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AT&T to Offer High-Speed Internet Service in Pennsylvania

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 February 2004, 06:00 CST

Feb. 26--AT&T said Wednesday it will begin offering bundled DSL high-speed Internet service to its local and long-distance telephone customers in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania, Missouri and Kansas have been added to the list of 11 states where AT&T already offers broadband Internet service bundled with telephone service. This is different from and much faster than the dial-up Wordnet service AT&T has offered in the state for years.

"We believe there's pent-up demand from consumers frustrated by the lack of choice in bundled communications and are delighted to offer a high-quality, simple, convenient and economical package of local, long distance and DSL," said Ray Solnik, vice president of strategic markets for AT&T Consumer.

The prices AT&T is charging are competitive. After a $20 discount for the first three months of service, the price for standard DSL will be $39.95 a month, modem included. The downstream speed will be 768 kilobytes per second, with the upstream speed at 128 kbps.

AT&T offers Preferred DSL for $49.95 a month after the $20 discount expires. With that package, the downstream speed is 1.5 megabytes per second, but still 128 kbps upstream.

Offering DSL service will give AT&T a better chance of keeping customers who want broadband service but can't get cable-modem service because of their locations.

Verizon refuses to provide its DSL service to customers who get their local phone service from another company. It offers an attractive package, with DSL rates lower than AT&T's, to customers who agree to buy a bundled package from Verizon.

DSL, short for digital subscriber line, service is location-specific. People who live more than about three miles from a telephone company's central switching office, or who are served by lines with certain devices on them intended to improve voice service, can't get DSL.

AT&T has partnered with DSL provider Covad Communications to provide the DSL service to its customers, according to Valerie Cardwell, vice president of external affairs for Covad. The service will be branded AT&T but will actually be provided by Covad.

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(c) 2004, The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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