Verizon Needs to Step Up

Verizon and other telecommunication organizations are falling behind. Technology companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are announcing cutting edge technology every day. When was the last time Verizon announced expanding FiOS coverage?

This weekend, while I was looking at my Verizon bill, I said to myself “Self, why in the world am I paying this much for this service.” In Northeastern Pennsylvania, options are limited. Verizon and Frontier Communications are the lone, traditional Telco companies. Comcast, Service Electric, and Blue Ridge Communications are the primary cable providers. However, there is very little fiber run throughout the area. My Verizon DSL connection hits a whopping 2.5 MB/sec. Comcast offers the fastest speeds in the area. However, by switching to Comcast, I’ll have to abandon DirecTV and the NFL Sunday Ticket or have two TV packages (not cost effective).

I took to the Twitterverse to hopefully find some answers:

Seriously, I can practically see the CO from my house. That’s one of the biggest copouts I’ve heard. That tweet was followed by me asking about any other FiOS updates and about me possibly switching to another provider. The only response I received was::

The canned response I get when being on the phone is that the boroughs and townships in Luzerne County, PA need to approve FiOS first. However, it appears like they aren’t taking the time to reach out as is evident by this post on the Verizon forums for other areas in the US:

Or this stale post from 2009 asking specifically about Wilkes-Barre, PA:

So, I guess it will take a company like Google bringing Google Fiber to the area before anything changes. If I lived in Kansas City, I’d likely have faster Internet service for free:

It’s time for Verizon and others to change. In the meantime, keep telling Google to bring fiber to our area at http://fiber.google.com/cities/.