Fios in Your Neighborhood? Don't Ask Verizon

Customers who don't know what's coming can sign up only for what they know exists today. And if something better arrives later, they may not be able to upgrade without paying early-termination fees to bail out of whatever deal they took.

Many users, however, don't even have a solid grasp on their current choices. Some think that only Verizon can provide DSL -- even though competing firms have provided DSL independent of Verizon for nearly a decade. Some overlook satellite when shopping for TV service.

You can also be led astray by the mistakes of providers themselves. Burke resident Walter Forlini thought he'd get Fios along with the rest of his neighborhood, but his cul-de-sac and a few nearby streets were left out. After I forwarded his query to Reap at Verizon, Forlini e-mailed to say Verizon was working to fix the oversight.

More recently, homeowners moving into some new subdivisions have been surprised to learn they are obligated to pay for phone, television and Internet service from one company, which signed an exclusive deal with a developer.

Customers need to research their options. But much of the blame falls on providers that won't adopt the cellphone carriers' practice of offering block-by-block maps of coverage. People are stuck visiting the Web sites of multiple vendors, plugging in phone numbers or street addresses at each -- which may still not yield correct answers, much less a full picture of their telecom choices.

Here's how it should work: You visit one Web site and see exactly what types of service -- cable, DSL, fiber, wireless -- are available at any given spot.

That's not an impossible goal. Go to http://connectkentucky.org/Mapping/ to see an example, put together by a nonprofit organization that persuaded broadband firms to publish their coverage data.

In the Washington area, some telecom companies seem to care more about keeping competitors in the dark than serving their customers. They're forgetting something more important: It's good business, not to mention basic manners, to answer a would-be customer's questions.

Living with technology, or trying to? E-mail Rob Pegoraro atrobp@washpost.com. Read more athttp://blog.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/