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Combination Of Speed And Price
ATLANTA, May 19, 1998 - BellSouth's plans for rolling out ADSL (asymmetrical digital subscriber line) service are amazingly simple - give customers what they want and make it affordable.
According to BellSouth CEO Duane Ackerman, "BellSouth's ADSL service reflects our strong commitment to providing the higher speed data services our customers are demanding — an accelerating demand demonstrated by a growth rate of 44 percent for revenues from data and digital services during the first quarter of 1998. ADSL will enable our residential and small business customers to enjoy the convenience and efficiencies available to our largest corporate customers," he said.
"With ADSL, BellSouth again is demonstrating the customer focus and market savvy that has helped us garner top customer satisfaction honors for three consecutive years. We will offer our customers a simple ADSL service that represents the best bargain in high speed data access."
BellSouth ADSL will be marketed to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Competitive Local Exchange Companies (CLECs), interexchange carriers, and certain other large business customers — institutions, government and corporations — which operate their own networks, i.e. intranets or extranets.
"We also will be working with our service provider customers to make necessary customer equipment - ADSL modems and line splitters - readily available," Ackerman added.
Initially, BellSouth ADSL service will be deployed in two service configurations: a mass market consumer version and a higher-speed version.
The massmarket service, targeted for consumers and small business customers, will provide a maximum speed downstream (from the serving central office to the user) of 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps). Upstream (from the user to the serving central office) maximum speed for the mass market service is 256 kilobits per second (Kbps). The mass market BellSouth ADSL access service will be priced at $45 monthly, with a connection fee of approximately $100. Volume pricing arrangements also will be available.
BellSouth ADSL service initially will be rolled out in 30 markets, beginning in New Orleans this August. Other metro markets scheduled for 1998 deployment include: Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Raleigh and Ft. Lauderdale. Another 23 markets are scheduled to begin offering the service in 1999.
"It's no coincidence that our mass market ADSL service has the same specifications as the proposed Universal ADSL, sometimes referred to as 'ADSL Lite'. BellSouth is working through the Universal ADSL Working Group (UAWG), a consortium of the leading companies from the PC, networking and telecommunications industries, to propose a framework for a non-proprietary consumer ADSL product that offers a simple migration path from today's dial-up modems. In fact, John Cahill, BellSouth executive director for advanced networking, is co-chair of the UAWG, " Ackerman explained.
The higher speed ADSL, to be launched in 1999, will be designed for large businesses and other customers with higher speed data needs and higher priority quality of service requirements. Pricing for BellSouth's higher speed ADSL service is being finalized.
"ADSL technology promises to make high-speed Internet, remote access to corporate LANs or intranets and enhanced telecommuting affordable for almost all BellSouth customers in the nine states where we provide local telephone service," Ackerman said. "ADSL also will enable BellSouth to offer an even more robust teleworking solution for our business customers, improving their profitability and productivity while increasing job satisfaction for their employees," he added.
BellSouth telephone customers can order BellSouth's mass market ADSL service from ISPs, as well as from BellSouth through its own BellSouth.netsm Internet access service. Marketed as BellSouth.netsm Fast Accesssm ADSL service, the BellSouth.net service will offer both ADSL service and Internet access for $59.95 monthly. BellSouth telephone customers who subscribe to the BellSouth Complete Choiceâ Plan or Business Choiceâ Plan can order the service for $49.95 monthly. Installation will cost $99.95 and a required modem will cost $199.95.
Complete Choice and Business Choice are discounted package plans including local telephone lines and a choice of optional calling services for low flat monthly rates.
"BellSouth.net FastAccess ADSL will be an enormous asset to our customers who are regular Internet users," Ackerman said. "Not only will the service's speed make their Internet experience much more satisfying, it also will provide a continuous connection to the BellSouth.net service, eliminating the need to dial-up and connect with the service and making Internet connectivity as simple and convenient as turning on your TV. Also, the service's very affordable price will enable many BellSouth customers to share in the excitement of high-speed Internet access, especially home users and small businesses without access to a corporate network."
BellSouth ADSL is a high-speed network access service provided over telephone customers' existing copper lines. It is capable of transmission speeds 30-100 times faster than today's dial-up modems. BellSouth has been conducting an ADSL market trial in Birmingham, Ala. since October 1997.
BellSouth ADSL will be available to end users where existing loop facilities can support the service without conditioning. The loop must be unloaded, two-wire copper and not over 18,000 feet from the serving central office. BellSouth will work with its service provider customers to qualify end-user lines.
Service provider connectivity to the BellSouth backbone transport network requires a minimum of DS1 (1.544 Mbps) ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) service provided by fast-packet switches located in the metro areas where the service is deployed.
BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) is a $21 billion communications services company. It provides telecommunications, wireless communications, directory advertising and publishing, video, Internet and information services to more than 30 million customers in 20 countries worldwide. BellSouth's telecommunications operations provide service over one of the most advanced networks in the world for 23 million access lines in its nine state territory, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Additional information on BellSouth ADSL service is available on the BellSouth Web site, www.bellsouth.com. Information on BellSouth.net FastAccess ADSL service is available at http://help.bellsouth.net/bellsouth/asp/home.asp.
The scheduled timing and availability of the BellSouth.net FastAccess service will be subject to pending regulatory approvals.
