SBC is stooping to a new low in the fight for broadband
subscribers — $14.95 per month.
The San Antonio, Texas, carrier is offering its basic SBC Yahoo DSL
$14.95 per month. The price, which is lower than some dial-up ISPs, is
limited to new customers who order online and commit to one year.
In addition, Yahoo DSL Pro, which features faster data transfer rates (1.5Mbps to 3Mbps), is being sold at $24.99 per month for a 12-month term.
“The offer will be available for a limited time; no ending date has been
set,” Destiny Belknap, an SBC spokeswoman, told internetnews.com.
SBC, which is already the largest DSL provider in the United States with
more than 5.6 million lines in service, is looking to tempt cable broadband
users to switch and dial-up subscribers to upgrade.
That could force rivals, such as Comcast and
AOL, to look at their own pricing and strategy. Spokeswomen
for the companies were not immediately available to comment on what moves,
if any, they’ll make in response.
Cable companies, which stress faster speeds in their broadband marketing,
typically charge around $40 per month, while many dial-up companies are
still in the $15 to $20 range.
The price slashing is also part of a wider effort by SBC to reduce overhead
by encouraging customers to pay their bills, check their accounts, ask for
technical help and order new services through the SBC Web site rather than
the call center.
“The online advantage we’re giving customers also benefits us,” Scott
Helbing, senior vice president of SBC’s consumer marketing efforts, said in
a statement. “Web transactions allow us to lower our cost of doing
business.”
Besides savings through online transactions, SBC hopes its new customers
will opt for other subscription services, such as its FreedomLink Wi-Fi
and Voice over IP
important to maximize potential revenues.
DSL prices have been heading lower, especially when bundled with phone and
video services. However, SBC’s cut puts it nearly on par with many bare-bones services.
