JG etc. by James Gross

AT&T struck a deal with the government that allowed them to merge with SBC all under one giant telco roof(I think that SBC actually bought AT&T, but they took the name AT&T because any search for SBC on Google only returned “SBC sucks”.:-) Under these merger conditions, AT&T agreed to a couple of terms with the government. One term was that AT&T would have to offer “naked” DSL, or DSL without having to bundle in a companion landline. Today, AT&T fulfilled this term by rolling out a new plan that allows a consumer to not include a landline in their purchase decision.

Guess what the savings to the consumer are? DrumRoll please………..

$1

So, not only are they going to choke your skype reception so you are forced to use their VOIP service. But they just also showed everyone the margins behind landlines.

AT&T spokesman John Britton said the standalone price accurately reflects the real cost of DSL, and highlights the value the company places in its bundled service.

“Bundled services continue to deliver the greatest value to consumers,” he said. “Most standalone services will have higher prices than bundled service.”

The real cost of a monopoly.

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