IDSL - Verizon wants me to buy the modem?

[Valhalla1]

moving out to the outskirts of town, no cable available there for several months, only dsl service available is IDSL 128k/128k. The service is like $50/mnth, (ripoff! in-town ADSL is only $40) AND instead of including the modem with the service, you have to buy it. whats with that? I haven't talked to them yet, my father was the one that spoke with them. They said they charge $150 for the modem (non-refundable, you keep it when you cancel the service.. like WTF am I going to do with it then?), or they said you could fine one "locally" for $130-ish. anyone know what kinda modem I should be looking for? I dont want to have to wait until monday to talk to them and then go looking for one

 

[Ben]

I just sold an ADSL modem for $40 that probably would've worked.

Check around the For Sale/Trade Forum and on EGay. You might find one. I think they use the Fujitsu SpeedStream Modem but there are a couple models. I don't know which ones are better/worse.

 

[WoundedWallet]

Check on satelite connections. It may be more expensive but you will get a lot more speed and not feel so riped off. Then wait for the telcos and cable co to come begging for you to sugn with them.

 

[Valhalla1]

I've already checked into satellite, the only 2-way is Starband which makes you buy a $1200 PC first, and directpc, which hasnt gone 2-way yet, plus they have extremely bad lag so online gaming is out of the question, which is something I do a lot of

 

[oldfart]

You CANNOT use an ADSL modem for IDSL. Two completely different technologies.

 

[Cretin]

Just go with the IDSL unless you want dialup. When Cable becomes available, switch to that. If you find yourself wondering why you have an IDSL modem uselessly lying around, sell it on here or on any auction site.

Cretin

 

[RagingGuardian]

128/128 at $50 a month is ripp off, besides Verizon isn't the most reliable dsl provider out there. You should check dslreports to see if you can get another provider in your area.

 

[pm]

Raging: IDSL is fairly expensive. It's based on the older ISDN technology and so you can't simply compare ADSL and cable modem prices. If neither of those are available where you are, then you are stuck with IDSL. I've seen 128k/128k IDSL for as low as $40/month (PhoenixDSL), but it's typically $50.

As far as the modem, they are hard to find. I finally gave up my search and chose to get the provided modem ($150). Fortunately about two weeks before my install date, AT&T@Home announced that my neighborhood was open for cable modems and I dropped my IDSL installation and went cable. One nice place to check for IDSL modems is one of the auction sites like E*bay. Yahoo's auctions also sold a couple.