Residential Broadband Price War

Residential broadband cheaper than dial-up? That may soon be the case.

SBC has recently reduced its broadband subscription rates to SBC phone customers to $14.95 per month. Cox is offering a promotional rate to some of their customers for $9.95 per month. Comcast customers may be able to get broadband high speed internet for $14.95 per month by pressing their Comcast service rep. While AOL is still charging about $20/mo. for dial-up.

The baby bells are in serious trouble these days. As more customers opt to use cellular or broadband phone service, their traditional revenues are rapidly drying up. SBC's announcement is an attempt to keep their phone service customers, add an additional service to the customers bill, and hope that they will stay with SBC until the phone giant can roll-out television services in a year or so. Many of the other residential broadband providers say that they will not get involved in a price war, but, as in the case of Cox and Comcast, are in fact beginning to offer lower promotional pricing.

For more on this story see the following CNET articles:
SBC ups the ante in broadband war
SBC slashes DSL price tag
Broadband headed for price war?
Verizon CEO says no to big DSL discount
Comcast can match SBC's deal--for a while