Broadband: DSL and Telephone Service

DSL and Telephone Service

I just moved to a city in Southern California called Cerritos. I didn't know this until I moved there, but Cerritos is apparently notorious for having few broadband options due to service providers' reluctance to move into the area (I have no idea why).

Some non-DSL broadband options available in the city include:

Comcast cable. Now, I don't need a connection faster than DSL and Comcast is expensive in Cerritos, $60 a month after the first 6 months.

Aiirmesh wifi. After city residents got fed up with the lack of broadband, the city decided to get a private contractor to set up a city-wide wifi network. Sound like a good idea? Not if installation fee is $200 and service is $50 a month.

I wanted to research what DSL options were available to me so I started calling a bunch of ISPs. Now, I just moved so I don't even have a landline going to my condo yet.

The guy from Earthlink tells me what DSL service is available to me all depends on what phone company I get for the landline. He tells me that both Verizon and SBC are in the area, and I can probably get Earthlink DSL as well as many other DSL services in Cerritos if I get a Verizon phone line. But, nothing is for sure unless I get a phone number he can look up first.

This leads me to believe that if I get an SBC phone line, I will be able to get SBC Yahoo DSL. I call SBC to confirm, but they aren't able to tell me ANYTHING definitively. While they DO KNOW that SBC Yahoo DSL is available in surrounding cities, they CANNOT confirm its availability in Cerritos UNTIL I have a phone number they can look up. Great, thanks for nothing.

So I decide to call Verizon to find out what 3rd parties they work with to find out what DSL service I can get if I get a Verizon landline in Cerritos. My answer? They DON'T WORK WITH 3RD PARTIES, if I get a Verizon land line Verizon DSL is THE ONLY DSL available to me. So naturally, I ask if Verizon DSL is available in Cerritos. My answer: No it is not available. However, Verizon is currently creating a headquarters in the area and it should be available by the end of the month. But, there are no guarantees as to when it will actually be available.

Great, so now I have two people telling me different things, and no one seems to be willing to guarantee anything. Confused? Yeah, I'm confused too.

My question to you guys is this: As a consumer, shouldn't I have the right to know what DSL providers are available through each phone company, so I can choose the right phone company and know that the DSL service I want will be available through that company?

I mean, it sounds like depending on what phone company I get, I could get stuck with only one DSL option, or no DSL option at all. That would mean having to get the Comcast cable deal, which seems really pricey. The WiFi deal doesn't sound like much of a deal either.

What do you think? Anyone here ever have a similar experience?