US West plans to cut the price of its
Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line service by 25 percent in an effort to quickly
expand the telecommunication company’s DSL subscriber base.
The price-cutting initiative is designed to make “always on” ADSL Internet
services more affordable for millions of U.S. homes. US West’s marketing also
plan includes free test drives of their DSL service speeds at local retail
outlets throughout their market area.
“Our goal is to open the information superhighway to all US West
customers, and bring it to Main Streets across our region,” said Solomon
Trujillo, president and chief executive officer, US West.
“Everyone should have a chance to test-drive ultra-fast, ‘always-on’
Internet access. It’s a truly transformational experience. It takes the
wait out of the web, and makes the Internet as convenient and easy-to-use
as the telephone.”
In addition to lowering the price of their ADSL monthly service fees from
$40 to just under $30, US West also announced that the DSL services may be
combined with unlimited Internet access for just under $48 a month.
“This is breakthrough opportunity for customers, and a breakaway move in
the marketplace,” said Joe Zell, president, US West
!NTERPRISE Networking.
“Today, we’re shifting into high gear and giving people a chance to
test-drive our ultra-fast Internet service. We were the first in the
nation to broadly deploy ADSL, and we’re going to be the first to drive it
to mass market with the pricing and guaranteed ease-of-installation
customers are looking for.”
At the end of 1998, Dataquest
projected that there were about 50,000 total DSL customers in the U.S.
Currently, US West reports provide access for about 24,000 DSL subscribers.
Based on the data, US West reports that the company is the leader in DSL
deployment in the U.S.
The aggressive pricing move is expected to drive market penetration of DSL
services for US West and enhance the company’s ability to compete with
cable access. US West has already installed more than 1,000 DSLAMS to
support DSL access in central offices that serve some 5.5 million customer
households across its region.
“The demand for our MegaBit ADSL has been remarkable since it debuted last
year, but many people are still studying their options for high-speed
Internet access,” said Zell.
“MegaBit clearly provides a better alternative because it gives dedicated
bandwidth, more secure connections and customers can choose from many
Internet service providers. Now price is another reason to select MegaBit.”
