I'm a small businessman and owner of a technology company and I am trying to get the Gigabit internet plan that Verizon has recently announced that they have. The problem is, I do not believe you can actually get it. I would love for someone on this forum to prove me wrong and explain to me what is going on.
I live in Columbia, MD and after reading about this Gigabit plan through tech sites, I checked online and it said my residence was not available. I currently get 300/300 and have the option of bumping up to 500/500. This was extrememly dissapointing and puzzling to me that I was not an eligable customer because I have fiber directly inside my condo and I have the latest ONT hardware.
After a few weeks of first hearing about this plan and checking online, I went into my local Verizon where they handle Fios and I asked again about my residence. Sure enough, again they said, its not available however it is available in Columbia. I asked, can you give me a date or a rough timeframe when I am eligable for this plan? They said they could not. I asked, where in Columbia is it available? They did not know that information but yet insisted that it was available in Columbia. I asked if they could call me each week and report back to me if I could get Gigabit and they gave me one of the employees numbers and said I could check with that person each week. I waited a month and I called this person and he said, nope, still not available. I then asked, listen, how can we get this done, who do I have to talk with? He then directed me to Verizon's main line and gave me instructions on how to get in touch with engineering.
So I called Verizon, got to where I was suppose to go and started talking to Verizon's person. I said, look, I have a fiber line directly into this place(Its why I got this place), I have the latest ONT hardware, I spoke with the tech here who installed everything about all of this and I asked him, this hardware will allow me to get the fastest plans from Verizon, he said yes, you have the most advanced hardware we install. So I have all the latest hardware, why can't I get Gigabit I ask the guy on the phone. He says he doesn't know and maybe its some hardware somewhere else that needs upgrading. I ask to speak with an engineer who knows this information and they can't do that. I then ask, when am I eligable for the Gigabit plan? He says he does not know that information. I ask to speak with his supervisor, or the highest person he can get me to. He pauses, thinks about it, he puts me on hold. He comes back and says oooohhh I spoke with my supervisor, maybe there is a way to get the Gigabit package, we are putting a ticket in and will get back to you. I ask when. He says well, I mean Im not quite sure but I have never seen this take longer than 2 weeks. I say, ok, I'm putting it on my calendar right now, if I do not hear back about this within 2 weeks, I am pursuing Comcast or other options(I know another provider that can give me a custom hookup). He says ok and the call ends.
It has now been a week since that call and I have no response back. I am willing to wait until the 17th. I have been online and I have not seen 1 posting of an internet speed test from a person who has this plan. I do not believe it exists. I believe this is a marketing scam to get people to believe Verizon is the fastest and most competitive. I believe this because I have seen no visual evidence it exists and the most senior Verizon people that I have been able to get to cannot give me a timeframe or a reason why I can't get the service even with the latest hardware. When you do an install as a business, you have timeframes for customers, Verizon cannot offer this.
Here is what I believe. I believe Verizon is touting the Gigabit plan for people to stay with Verizon and to get this plan in the future, however it will be delivered over 5G and will most likely not be available for another year or longer. The question is why 940/880 speed and not the full Gigabit symmetrical? I believe this is the speed that they know they can get out of the 5G service with their field tests and with the handful of people they supposedly are testing this with. I also ask the question, from a business standpoint, why would you give me a much faster plan and for a cheaper rate? You wouldn't, you already have me as a customer with a lower speed paying more and with the idea that Verizon has even faster packages coming, you can keep me as a customer.
If the Gigabit plan exists, I need to see proof of this(like a screenshot from a speedtest and a testimony from a real person and not a Verizon employee) and I need to be given a timeframe when it will become available for me and why I cannot get it right now. I need to understand the technical reasons or logical reasons for why I am not being told the truth about what is going on. Businesses rely on launching products and services based on assets and abilities. When you tell me I'm getting Gigabit and I plan my business around that and then I cannot get it, you mess up my business. I need to know timeframes to understand when I can do what with my business. If you keep me waiting for a fake plan that doesn't exist and I will never get, you have wasted my time and you have done monetary damages against me because I have already made business plans and purchases based on this information being truthful. Verizon needs to correct this situation and be honest on timeframes or services they actually have.
Not only is this fraud but at this point, it has incurred monetary loses on me and my business.
Thank you,
{edited for privacy}
