Verizon_battles

Lawrence W. Sherman, Ph. D., Professor,

Department of Educational Psychology

School of Education, Health and Society

101-K McGuffey Hall

Oxford, Ohio 45056

e-mail: mailto:shermalw@muohio.edu

URL: http://www.users.muohio.edu/shermalw

Office phone: 513-529-6632

Home phone: 513-523-2458 [our land phone that allows us slow modem connectivity]

Home address: 7765 Fairfield Road, Oxford, Ohio 45056

Verizon_DSL:

An Open Letter to Ivan Seidenberg Requesting Verizon DSL Service

The following chronicle is my attempt to receive DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service from Verizon Corporation. My primary objective is to have an internet service that allows me to maintain fast and efficient connectivity from my residential home and still be able to receive incoming calls to my land phone. My wife and I believe that we need this service so that we can stay in contact with our professional colleagues, students, and many other related internet usages (libraries, newspapers, calendars, travel bookings, posted schedules) as well as related community services such as local state and national government information sources and related obligations such as paying our Ohio State and Federal taxes, utility bills (including our Verizon land and cell phone bills), etc. We live in a “dead zone” only three miles from Oxford, Ohio where our Verizon cell phone’s do not work. Living in an age of “information technology,” a reasonably fast connection to the internet seems to be a vital necessity. While “DIAL-UP” connectivity can and does work, the complexity of web presentations that include audio, video and graphic images make this approach both unreliable (phone connections are frustratingly interrupted or they time out) and painfully slow and time consuming. As a Professor of Educational Psychology, I have been vitally involved in the development and use of ‘internet resources’ throughout my long academic career at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (please see my professional academic web page at http://www.users.muohio.edu/shermalw). At one time I was even the Chair of the Computer Policy Committee for the entire University. I find it ironic that at this point I must beg for DSL internet service from the ostensibly premier Verizon corporation so that I can continue to function and develop in the world of technology from the privacy of my own home.

Since spring, 2008 when I learned that neighbors less than one thousand yards from my home had received Verizon DSL service, I have been trying to obtain this same service. With each of my phone bills from Verizon they have enclosed advertisements for the availability of DSL service. When I call their advertised phone numbers (1-800-567-6789) I am consistently told that I live too far from their “office” and that their technology cannot overcome this 4000 foot distance of which my home seems to be beyond. All of my immediate neighbors have been told this same story! BUT, somehow over the last six months each of my neighbors has been able to somehow cajole Verizon to provide DSL service, and, it is actually working for them. Even my most immediate neighbor who shares the same telephone line with us has recently received Verizon DSL service that works as advertised (June 11, 2009). When I explained this to Verizon’s representative, Mr. Mike Petrock (phone number 1-927-837-9341), his response was that this could not be so since his engineers had determined that, like me, my neighbor is beyond the limits of Verizon’s technology (18,000 feet from their office)? I made a request to speak with his supervisor, Ms. Lisa N. Danoff. She finally returned a telephone call to me on June18, 2009. While she acknowledged that my neighbors had received their DSL service by mistake, she was quite firm in telling me that I would not be another mistake and therefore no attempt at trying out a DSL connection would be made.

This last event (my next door neighbor receiving a working DSL connection from Verizon) has prompted me to go public with my complaint against Verizon. Once again, the primary reason I have prepared this public web based chronicle is in hopes of receiving DSL service from Verizon. Fast internet connectivity seems to be such a commonly needed utility today that it should be provided and regulated (not censored) like electrical power or a land phone line. In any case, the actions which I am taking here are my way of working out the frustration I feel with regard to how Verizon is responding to my simple request to at least try to establish DSL service.

The Chronicle

During the fall of 2008 in November I responded to a Verizon advertisement about the availability of DSL service in my area. I live in a semi-rural area of Southwestern Ohio in the “township” of Oxford. My Township Trustee, Gary Salmon, who lives about 1 mile from me, told me he was already receiving Verizon DSL service. In the mean time a local business, Shademakers , (link to Shademakers web page here) about 1000 yards from my home told me that they were already being provided with DSL service. When I contacted Verizon I was told that our home address (7765 Fairfield Road) was beyond the distance limits of their service and they would notify me sometime in the future about when that service would be available (See letter from Randi Evans ).

Meanwhile, during the spring of 2009 I was notified by my employer, Miami University, that they would discontinue the dial-up modem service which I have been using for nearly 15 years. Explaining this situation to my neighbor, he told me to just get the “bundled” Verizon DSL service. Again, my-self initiated attempts to obtain this service from Verizon were denied with the reason that I was beyond the distance limits. I might add that at this point in time I am getting beyond my frustration limits as well. When I told my neighbor about this he simply laughed and said he had been told the same thing, but had some local supervisor over-ride someone else’s decision and they proceeded to give it a try and it worked. Again I tried the normal Verizon channels (phone number 1-800-567-6789) and they once again told me that their engineers had determined that I was too far beyond the distance limits. Meanwhile another neighbor a little closer to me (about 500 yards now) told me the same story. Each time a neighbor received DSL service the same story is being told: initial denial of availability, then they give it a try, and it works. These events prompted me to try to communicate with the head of Verizon Communications, Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chief Executive (links to letter1 and letter2 and letter3 here). To ensure that my May 4, 2009 letter would get to Mr. Seidenberg I sent it Registered-Received-Returned-Requested at a cost of about $16.00. While I received my US Postal Office Form 3811 acknowledging delivery of the 2 page letter, to this date I have not received any reply from Mr. Seidenberg. I copied that letter to the Chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (P.U.C.O), as well as the Governor (Ted Strickland) and Lieutenant Governor (Lee Fisher, see letter one here) of Ohio. Both Governor Strickland and Lt. Governor Fisher have made many statements about the necessity of providing fast internet connectivity to rural customers. This is why I have copied these communications to both of them. The P.U.C.O replied that they could not help, but also suggested that I send a copy of the letter to the Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C) (see copies of letter1 and letter2 here). I did all of this. I sent a second letter to Mr. Seidenberg on June 10, 2009, and a third letter on June 13, after being told by most immediate neighbor, less than 100 feet from my home, that their Verizon DSL connection was now up and running . I live at 7765 Fairfield Road and my immediate neighbor’s address is 7755 Fairfield Road. We both live approximately 400 feet back from the road and share two telephone poles that use the very same telephone wires! Verizon has yet to initiate contact with me telling me that DSL is now available. And, as usual, when I initiate contact with them they tell me that I am beyond their distance limits and they will not even give it a try. I simply cannot understand why I cannot become one of the chosen ones who are given a try and then it works. To this date (June 19, 2009) I have not received any replies from Mr. Seidenberg.

One explanation for this is that this corporation is so complex that “…the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing…” While Mr. Petrock says he cannot authorize the attempt to provide DSL service, obviously someone can, maybe his supervisor, Ms. Danoff! They have done it with nearly 7 other neighbors, including my most immediate neighbor at 7755 Fairfield Road. Won’t someone in this organization please figure it out? As a public message to the most authoritative figure in this organization, won’t you, Mr. Seidenberg, please authorize someone to at least give it a try and see if I, too, can get it to work!

Personally, I would willingly accept the “4000 foot challenge” as an explanation for why I cannot receive Verizon’s DSL service. However, because Verizon refuses to even give it a try at my address, I feel singled out and discriminated against. But, not to give it a try as has been done several times now with my immediate neighbors just doesn’t seem fair, nor does it seem like good business. While I am perceiving this as a win/lose war with Verizon, it seems to me just giving it a try would create a win/win situation for all of us including Ms. Evans, Mr. Petrock, Ms. Danoff, Mr. Seidenberg and myself. Give it a try and if it doesn’t work, I would be satisfied and seek a different more expensive solution.