AT&T Reduces Broadband Price for Some Customers

AT&T Reduces Broadband Price for Some Customers

ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 19, 2007; Page B5

NEW YORK -- AT&T Inc. has started offering a broadband Internet service for $10 a month, cheaper than any of its advertised plans.

The DSL, or digital subscriber line, plan introduced Saturday is part of the concessions made by AT&T to the Federal Communications Commission to get its $86 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp. approved last December.

The $10 offer is available to customers in the 22-state AT&T service region, which includes former BellSouth areas, who have never had AT&T or BellSouth broadband, spokesman Michael Coe said. Local-phone service and a one-year contract are required; the modem is free of charge.

The plan wasn't mentioned in a Friday news release about AT&T's DSL plans and is slightly hidden on the AT&T Web site. A page describing DSL options doesn't mention it, but clicking a link for "Term contract plans" reveals it. It is also presented to customers who go into the application process, Mr. Coe said.

The service provides download speeds of up to 768 kilobits per second and upload speeds of up to 128 kbps, matching the speeds of the cheapest advertised AT&T plan, which costs $19.95 per month in the nine-state former BellSouth area and $14.99 in the 13 states covered by AT&T before the acquisition.

BellSouth generally had higher prices for DSL before it was acquired, and the price difference persists, though AT&T did cut the price of the cheapest advertised plan in the Southeast region by $5 from $24.95 on Saturday.

The agreement with the FCC required the company to offer the plan for at least two and a half years. Mr. Coe said he couldn't comment on future advertising plans for the offer.

The introduction of the plan was earlier reported by The Tennessean in Nashville.