Under a plan to manage its Internet traffic, Comcast reportedly has promised that its heaviest users will have Internet speeds equivalent to “a really good DSL experience” during periods of network congestion.

The irony of this statement is that a really good DSL experience is….really good.  Verizon High Speed Internet customers are very likely to have a good experience because they have a dedicated line from our central office to their home.

Cable customers, on the other hand, share their broadband connection with their neighbors, which means they may not get the advertised speeds during peak usage periods.

What that means is when neighbors are online, Verizon DSL won’t slow them down.  When the kids come home from school and jump online, they’ll get consistent speeds.  That can be a problem this fall when students are likely to be online at the same time during the afternoon and evening researching their next school report or watching YouTube.

Verizon has just introduced an offer that allows new Verizon High Speed Internet customers to obtain six free months of service when ordering an annual plan.  To qualify, customers must be new or existing Verizon wireline voice subscribers.

For consumers of our fastest High Speed Internet service -- up to 7.1 Megabits per second (Mbps) -- this new offer represents an annual savings of just under $258. Customers will save nearly $180 per year when ordering our up to 3 Mbps service and $120 when ordering our up to 768 kilobits per second (kbps) speed.

Savings like these are especially important as Americans carefully manage household budgets in this strained economy.  We also help grow our base of broadband Internet customers and nurture continued use of our broadband services in the future.

Consumers who want to maximize their online experience should not underestimate the performance, reliability and value of digital subscriber line service.  A really good DSL experience is, after all, something that cable can’t replicate – it’s really good.