Reply All: #60 A Simple Question
March 31, 2016 9:58 AM - Subscribe
This week, PJ helps a listener named Matt ask a very large company a simple question. Are you telling me the truth?
My home internet has been absolutely terrible since I listened to this episode. The plot thickens!
posted by chaiminda at 6:29 AM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by chaiminda at 6:29 AM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Same here! I listened to this then my internet was out for a couple hours last night. Were they sending me a message?
posted by selenized at 11:06 AM on April 1, 2016
posted by selenized at 11:06 AM on April 1, 2016
This episode was good journalism. The malfeasance of Verizon FIOS in New York is an important story. It affects a lot of people, it's an interesting window on city/company contracts, and it's a great window into how the duopoly makes American consumer Internet so shitty. This podcast did a great job making it a personal and relatable story. And also dug in more deeply into what may be the root cause of the problem. Talking to the union guy was a particularly good idea.
posted by Nelson at 8:55 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 8:55 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm amazed that NYC negotiated such an aggressive plan for deploying FIOS (particularly given the absolutely nightmarish state of NYC's infrastructure in general).
The negotiation that DC worked out in 2009 gave Verizon until 2019 to finish the installation. They've already pushed it back a year. DC can never have nice things.
Cynically speaking, the first two COs to get wired appear to have been in the wealthiest areas of the city. (Less cynically, these areas also have the smallest amount of underground infrastructure; other wealthy neighborhoods such as Georgetown will be among of the last to be served).
My parents were in one of the test markets for FIOS. When it came out, it was vastly superior to any consumer ISP, and the service was improved regularly. These days, Verizon's turned into just another shitty cable company. The praise that the hosts gave to FIOS's service and speeds seem to be increasingly unwarranted (or is more of an indictment of how awful the other NYC ISPs are).
posted by schmod at 2:13 PM on April 5, 2016
The negotiation that DC worked out in 2009 gave Verizon until 2019 to finish the installation. They've already pushed it back a year. DC can never have nice things.
Cynically speaking, the first two COs to get wired appear to have been in the wealthiest areas of the city. (Less cynically, these areas also have the smallest amount of underground infrastructure; other wealthy neighborhoods such as Georgetown will be among of the last to be served).
My parents were in one of the test markets for FIOS. When it came out, it was vastly superior to any consumer ISP, and the service was improved regularly. These days, Verizon's turned into just another shitty cable company. The praise that the hosts gave to FIOS's service and speeds seem to be increasingly unwarranted (or is more of an indictment of how awful the other NYC ISPs are).
posted by schmod at 2:13 PM on April 5, 2016
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posted by radioamy at 9:36 PM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]