Kansas City, Mo.-Based Telecom Provider Announces DSL Service in Southeast
Posted on: Monday, 30 June 2003, 06:00 CDT
Jul. 1--MACON, Ga.--The small world of high-speed Internet services is expected to get a little bit bigger today as Birch Telecom announced it would provide DSL services in Macon and 18 other cities in the Southeast.
Birch, a private company headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., has been providing local and long-distance telephone service in Macon since January 2002. This marks the first time the company has entered the digital subscriber line, or DSL, market in competition with BellSouth, the only other DSL provider in the area. DSL service uses telephone lines to connect to the Internet but is much faster than dial-up or ISDN services.
DSL product manager Tyler Pearson said the service is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses that want to give up poky dial-up service but can't afford pricey T1 lines, which can run more than $500 per month. Birch's plans cost from $79.95 monthly with a $49.95 startup fee for a basic plan to $109.95 monthly and a $300 setup fee including maintenance for more complex needs, like on-site web hosting.
"We're kind of hitting that niche that BellSouth doesn't usually target," Pearson said.
BellSouth management would probably differ with that assessment -- after all, it offers its own brand of small business DSL, priced from $79.99 to $219.99 with varying setup fees, not including any special promotions.
"We offer telecom services to all segments, consumer, small, medium and large businesses," said Joe Chandler, director of communications for BellSouth in Atlanta. "The small-business market is very attractive and important for BellSouth."
Another part of the equation comes from Federal Communications Commission regulations that stipulate that local carriers like BellSouth must wholesale at least part of their DSL capabilities to competitors.
But Pearson said the company only uses the so-called "last mile" from BellSouth and otherwise routes the online traffic through its switching station in Kansas City.
"We wanted to be the Internet service provider. It's not a pure resale plan where we're repackaging BellSouth service," Pearson said.
A spokeswoman for MCI said the company provides DSL service in Atlanta and other parts of Georgia, but that service is not yet available in Macon. The other major local broadband provider, Cox Communications, uses cable technology and is aimed more toward the residential market.
At least one small business person said she'll need to wait and see whether more competition in the broadband market will be enough to get her to switch from dial-up service.
"Whenever the time comes, we'll take a look at all of the options that are out there, whether it's Cox or BellSouth or whoever," said Dale Mathews, executive director of the Bibb County Medical Society.
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To see more of The Macon Telegraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.macon.com
(c) 2003, The Macon Telegraph, Ga. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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