WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. April 22, 2006: Aaron Woodin, President of PC Ventures, White Plains, comments on the Optimum Online - Verizon difference:

John,

To add a bit of detail to your story on Optimum's offereings:

1. Verizon's DSL is three-tiered: 768 kbps (value package) 1.5 Mbps (standard) 3.0 Mbps, (limited availability, contract required). Most current subscribers seem to have 1.5 Mbps service.

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2. Verizon has also offered their fiber optic service, FIOS, which is offered at 5, 15, and 30 Mbps. The availability of FIOS is more limited than DSL and cable, but their goal is to roll it out as soon as possible.

3. Optimum's theoretical speed has been 10 Mbps, but the residential speeds I've observed have been closer to between 5 Mbps and 9 Mbps. I've witnessed for myself the boost from 10 to 15 Mbps, a pretty healthy increase. 30 Mbps is now the maximum (additional fees for this - to Optimum- apply).

Not that DSL speeds given are maximums, and are affected by distance to a central switching office, and the age/condition of the homeowner's phone lines. Cable modem speeds (Optimum online) are affected by the number of cable "splits" in the house, and the signal levels coming in from the outside.

Anyone suffering slow or unreliable Optimum service should call tech support and have them check the line for signals, and their own home for too many "splits." Outside of the home, Optimum is responsible for signal levels, but inside the home, the "splits" may have to be rectified by a private electrician, or by Optimum for a fee.

Optimum has been commendale for their advertising, often giving very conservative multipliers for their service over DSL, (but conveniently ignoring FIOS).

Verizon has totally ignored their own performance disadvantage over cable in most of their ads, and in one ad encourages people to switch while offering only a price break over cable, with no speed increase. (In fact, it's a speed decrease).

It's also worth noting that the AOL-branded DSL sold to subscribers is (I believe) $25 a month or higher and is the slowest speed (768 Kbps).

Aaron Woodin, PC Ventures

Editor's Note: Mr. Woodin is a WPCNR advertiser, and troubleshoots corporate data and computer problems, consumer computer setups, and fixes sick computers, and has extensive experience in smoothing out computer communications.