PacBell Plans High-Speed Internet Lines for Southland

In a move that could help quench Internet users’ thirst for faster connections, Pacific Bell said Wednesday it plans to offer high-speed lines in Los Angeles and 200 other California communities by the end of summer.

The phone company’s long-awaited new service, called asymmetrical digital subscriber line--or ADSL--service, promises to bring millions of PacBell’s customers in Southern California something largely unavailable to them to date: speedy Internet access without the cost and hassles of specialty access lines.

Calling the project an indication of its commitment to “provide Californians with the speed they need,” PacBell said it will begin rolling out ADSL in July. By August, the company plans to offer service to up to 5 million customers in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Diego counties, as well as in Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley.

While not the fastest mode of Internet access, ADSL--a relatively new technology--could become popular with small-business and home-office users. ADSL uses regular copper phone lines and allows users to access the Internet at speeds 50 times faster than conventional analog modems, which generally run at speeds of less than 28.8 kilobits per second.

The technology has the added advantage of providing always-on Internet access that would not interfere with voice calls coming in over the same copper line.

But customers would pay a high price for the convenience and fast connection. PacBell’s service would cost from $89 to as much as $339 per month, depending on the package and the speed provided.

PacBell’s least expensive package, for example, would give home users transmission speeds of up to 384kbps for receiving data, and a slower 128kbps for sending. The most expensive package would offer speeds of up to 1.5 megabits per second for downloading and 384kbps for sending. All packages would include Internet service, although customers could choose an alternative Internet service provider.

In addition, start-up costs for PacBell’s ADSL service--including a special modem, other equipment and installation fees--could add one-time fees ranging from $400 to $700. PacBell has not yet set prices for the hardware it will offer.

By comparison, US West and Ameritech offer ADSL access and Internet service in parts of Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Minnesota, Idaho and Michigan, for about $60 a month, plus equipment and installation.

And GTE Corp., the state’s second-largest local phone company, is gearing up to offer service in Los Angeles and elsewhere starting in July.

Proposed prices for GTE’s ADSL service are expected to range from $60 per month for lower speeds to up to $150 per month for the highest speed. GTE also plans to allow customers the option of renting equipment for $12 per month.

Still, observers applauded PacBell’s move, calling it a vital step for the company.

“The phone companies need to have a high-speed entry in order to survive,” said Jeffrey Kagan, president of Kagan Telecom Associates, an Atlanta consulting firm. “Their customers will be wanting it and demanding it because there’s a hunger for speed.”

In Silicon Valley, where the demand for speed is most acute, PacBell has been widely criticized for its inability to provide a lower-speed cousin to ADSL called integrated services digital network, or ISDN.

“The high-tech guys say ISDN was not offered with a reasonable price or in a user-friendly way,” said Randy Chinn, chief consultant for the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, which held hearings earlier this year on high-speed Internet access. “[ADSL] is a reasonable foot in the door.”

Still, the service won’t appeal to everyone.

The price, for one, may keep moderate Internet users away. Cable modem-based services, while not widely available, offer customers unlimited Internet access at higher speeds than ADSL does for between $40 and $50 per month.

In addition, satellite-based Internet services and other rivals are targeting the same users. Satellite access costs range from $19.95 to $129.95 a month depending on the package, plus the cost of a satellite dish and installation. This option could provide access speeds of at least 400kbps.

PacBell’s ADSL service will work only up to 16,000 feet from an ADSL-equipped central office switch, and only on certain types of copper networks. Thus, prospective customers must first call PacBell to find out if the service is available to them.

And, as consumer groups have pointed out, PacBell’s ISDN snafus still loom large in many Internet users’ minds.

“We’ve seen a tremendous inability by PacBell to provide an acceptable level of service with ISDN, and ISDN’s been around for years now,” said Barry Fraser of Utility Consumers’ Action Network, a San Diego-based consumer group. “If they couldn’t do it with ISDN, how are they going to do it with ADSL?”