7 MB DSL service - why or why not?

Question

I live in southern New Jersey (just outside Atlantic City), with 3 MB DSL service.  When I ask about upgrading to 7 MB service I am told that the service is not available, but the customer service reps do not have any detail as to why.
I'm wondering if this means that there is no 7 MB service rolled out anywhere in this part of NJ, or if others have it but my distance from the CO prevents the higher speeds.  Of course FIOS isn't available here yet, and I'm finding the 2.5 MB data rates I typically get to be marginal at times. 
I'm hoping not to have to donate any money to the local cable co., but I at least need some hope that Verizon has plans to get me faster service soon.  Thanks for the info.

Answer 1

There is absolutely nothing that prevents Verizon, or any other service provider from provisioning your service at 7mbps.
However just because you are provisioned for  (and pay for) that service is no guarantee at all that you will get 7mbps service.
Your actual service speed is the lower of the maximum speed your modem can negotiate with the Central Office, or the provisioned speed. What can be successfully negotiated between modem and Central Office Equipment is entirely dependent upon the copper pair that connects them, and biggest single contributor to the speed limits is distance from the Central Office Equipment.
So there is nothing to prevent a third party (or Verizon) from offering you 7 mbps service except ethics and perhaps the Consumer Fraud office of your State's Attorney General. Generally if you accept payment for goods or services that you know cannot  be delivered, it is called fraud.
In fact there is no guarantee that if you have 3mbps/768kb service, you will in fact get it. That's one of the reasons I became a FiOS customer. The best I could get was about 600kbs on the uplink (transceiver statistics, not speed test), and in bad weather, my downlink fell to about 2.5mbps (again, transceiver statistics, not speed test).. Those were simply the limits because of the copper pair that connected me to the Central Office.
So at the end of the day, it is actually Verizon being honest about the situation.
As for cable companies. I have no love for them. In my experience they are most inept Internet Service Providers on the Planet. They are the only people who can customer service that is actually on par with Verizon's customer service. Your Mileage May Vary....