Verizon todayclaimedthat it is “disrupt [ing] the cable industry” with new broadband-and-TV deals that eliminate “traditional cable bundles” and hidden fees, and the move immediately received positive press from the likes of The Wall Street Journal ****************************** (Consumer Reports) **************.
Verizon claims the new deals are available immediately for both new and existing subscribers. But actually getting one of these great deals is, so far, difficult or impossible if you already have Verizon FiOS service.
I have FiOS broadband and TV at my home in Massachusetts, so I was able to test whether Verizon would provide one of the new deals without any hassle. This probably won’t surprise you, but I was not able to get one of the new deals at all, and a Verizon rep I spoke with did not know when the system would be fixed.
The Verizon rep recommended trying again later, but I did not get any guarantee that it would ever be fixed. Meanwhile, the options available to me include some that would raise my price while lowering my Internet speeds and the number of TV channels available.
Under Verizon’s new mix-and-match offer, customers should be able to choose from broadband plans ranging from $ to $ 99 a month and TV plans ranging from $ to $ a month :
Including all fees and taxes, I’m currently paying $ (a month for Mbps broadband and the “ultimate” TV package, which has hundreds of channels I don’t care about but does have all the sports channels that my rooting interests require. Under Verizon’s new mix-and-match offer, I should be able to get the exact same package for $ (****************************************************************************** – that’s $ (***********************************************************************************. for (Mbps Internet and $for TV, minus $ for the auto-pay discount.
I’m not sure what the final price should be after extra charges are added, but Verizon’s announcement
promises that the new packages include “No added surcharges.” , no broadcast or regional sports network fees, “and that” The price is the price, plus tax. ” My current price of $ 728 includes more than $ in the broadcast and sports fees, so the newly available price should be significantly less than what I pay now.
The $ 150. deal is available at my address to new customers if you go to the
verizon.com/mixandmatch
page. But choosing that deal and then selecting “change service at my current address” redirects me back to the “My Verizon” dashboard where my only options are much, much worse.
Not only can I not get the deal that costs $ less, but changing my package in almost any way would raise my bill. Even though I have 150 Mbps already, Verizon’s account management page gives me the option of paying $ (a month
************************************************************************** Mbps service. And selecting the same TV package that I already have would add $ 40 to my monthly price. Somehow, downgrading to a TV package with fewer channels would raise my bill up to $ a month:
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