing with Verizon. Though I have to say, except for the Byzantine upgrade process, their phone support was OK. They actually listened to me & checked out my line, and didn't just say "well we don't guarantee a particular speed, it's probably something wrong with your computer" which is kind of what I had expected.

Anyways. It's all over. The final results: