USW News This Morning
U S WEST Catapults High-Speed Internet Access to Mass Market with Nation's First 'DSL-on-Demand' at $19.95/mo. for Casual Internet Users
On Heels of 3rd Straight 10,000 DSL Subscriber Month, U S WEST Introduces
'MegaBit Select' in 12 States, Giving Casual Internet Users 'DSL-on-Demand'
Access for About Price of 2nd Phone Line
DENVER, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, casual Internet surfers in nearly
40 cities in 12 states can blast past the slow downloads and delays of
traditional dial-up Internet access with U S WEST (NYSE: USW) MegaBit Select,
a breakthrough 'DSL-on-demand' service that is designed and priced
specifically for recreational Internet use. For just $19.95 a month,
customers can now rocket across the Internet at about 10 times faster than a
28.8 Kbps dial-up modem.
U S WEST is the first to broadly deploy unique 'on-demand' Digital
Subscriber Line (DSL) technology that gives customers who don't require an
'always-on' connection the benefits of power-surfing the Internet at 256 Kbps.
Available for about the price of a second phone line, MegaBit Select is a
significant value for customers who are considering a second line for their
computer.
"MegaBit Select will dramatically accelerate the use of high-speed
Internet services by mass market consumers," said Joe Zell, president of
U S WEST !NTERPRISE Networking. "'DSL-on-demand' is perfect for the majority
of home Internet users -- people who are on the Internet a couple of hours a
day, and who don't require the 'always-on' connection that standard MegaBit
Services provides. Recreational and weekend Internet surfers will enjoy
dedicated, high-speed Internet access at a price that makes sense for their
lifestyle."
MegaBit Select is the newest offering in U S WEST's portfolio of
industry-leading MegaBit Services. In August, U S WEST added more than 10,000
new MegaBit Services customers for the third month in a row -- an average of
500 new customers every weekday. To date, U S WEST has nearly 70,000 DSL
customers -- including almost 15,000 businesses -- giving the company nearly
40 percent of all DSL customers in the nation. U S WEST has topped a seven-
percent penetration rate in the addressable market of online customers where
MegaBit Services is available.
MegaBit Select customers will enjoy most of the benefits of DSL access:
* High-speed Internet connections and the ability to make and receive
phone calls while online, providing an exceptional value for casual Internet
users who aren't online all the time.
* MegaBit Select subscribers get full-access speeds of 256 Kbps when they
go online -- almost 10 times faster than traditional 28.8 Kbps modems -- all
over their existing phone line.
* Like all MegaBit Services, subscribers simply launch their browser
software to get online.
* Customers can choose from over 200 Internet service providers,
including U S WEST.net.
MegaBit Select was introduced in Portland, Ore. and Seattle, Tacoma and
Spokane, Wash. this summer. It is now available in nearly all of the more
than 40 cities in which U S WEST has deployed MegaBit Services, including
Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Salt Lake City. In the remaining markets
where U S WEST MegaBit Services is deployed, Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.,
MegaBit Select will be available next month. The new service requires the
same line-qualification process as MegaBit Services, and will be generally
available in the same neighborhoods where MegaBit is available today.
"People who access the Internet over dial-up modems represent the largest
opportunity today for the growth of high-speed Internet options like DSL,"
noted Zell. "By providing the most competitively priced high-speed
alternative to dial-up Internet service available in the marketplace today,
MegaBit Select brings all of the excitement and advantages of broadband to an
entirely new group of recreational Internet customers."
MegaBit Select is priced at just $19.95/month and can be combined with
unlimited U S WEST.net Internet access for an additional $17.95/month --
creating an industry-leading $37.90/month package. MegaBit Select is also
compatible with any of the more than 200 Internet service providers that
support U S WEST MegaBit Services.
U S WEST set the pace for the DSL industry when it was the first to deploy
a widely available DSL service, introducing it in Phoenix in October 1997 and
across U S WEST's region in May 1998. U S WEST's other DSL offerings,
including MegaHome and MegaOffice, are geared toward Internet users or
teleworkers who need a dedicated, 'always-on' connection to the Internet or to
their corporate network, as well as casual Web surfers who want instant online
access all the time.
MegaHome and MegaOffice offer dedicated, 'always-on' access with no
limitations on how long customers spend online and no limitations on what
applications customers use -- unlike most cable modem services. MegaBit
Services is available today in more than 40 cities across U S WEST's region,
in almost 250 central offices serving nearly 7 million customer households.
It has partnered with Cisco Systems to bring this unique service to market.
About U S WEST
U S WEST (NYSE: USW) provides a full range of telecommunications
services -- including wireline, wireless PCS, data networking, directory and
information services -- to more than 25 million customers nationally and in 14
Western and Midwestern states. More information about U S WEST can be found
on the Internet at uswest.com.
U S WEST !NTERPRISE Networking is the data networking arm of U S WEST, and
can be found on the Internet at uswest.com.
SOURCE U S WEST
Web Site: uswest.com /Web site:
uswest.com
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