IXC launches ADSL with a Snap

Quenching the thirst for speed, Bell Atlantic will roll out its Infospeed DSL service in selected Pittsburgh and Washington markets.

Infospeed DSL is an asymmetrical digital subscriber line-based service. The carrier offers it in three speed-based packages targeting the Internet surfer, the home user and the power user, said Bruce Gordon, vice president of retail for Bell Atlantic.

Prices range from $59.95 to $189.95 a month for unlimited use.

In an attempt to avoid the confusion that plagued ISDN, Bell Atlantic is making it easy for customers to sign up for Infospeed DSL. "Customers can go on-line to determine if we have reached their area and determine whether they are within the distance limitations of the service offering. Once you find you're qualified for our service, the order can be placed on-line," Gordon said.

That capability is unique, said Claudia Bacco, senior DSL analyst at TeleChoice. "That was the most exciting part [of the announcement]-that you could do everything on-line," she said. "No one else is doing this."

Bell Atlantic Internet Solutions and Snap, an Internet portal service, have devised a special version of the portal service and search engine customized for use with Infospeed DSL.

Although the Snap service is a good value-add, it probably will not lure customers to subscribe to Infospeed, said Bacco.

Bell Atlantic also is trying to entice customers using other high-speed access solutions to switch to DSL. For example, the carrier will swap a customer's ISDN modem for the Infospeed modem at no charge, and cable modem customers can buy the Infospeed modem at half price, Gordon said.

"They definitely have an aggressive pricing program, and they are offering to switch people from ISDN and [give] discounts on DSL modems," said Bacco. "Those are good incentives. The discount on the modem is great-it's a lower amount of money out of the pocket."

The rollout is supported by several Bell Atlantic partners. Alcatel is supplying the central office DSL equipment, and Westell is supplying the user modem. Compaq, Dell and Apple are manufacturing DSL-ready computers and will market the Infospeed DSL service with Bell Atlantic. CompUSA will market, demonstrate and support Infospeed in its retail stores.

Later this year, the ADSL-based service will be offered in selected markets in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New Jersey. Bell Atlantic expects to be able to support the New York and Boston markets next year.

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