SBC: Leader of the Bandwidth; California Offering Marks Biggest ADSL Rollout in Any State
High-Speed Internet Access Headed to Southwestern Bell, SNET Customers
SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- SBC Communications (NYSE: SBC - news) today announced a massive rollout of its high-speed Internet access service and new, attractive prices to enable more customers to surf the web at speeds up to 200 times faster than today's conventional modems. Responding to the needs of its customers, SBC is making its super-fast on-ramp to the Internet a viable option for millions of households and businesses.
SBC is undertaking the country.s largest rollout of Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology, provisioning equipment in 526 central offices and bringing the service to 8.2 million residential customers and 1.3 million businesses by the end of the year, for as little as $39 per month. In addition, ADSL service and Internet access packages will be available for prices starting at $49 per month.
''SBC is moving fast to provide the advanced, high-speed data services our customers want,'' said Edward Whitacre Jr., SBC Chairman and CEO. ''With ADSL technology we are making high-speed Internet access available and affordable on an unprecedented scale.
''We believe that ADSL will become the preferred high-speed Internet access technology for our customers. Customers who want to download data from the Internet or connect to their office networks from home will appreciate our widely available service, attractive prices, and the highly reliable and secure service we will provide over our proven networks.''
With the $39 per month ADSL service, SBC customers can simultaneously use a phone or fax machine while getting downstream connection speeds up to 1.5 Mbps and an upstream connection speed of up to 128 Kbps -- 50 times faster than today's most common 28.8 Kbps analog modems. Downstream connection speeds will vary depending on the customer's distance from the central office, but will be at a guaranteed minimum of 384 Kbps.
For customers demanding higher speeds, SBC will offer downstream connection 200 times faster than today's 28.8 Kbps modems with speeds up to 6 Mbps and an upstream connection speed of 384 Kbps. Downstream connection speeds will be guaranteed at a minimum of 1.5 Mbps.
''We want to offer customers in all our territories -- which we hope will one day include Ameritech -- the kinds of high-speed products and services they need and want at competitive prices,'' Whitacre said.
California Becomes Most ADSL Saturated State
In California, where more Internet traffic begins and ends than anywhere else in the world, SBC's Pacific Bell will nearly triple its current deployment and offer ADSL service in 255 wire centers that serve 70 percent of its customers. By the end of 1999, five million residential and 900,000 business customers will be ADSL-ready.
Pacific Bell is also lowering its prices for ADSL service and Internet access, which it began marketing last summer, by as much as 45 percent. CPE and installation will be available for as little as $198, more than a 34 percent reduction from today's prices.
Southwestern Bell and SNET Anticipate Launch
Whitacre also announced today deployment of ADSL in Southwestern Bell territory that is second in its regional reach only to Pacific Bell's ADSL coverage. Southwestern Bell filed tariffs today with the Federal Communications Commission to offer the service. It intends to deploy ADSL in 271 central offices by the end of the year, which will enable Southwestern Bell to provide service to 3.2 million residential customers and 440,000 business customers. Southwestern Bell intends to begin marketing ADSL service later in the first quarter of 1999, once the tariff filing is approved.
Southern New England Telecommunications (SNET) in Connecticut filed plans with the state Department of Public Utilities Control last week to introduce ADSL through market trials in Bristol, New Haven and Waterbury, and two additional towns to be named later. The trials will begin January 21.
Meeting Data Communications Needs of Next Century
Underscoring the importance of data communications to residential and business customers in the United States, SBC invests more than $1 billion per year to enhance its data capabilities. Roughly 80 percent of the company's 1999 capital budget for new products will be allocated to data-related services, allowing SBC to seize opportunities in the rapidly growing data market.
SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is a global leader in the telecommunications industry, with more than 36.9 million access lines and 6.5 million wireless customers across the United States, as well as investments in telecommunications businesses in 11 countries. Under the Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell, SNET, Nevada Bell and Cellular One brands, SBC, through its subsidiaries, offers a wide range of innovative services. SBC offers local and long-distance telephone service, wireless communications, data communications, paging, Internet access, and messaging, as well as telecommunications equipment, and directory advertising and publishing. SBC has approximately 129,000 employees and its annual revenues rank it in the top 50 among Fortune 500 companies.
SOURCE: SBC Communications
Looks like some G.Lite for $39 per month...I'll buy it.
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