SBC Communications Slashing DSL Fees

SBC Communications Inc. said it’s slashing the monthly fee and eliminating installation charges for high-speed Internet access via digital subscriber line, or DSL. The basic DSL service, now available only in parts of SBC’s 13-state region, will be reduced by $10 to $39.95 per month. The normal equipment and installation charges, often as much as $300, will be waived. SBC, the local phone company through most of the Southwest and Midwest, is the nation’s largest DSL provider. Separately, the Justice Department recommended that federal regulators deny a bid by SBC to provide its customers in Texas with long-distance telephone service. The department told the Federal Communications Commission that the company failed to show it was providing equal access to competing companies seeking to lease its local phone lines. San Antonio-based SBC said it was confident that the FCC would eventually approve the application. The company has already created a separate subsidiary to handle its high-speed Internet service, ensuring nondiscriminatory access for rivals, SBC said in a statement. SBC shares rose 44 cents to close at $40.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.