BellSouth DSL subs rise 188%

BellSouth reported 620,500 DSL customers in 63 markets for 2001, giving the company a 188% jump in subscribers for the year.

The largest chunk of that growth came in the fourth quarter, when the company added 157,500 new customers.

“We’ve felt the fourth quarter was cyclical in nature for the DSL business,” said Ralph de la Vega, president of broadband and Internet services for BellSouth. “I do think that there’s some tying in to the holiday season and how well we can do.”

For 2002, BellSouth anticipates another solid year of DSL growth, with a goal of 1.1 million subscribers by year-end.

The company’s DSL coverage area should make attaining that goal easier. Currently, 70% of BellSouth’s lines are DSL-enabled, and the company hopes to increase that number to 76% during the year.

Another significant number the company hopes to increase in 2002 is the percentage of DSL subscribers who choose to self-install. Currently, 96% of BellSouth’s new DSL subscribers choose self-installation.

According to de la Vega, who will soon takeover as head of BellSouth’s Latin America operations, the company plans to keep DSL pricing steady for 2002 but will introduce a home-networking solution that will allow more than one computer to be served by a single DSL line.