Verizon Adds 185,000 DSL Subs

Verizon Communications reported its best digital-subscriber-line quarter in nearly two years, adding 185,000 DSL subscribers in the third quarter.

Like other regional Bell operating companies, Verizon has been aggressively pricing DSL to compete with cable.

The DSL numbers are a jump from last year's third-quarter additions of 155,000 and up sequentially from the second quarter's 101,000. The telco counts 2.1 million DSL subscribers.

Overall, the three largest telephone companies -- Verizon, SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. -- added 560,000 DSL subscribers in the quarter compared with 502,000 a year ago and 508,000 in the second quarter of 2003.