"Contacted Verizon and was informed they only worked with the Modems they supply due to internal items..."
No, that will not do. That only means Verizon reps lie through their teeth, as do most corporate reps these days, sadly. We both know there are any number of setup parameters that can totally block the connection and being told "ignore the man behind the curtain" does not mean anything relevant.
I had an AT&T rep tell me that I couldn't use a Westell 327W with their DSL because it was a Verizon OEM model (as apparently is almost all the Westell equipment on the market, OEM'd to one or another ex-Bell company) and then, funny thing, the AT&T self-installation CD for the el-cheapo Westell USB-or-ethernet but not both box, autodetected and installed the same Westell that AT&T said couldn't ever be used with them. They lied, big surprise. Translation? Oh, our script books no longer supply DNS server or IP gateway addresses, so those settings can't be made or given at all, ever, to anyone. Ahuh.
I've heard "that can't work here, ever" for decades, and you know the funny thing? Once in a long while, it is true. But when it is true, someone can always explain why. When they just start puffing smoke, they're inevitably lying again.
There are federal and state regulations about bundling, illegal restraint of competition, and wire fraud, but generally the feds kick it upstairs to an "executive office" where someone calls you Sir and apologizes for the confusion and gives you the simple answer--which keeps the feds happy too. Or haven't you ever seen the way a Public Servic Commission rep at any telco-related company can not only walk on water, but convince you that's all part of their routine service?
Not that the equipment makers are always any better. Back in the NT4 days, I went through hoops with 3COM (which was busy absorbing then spinning off then reabsorbing USRobotics) about getting some card modems to work under NT4 or on a Compaq. After a couple of escalations, finally one of them said outright "It works with NT4, but Compaq isn't properly supporting NT" and their story stayed the same with NT5, even though the machine in question was one of the exact same models used by Compaq AND MICROSOFT to develop and test NT5 internally at MS.
They (almost) all lie, the only question is how much and how often. Ain't no LLBean or LandsEnd in the tech business, although a few often come close.
Edited Nov-7 by groucho | 
