BELLSOUTH TO ROLL OUT REVAMPED BUSINESS DSL

Undeterred by the stale DSL market, BellSouth this week will launch an expanded business DSL offering.

BellSouth's revamped FastAccess service will include minimum speeds of 768 kb/s downstream and 512 kb/s upstream for $220 per month. A symmetrical service at 384 kb/s, geared for applications such as desktop videoconferencing, distance learning and video-on-demand, will run about $200 per month.

At the high end of the speed spectrum, the carrier is aiming at the previously sacred T-1 market with a service that provides downstream speeds of up to 1.5 Mb/s and 256 kb/s upstream. “We now have lowered the barrier of entry for small businesses,” said Rich Wonders, senior director of broadband marketing with BellSouth.

The company also is taking a page from the residential DSL playbook, rolling out self-installation and the option to use any CPE.

The move puts BellSouth at odds with the three other Bell companies, which have argued that the current regulatory regime makes it economically infeasible to expand their DSL footprints, said Danny Briere, CEO of TeleChoice. “The fact BellSouth hit record numbers and can offer a lower cost of entry is good for the whole space,” he said. “Now we need more of it.”

Briere predicted that the industry will see an increasing number of enterprise-class services coming from the DSL camp in the near future as cable operators begin their push into the small business market.