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Get Naked… DSL sans phone line

Posted by JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor in At TMV.
Jul 31st, 2008 | Comments

We dropped our phone service but kept DSL, high speed Internet that comes through a phone line. If you take just that service, you’ve got “naked” DSL:

Analysts say there is a high demand for naked DSL, especially among young college grads who are dumping landlines in favor of cell phone service. A recently released federal survey says nearly one out of every six American homes had only cell phone service in 2007, up significantly from the year before and that means the demand for naked DSL is growing.

But providing just Internet scares phone companies who fear that customers could end up switching more easily to other providers.

Until recently the DSL offer was kept a virtual secret; we had no idea the option was available. Now they’ve got a naked guy in TV spots.

We signed up the package that’s faster than the cable in our area and comes with a free land line. Incoming calls are free, outgoing local calls are clocked at 10¢ a minute.

  • superdestroyer
    the first question is how much longer will the cable companies be around. Satellite, cable, and the phone companies are all selling a comodity. People will select on price. I do not believe that the market can be split three ways and all of the infrastructure paid for. My guess is that the capable companies will go out of business because they have to cater to local governments in ways that the telephone companies or the satellite companies do not.

    Will the phone companies become providers of DSL while the satellite companies become providers of entertainment signals?

    also, what will happen to local access television after the collapse of the cable companies?
  • JWindish
    Interesting questions SD! I used to think I'd rather we all move to cable and leave the broadcast spectrum open for uses that require wireless. I promise you will find this article of interest: What happens after TV's mainframe era ends next February? The switch to digital will help cable companies (and satellite companies) because many, many people who receive over-the-air TV will lose it.

    As to access television, it has moved to YouTube. The very local, limited number of viewer/viewings content that people write off dismissively plays that important role. You might get a chuckle at a much younger me commenting on the way the MSM portrayed access tv in 1991 here and here.
  • cfpete
    What are the actual monthly fees with Windstream?
    Everything is 19.99/mo for the first 12 months, but I can't find the post introductory pricing anywhere on their website.
    Seems a bit shady to me.
  • pacatrue
    I'm one of those cell-phone only with cable for internet people. Great benefit is that I get almost zero telemarketing calls. Drawback: I periodically lose my cell phone for a day or two and can't call anyone. Maybe if I strapped my mobile to the wall to make it immobile....
  • JWindish
    cfpete, $34.99 as advertised in the commercial I linked above. The deal we got is higher... I think $45.99 with the landline and 7MB speed. We have $29.99 for the first 6 months days.

    pacature, the landline means we have the benefit of 911 geo tracked and free outgoing, toll free, and toll calls on whatever plan we want to purchase (we have none, will use cell phones instead), free incoming calls, and if we do want to make a local call from the landline for some reason we pay 10¢ per minute.

    The deal really beats our local cable offering in every way.
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