Verizon re-energizes DSL with 7 Mbps plan

Verizon Communications said it is boosting DSL speeds to 7 Mbps for customers in 12 states by the end of this year. The move comes after some observations that Verizon and other telcos have been giving their DSL customer bases a cold shoulder as they have been more focused on building out and selling fiber-based broadband. That seems like somewhat of a natural progression, but also may not be fair to customers in markets that won't get the fiber upgrade until much later, if at all. By more than doubling the current DSL rate in most cases, Verizon can show everyone it still cares.

However, for the second time in a month, Verizon apparently has publicly promoted a customer service phone number that is incorrect. GigaOM reports that a staffer who wanted to buy the 7 Mbps DSL plan dialed the number stated in Verizon's press release announcing the rate boost-and instead reached an ad offering her a car loan (I called it, too--it prompts you to press 1 for home or car loan information, and other options that have nothing to do with DSL upgrades). Depending on your point of view, that may be even worse than calling a number for small business communications help, and instead reaching a phone line promoting adult content. That's what happened recently when Verizon promoted a phone number for SMB customer service.

For more:
- see this story [1] about the new offering at Telephony
- check this brief [2] on one customer's experience at GigaOM

Related articles:
- Verizon [3] acknowledged late last year that DSL growth was slowing
- Maybe phone s*x for small business [4] owners isn't such a bad idea