Verizon on Monday announced discounted pricing on its entry-level DSL tiers when bundled with voice service, hoping to drive up digital subscriber line connections as well as keep existing phone customers from dropping service.
The special offers -- aimed at residential users who use dial-up Internet service -- apply to Verizon's 768 Kilobits per second and 1 Megabit per second (downstream) DSL services, when bundled with a "Regional Value" calling plan that includes unlimited local and regional toll calling.
The price for the double-play bundle is $34.99 per month for current phone customers, and $44.99 per month for customers new to Verizon voice service. Both offers require a one-year contract; the prices are guaranteed for 24 months.
"Once you've experienced the always-on convenience of high-speed broadband in your home, dial-up Internet quickly becomes a distant memory," Verizon's vice president of consumer strategy Shawn Strickland said in a statement. "By adding a Regional Value calling plan, consumers will get a bundle that is unmatched in the market at about the same price as having landline phone and dial-up Internet service."
Verizon currently offers so-called "naked DSL," without any phone service, for $29.99 per month for 768-Kbps/1-Mbps DSL with a one-year agreement.
The new bundle also is available as a triple play, with DirecTV Choice service, at $74.99 per month for new customers and $64.99 per month for existing Verizon voice customers. Both triple play bundle prices are good for 12 months; a one-year Verizon agreement and two-year DirecTV agreement are required.
