SBC Cuts Price for High-Speed Internet for New Customers

SBC Communications Inc. is cutting the price for high-speed Internet access to $15 a month for new subscribers who sign up online, making another aggressive move to add and retain customers in advance of the big telephone company’s push into cable TV service this year.

The promotional rate for SBC Yahoo DSL Express, which requires a one-year contract and lasts for 12 months, is priced well below what many dial-up Internet services as well as rival broadband providers charge.

America Online, the biggest dial-up provider, with more than 21 million subscribers, charges nearly $24 a month for a far-slower connection. Rival providers of digital subscriber line or cable broadband service generally charge $30 to $45 a month.

The cut comes two months after San Antonio-based SBC reduced the monthly fee for unlimited local and long-distance calls from $49 a month to $40.

That’s well below what rivals such as Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. charge for the same bundle, and competitive with what many cable companies are charging for telephone service using voice over Internet protocol technology.

Both moves can be seen as a campaign by SBC to hold off cable TV rivals long enough for SBC to launch new technologies and services later this year.

SBC is spending billions to rewire large portions of its copper-based phone network with fiber-optic cables so it can introduce cable television and speedier Internet connections.

SBC shares fell 10 cents to $23.28.