Bandwidth Wars: U S WEST 'MegaBit Services' ADSL Subscriber Rate
Jumps More Than 250 Percent in First Half of 1999
PRNewswire - 04:14 p.m Aug 17, 1999 Eastern
DENVER, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- MegaBit Services, the nation's most
popular DSL high-speed Internet service, grew at a rate of more than 250
percent during the first half of 1999 -- and in June and July exceeded a rate
of 10,000 new subscribers a month -- U S WEST announced today. This
dramatic increase is consistent with a report issued Monday by analyst-firm
TeleChoice showing that DSL is growing at "a consistently faster pace"
than cable modem services.
U S WEST added more than 36,000 MegaBit Services customers in the
first half of 1999. Today, the company is adding 10,000 new DSL
customers each month, 65 percent of whom select U S WEST.net Internet
access. An average of 500 new MegaBit Services customers come online
every weekday -- the equivalent of one new customer every 80 seconds
during business hours.
U S WEST has topped a seven-percent penetration rate in the addressable
market of online customers where MegaBit Services is available. With
nearly 60,000 U S WEST DSL customers -- including 12,000 businesses
-- the company accounts for nearly 40 percent of all DSL customers in the
nation.
"From the start, our goal has been to bring MegaBit Services broadband
Internet access to the masses -- both businesses and consumers, and we
continue to outpace other DSL providers and broadband alternatives in our
region," said Joe Zell, president of U S WEST !NTERPRISE Networking.
"MegaBit is becoming a mass-market reality. And that paves the way for
Internet access and a variety of value-added services like Web and e-mail
hosting, online collaboration and e-commerce."
TeleChoice issued a report Monday showing that, nationwide, DSL
services grew five times faster than cable modem services during the first
half of 1999. TeleChoice DSL Analyst Laurie Falconer, who was quoted in
the report, said, "It may mean the technology has found its legs and is
poised to reach its expected exponential market growth much sooner than
most believed six months ago."
U S WEST Continues to Lead Nation in DSL Advances
U S WEST was the first company in the nation to offer a mainstream DSL
service when it introduced MegaBit Services in Phoenix in October 1997.
U S WEST has since expanded the service to more than 40 markets across
its region -- from Seattle to Sioux Falls, S.D., from Denver to Davenport,
Iowa, and from Phoenix to Fargo, N.D. Today, U S WEST has more than
1,000 DSLAMS to support MegaBit Services in nearly 250 central offices
that serve some 6.9 million customer households and businesses.
U S WEST also offers the nation's most aggressively priced portfolio of
DSL services. Its 'always-on' high-speed MegaBit Services, which is
designed for power Internet users and business customers, is priced
starting at $29.95/month. MegaBit Select, introduced earlier this month in
Portland, Ore. and Tacoma and Seattle, Wash., is a DSL-on-demand
service for casual Internet users and is priced at an industry-leading
$19.95/month. Combined with $17.95/month unlimited U S WEST.net
Internet access, U S WEST offers customers very affordable high-speed
Internet packages of $47.90/month and $37.90/month, respectively.
In addition, U S WEST leads the industry with its customer-friendly
installation strategy that saves customers the time and cost of a technician
visit. Unlike most DSL providers, U S WEST's MegaBit Services uses a
splitterless technology from Cisco Systems that is so easy to install that
nearly 90 percent of subscribers do it themselves. In fact, U S WEST
offers a guarantee that customers can install the service themselves, or the
company will send a technician to help complete the job.
In a number of markets, MegaBit Services is offering the industry's first
'test-drive' program available through local retailers. Customers can demo
the service before they buy it at more than 100 local retailers throughout U
S WEST's region. A full list of retailers that offer MegaBit 'test-drives' is
available on the company's DSL Website: www.megaspeed.com.
"U S WEST's commitment to bring broadband Internet access to its
customers is unmatched," Zell said. "While other companies may be
making noise about DSL, we're making our numbers with aggressive
deployment and pricing, increasing customers, and a hockey-stick-shaped
growth curve."
About MegaBit Services ADSL
U S WEST's MegaBit Services ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber
Line) gives customers a high-speed, 'always-on' connection to the Internet
-- or a corporate data network -- over a dedicated portion of their existing
phone line with no dial-up required. Customers simply open their Internet
browser software to surf the Web at speeds 10 to 250 times faster than
28.8 kbps dial-up modems, and can simultaneously make or receive phone
calls over the same line.
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. SOURCE
U S WEST
Copyright 1999, PR Newswire
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