Naked aggression
This story from the SF Chronicle today is a keeper. AT&T/SBC was required as part of the merger to offer standalone (naked) DSL. This means that consumers shouldn't have to buy traditional telephone service from AT&T in order to buy DSL service.
AT&T used to claim that DSL cost $29.99 a month. Traditional telephone service cost (at least) $16 a month. So the whole package (pre-merger-compliance) was about $45 a month.
Now, AT&T is offering DSL alone, as it is required to do. The cost? $44.99 a month. AT&T would prefer that people buy packages, and so it is not making it cost-effective to buy DSL on its own. Why bother? From the Chronicle story, by Ryan Kim:
AT&T spokesman John Britton said the standalone price accurately reflects the real cost of DSL, and highlights the value the company places in its bundled service.
“Bundled services continue to deliver the greatest value to consumers,” he said. “Most standalone services will have higher prices than bundled service.”
Far be it from us, the blogosphere, to question AT&T's pricing policies. But it does seem that the company isn't subject to real competition. If it were, surely the unbundled cost of DSL would be substantially lower. Hang onto this story.
Here's the picture, from JG Etc.