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Verizon Extends DSL Internet Service into California's San Joaquin Valley

Posted on: Thursday, 14 October 2004, 06:00 CDT

Oct. 15--Internet users in Manteca, Lathrop, Linden, Ripon, Farmington and Clements may now have access to high-speed digital subscriber line service from Verizon Communications.

Verizon announced Thursday that it had upgraded its network across 14 states and that the effort had made DSL available to about 55,000 customer lines in various San Joaquin Valley communities where it provides local telephone service.

The residential broadband service, offering maximum download speeds of 1.5 megabits per second and upload speeds of 384 kilobits per second, is priced at $30 a month with a one-year service plan or as part of a package of Verizon local and long-distance service. Otherwise, DSL service is $35 a month. A local Verizon telephone connection is required to receive any DSL service, company spokesman Jonathan Davies said.

Also, DSL service is generally limited to homes and offices within about 3 miles of Verizon's local switching center or "central office."

Still, Davis said, most people living within a Verizon service area should be able to get a DSL connection.

Included with a one-year service plan is a free combination DSL modem and wireless router, which allows several computers to share one Internet line.

Those who subscribe to a telephone service package must pay $50 for the wireless gateway and it's $100 for all others. A modem-only service is also available for a one-time charge of $40.

Verizon's DSL service is an alternative to broadband cable access offered by companies such as Comcast.

While U.S. cable providers hold the lion's share of the high-speed Internet service -- 61 percent of the market vs. DSL, according Leichtman Research Group Inc. -- DSL providers such as the former Bell subsidiaries have been gaining ground by offering lower prices.

The major cable provider in San Joaquin County, Comcast, charges around $43 a month for cable Internet access for those who also subscribe to television service or $57 a month without a TV subscription.

"In recent studies, DSL has been coming back pretty strong," Davies said from Thousand Oaks. "It's all about prices."

Cable officials argue they provide better service with higher maximum speeds.

For Comcast, its maximum download speed is 3 megabits per second, double that of Verizon's base DSL offering, and can be increased to 4 megabits per second for $10 per month, said Susan Gonzales, Comcast spokeswoman in Sacramento.

Comcast also offers wireless home networking, allowing up to five computers to share one connection.

"These products are very competitively priced, providing reliability, speed and convenience," Gonzales said.

Comcast is also offering an introductory price for new subscribers of $25 per month for the first three months with a free installation kit.

Still, DSL is beginning to gain ground on cable's dominance.

Durham, N.H.-based Leichtman Research noted that in this year's second quarter, nationwide the top DSL providers added nearly 900,000 subscribers or 52 percent of net new broadband subscribers, marking the first quarter ever that DSL has outpaced cable.

Verizon's DSL service includes around-the-clock technical support, MSN Premium software package (not available to Macintosh users), up to nine e-mail accounts and 10 megabytes of Web space.

There are also a variety of DSL packages available to businesses, starting at $60 a month.

Verizon DSL service requires a PC running Windows 98 or newer with a minimum 233 megahertz processor (300 MHz minimum for Windows XP), 64 megabytes of RAM (128 for Windows 2000 or XP), 100 megabytes of free hard drive space, CD or DVD drive and a USB port or Ethernet card. Macintosh users must be running OS X 10.1 or newer, a PowerPC (G3 or better) processor at 120 megahertz or faster, 64 megabytes of RAM, 10 megabytes of hard drive space, CD or DVD drive and Ethernet port.

Local Verizon telephone customers who want to learn more can go online at www.verizon.net or call Verizon at (800) PICK-DSL.

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