Verizon Can't Upgrade Baltimore Because Parts Are 'Hard to Find' We've of course noted at length how AT&T and Verizon have spent the last few years backing away from millions of DSL users they simply don't want to upgrade. These users aren't just in rural markets either; many reside in locations like Alexandria, Buffalo, Binghamton, and Boston. They're being hung up on because investors lack the patience to see a ROI on pretty much any additional fixed-line network investment these days, and wireless is a much more profitable endeavor -- even if it's still far from a fixed-line substitute. Baltimore residents obviously aren't happy. But instead of plainly telling these users they don't want to pay for upgrades, the excuse du jour appears to be that these companies simply can't find the parts. At least that's the excuses carriers and carrier think tanks gave to the quote: "It's not just the wires that are going bad, it's the switches," said Sherry Lichtenberg, the principal researcher for telecommunications at the Washington-based National Regulatory Research Institute. "It's really hard to find parts." AT&T officials have said the company sometimes has to scrounge on eBay for parts. Of course many of these parts could be replaced with newer, better parts, but Verizon simply doesn't think Baltimore's worth it, and telling any of the cities Verizon's ignored for FiOS (or even improved DSL) upgrades simply isn't going to go over very well. Both AT&T and Verizon have been going state by state trying to argue that if regulators strip away all remaining regulations, consumers will be awash in a Baltimore residents obviously aren't happy. But instead of plainly telling these users they don't want to pay for upgrades, the excuse du jour appears to be that these companies simply can't find the parts. At least that's the excuses carriers and carrier think tanks gave to the Baltimore Sun this week Of course many of these parts could be replaced with newer, better parts, but Verizon simply doesn't think Baltimore's worth it, and telling any of the cities Verizon's ignored for FiOS (or even improved DSL) upgrades simply isn't going to go over very well. Both AT&T and Verizon have been going state by state trying to argue that if regulators strip away all remaining regulations, consumers will be awash in a new generation of connectivity . That's again because "we want you to pay much more money for less reliable wireless data" probably isn't a good sales pitch.







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Most recommended from 67 comments

Kearnstd

Space Elf

Premium Member

join:2002-01-22

Mullica Hill, NJ 6 recommendations Kearnstd Premium Member Upgrade then It has to be cheaper than scouring ebay. This is what happens when bean counters run the company and ignore people who actually know how a telecom network functions.



Engineer: Network is in bad need of an upgrade, These parts are not made any more.



Beancounter(aka Wall Street): Fuckoff I want to raise the share price, Fuck the network find parts on ebay or just hope it doesn't break.



That is the attitude of Corporate America today, Why do preventative upkeep and upgrades when you can make Enormous profits instead of huge profits. Bob61571

join:2008-08-08

Washington, IL 1 edit 4 recommendations Bob61571 Member The parts suppliers/vendors would have parts available IF VZ and AT&T had BEEN ORDERING/BUYING THE PARTS ON A REGULAR BASIS FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS!!!



If you manufacture parts, you keep making a part:

1) IF THERE IS A DEMAND

&

2) YOU CAN MAKE A DECENT PROFIT ON THE PART, GIVEN THE QUANTITIES ORDERED.



Both VZ & AT&T are huge companies whose orders could make or break the fortunes of numerous supplier/vendor companies. Obviously, the Big 2 have NOT been buying enough parts to keep the supply chain humming along. The Big 2 need to look in the mirror to see where the problem began!

maartena

Elmo

Premium Member

join:2002-05-10

Orange, CA 2 recommendations maartena Premium Member American broadband is pathetic Baltimore is the prime example as to how pathetic American broadband has become. Here we have a large city with around 2.5 million people in the greater urban area, directly on the infrastructure path of roads and railroads between Washington DC and New York (and that means lots and lots of bandwidth infrastructure as well), and the economy of Baltimore is on the same track as growth nationwide.



It has EVERYTHING going for it to upgrade to high speed networks, which will mean even more business will be attracted to the city.



It's 2015, and through the telecom company you can't get anything better then a DSL line that doesn't go much faster then around 6 Mbps? It's really pathetic.



And people wonder why companies like Comcast don't give a damn about their services. With the competition staying stuck in the 1990s, there is no incentive to upgrade either.



I just read an article from 1999! Yes, 1999, in which was stated that DSL technology could in theory reach up to 7 Mbit/s down, and 600 Kbit/s up, which at the time, when DSL was delivered at 768 Kbit/s down, 384 Kbit/s up, was a pipe dream. Only a few years after that speeds had reached to 6 Mbps, 512 Kbit/s, which, with a margin for stability, is indeed that maximum the 1999 article talked about.



And most DSL users have been stuck there for the last 15 years.