AT&T raises fees for high-speed Net access by as much as 80%
By David Lieberman, USA TODAY
usatoday.com
AT&T Broadband left an interesting little fact out of an announcement last week unveiling UltraLink, an $83-a-month service that enables power Internet users to download files at speeds up to 3 megabits per second.
AT&T provided roughly the same speed last year for just $46 a month.
It's easy to see why customers might not have recognized that. In December, AT&T continued to charge $46 — but didn't explicitly say that it was cutting Internet downloading speeds in half — when it took over the Internet service from Excite At Home. Excite, partially owned by AT&T and other cable operators, folded early this year.
After AT&T took it over, an e-mail was sent to customers that simply said that the "lightning-fast connection" had been "optimized for all users through a maximum network setting of 1.5 mbps downstream."
Translation: It would take twice as long to download music, video, pictures and other software.
Now, consumer advocates are crying foul. "AT&T shortchanged its customers," says Consumers Union's Gene Kimmelman, a frequent critic of cable rates.
"It delivered (customers) less than they had paid for without offering them a discount. This is fundamentally a problem of an unregulated cable monopoly taking advantage of its high-speed customers," he says.
AT&T acknowledges that it's charging 80% more for the fastest speed. But it says the revenue model for its service differs from Excite At Home's.
"Excite At Home was predicated on advertising and other economics that didn't pan out the way people had hoped," says Karl Ossentjuk, vice president of Internet services.
What's more, at the current price and speed, "there's nobody close to us in offering that value of service," he says.
Other cable operators who used to depend on Excite At Home handled the transition differently.
Cox continues to offer 3 mbps maximum for about $45 a month. Comcast offers 1.5 megabits per second for $45, which is the same speed and price it marketed under Excite At Home. Time Warner, which has long used its own Road Runner service, offers 2 mbps for $45.
Download speed is becoming increasingly important for Internet users who want to send and receive big files.
At the same time, cable operators believe they can attract more Internet customers if they offer different speeds for different prices.
AT&T's UltraLink is an early step in that direction. It was launched last week in major markets including Dallas, Denver, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle and St. Paul and will be available to nearly all of AT&T's 1.8 million Internet customers by year's end. |
