Some Say PacBell Is Dragging Its Feet on ADSL Service

Pacific Bell says it is working as fast as it can to make a new high-speed Internet access technology called asymmetric digital subscriber line available to customers throughout the state.

But some consumer groups charge that PacBell has purposely dragged its feet in deploying the service, dubbed ADSL.

In addition to the logistical constraints that make the ADSL roll-out an inherently time-consuming process, the company had some business incentives to delay, said Regina Costa, telecommunications research director for the Utility Reform Network in San Francisco.

Competing phone companies that want to sell their own high-speed services must pay to use PacBell’s network. But the Baby Bell waited until it was too late for the state Public Utilities Commission to set wholesale DSL prices, Costa said.

Instead, the companies will have to go to court to set wholesale prices in what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle.

“In the meantime, Pacific is already out there offering the service” without competition, she said. “I think they delayed it on purpose, and that’s bad for customers.”

PacBell spokesman Steve Getzug said the charge is “absolutely false.”

“There has long been demand for this product, and it’s one of the most competitive products on the market,” he said. “Clearly it was in PacBell’s interest to get it out into the market as soon as possible.”

Ian McNeill, PacBell’s regional manager for loop planning in California and Nevada, said PacBell didn’t want to commit to ADSL until the company was sure it was a viable method for providing high-speed Internet access.

“This is still an emerging technology,” McNeill said. Once the company became confident it would work, he said, “it was imperative that we do what we could to get this thing out the door.”