Josh,

While I am not disagreeing with the confusing polices, there are some parts of this that are not Embarq's fault.

The "not available in all areas" clause is because of the limitations of DSL as a technology. There are several restrictions to where they can (even if they want to) put dsl service and what speeds of service they can offer at some locations. Restrictions such as: how far (along the line) from your location your "central office" (the place where the servers and D-slams are not the place you pay your bill); if there are any fiber optic lines, pair gains, repeaters, ect; or if they own the lines on your street. If you are too far away from the central office (more than 18000 feet along the wire) they can't even get you DSL service.

Some of these restrictions fall in the fundamentals of DSL technology. I have worked as a network tech for Verizon Online DSL and have a better than average understanding of the systems at place. If you (or Edgar) would like some more detailed explanation of some of the technology's limitations then feel free to contact me and I would be happy to explain them.

P.S. Yes, your you legal sticklers out there, the UNEP act allows them to use competitor's networks and wires to transmit DSL service, but they must rent the lines and because of the extra cost, most DSL providers will either not use those lines or not offer promotional rates if they must rent the lines.