When calling a Telecommunications Company, I never talk to a customer service rep for anything other than getting them to direct my call. In the short time that i've been consulting, there is one thing that i've learned. Most reps and manager for that matter, when faced with factual evidence and emperical data will concede to your point of view and thus; become much more malleable.

You just really need to use logic when talking to telecom companies because for the most part, the really have no idea about what the heck they are talking about. Its sad too because if only telecom companies would understand that the customers would make their lives alot better if they would only cater to them a bit more. There is a reason why the telecom companies listed a customer satisfaction last year of roughly 30%. You'd think they could take hint.

But I don't see what's wrong with paying Verizon for a service option they provide. They can't give me DSL, and cable and satellite are not viable options. EVDO is a service they provide that can perhaps fill in this void. I would be paying them twice the cost of DSL -- aren't they just interested in getting more customers and more coverage? I don't see what difference it makes to them whether or not I am standing still or moving around makes.

:eek: (What does the service contract say, anyway? That you have to move at least 300 feet per hour?)

Its just another example of Telcom companies alienating and subduing their customers. I simply don't understand why they refuse to see that if they cater to their customers, good things will happen. 30% customer satisfaction, give me a break.

I think the assumption is that a mobile user will only do a few things and move on. Certainly they do cancel users for excessive usage, that's well documented.

The contract doesn't specify movement. It specifically says it can't be used for landline replacement, stationary installations, and a few other similar words. I really don't know if they'd enforce this. I do know they have enforced limits of usage. I think that's their primary concern.

Yep, which is why EVDO and UMTS are not a very good broadband option, especially given the sprectrum limitations; which is probably why they even have such a ridiculous SLA.

I'm still pushing for 75% FTTH by 2010, who is with me?!?! hahaha :)

Do you have any idea what the time limitation is for Verizon EVDO? An hour at a time? I really don't need to be online all the time, just a few hours a day at most.

I've never seen any indication that time is an issue; it's total data transfer. The magic number I've heard very often is about 200mb/month. Lots of people report getting warnings around that level, and a lot were summarily cancelled when they hit double that.

This is all from user reports on howardforums.com and pdaphonehome.com, and not from the providers. Neither Sprint nor Verizon will say what the limit on "unlimited" actually is, since they'd rather lie and say it's unlimited.

BTW, T-Mobile has never been reported to drop someone for excess use (that I've ever seen anyway). However the actual speeds on their network are more in the line of 140k.

But I don't understand: if they don't specify any limit how can they penalize you for "excessive" use?

Deep in the fine print of the TOS, they say that the use must be "reasonable" and "typical" and such things, then go on to say you can't use it as a landline replacement and such. It says you can't use it excessively or "impact other users and the network." How are you going to fight this? Can you afford to go to court against Verizon? Besides, the most you could get is to avoid paying the cancellation fee, since the TOS also says they can cancel you for any reason or no reason.

Why hasn't the FTC clamped down on the outright lie of saying "unlimited??" The same thing happens with VoIP and "free" long distance by the way. Normally a VoIP carrier's "unlimited" service is for up to 3000 minutes, same with most "unlimited" LD.

Lies or marketing?

Well, we know whose side the FTC and FCC are on, so no surprise there. I still think EVDO could be a viable option since I don't need to use up much bandwidth.

Thanks again, y'all.

Good luck with it Justins7.