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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday July 08 2015, @11:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the too-big-to-fail dept.

AT&T is promising to offer cheaper Internet service to poor people if it's allowed to buy DirecTV. This is similar to a promise that helped Comcast gain government approval of its 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal.

Qualifying residents in areas where AT&T's top speeds are below 5 Mbps (that's not a typo) will be offered DSL service of "up to 1.5 Mbps, where available" for $10 a month, AT&T said in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission last week. It'll be $5 a month for the first year before rising to $10 for the next three years. AT&T is proposing a four-year commitment in total.

In areas where AT&T's top speeds are higher, the company said it "will offer a broadband wireline DSL service at speeds up to 5 Mbps to households in AT&T's wireline footprint for $10 per month for the first 12 months of service (rising to $20 per month for the remainder of the term of the commitment)."

http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/07/att-will-give-poor-people-1-5mbps-dsl-for-10-if-us-allows-directv-merger/


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  • (Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday July 09 2015, @12:36AM

    by anubi (2828) on Thursday July 09 2015, @12:36AM (#206686) Journal

    Over here in California, they agreed to provide "dry loop DSL internet" as part of the SBC merger.

    Just try to get it. "Not available"."

    I would urge my elected representatives to remind AT&T just how nice these words sound.

    --
    "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
  • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Thursday July 09 2015, @04:41AM

    by captain normal (2205) on Thursday July 09 2015, @04:41AM (#206793)

    And you actually think your "urge" will be as strong as the $50,000 or more "campaign donation" or the all expenses trip to Charles Schwab's private Kona beach resort and Golf Club to "learn" all about how the big TelCo's have the country's best interest at heart? Welcome to Earth Stranger...maybe you'd like to buy your own bridge?

    --
    When life isn't going right, go left.
    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by anubi on Thursday July 09 2015, @06:29AM

      by anubi (2828) on Thursday July 09 2015, @06:29AM (#206822) Journal

      Yup. My "urge" has nowhere near the clout of a telco "campaign donation" or expense-paid junket.

      Here's hoping more people will become concerned enough about politics to upset an apple cart or two.

      I am talking about a lot of elections where neither the Repugnicrats nor the Dimmocans get in office.

      Right now, they have gotten real good at playing to our fears of getting a real monster in office and play us off to choose between the bad and the ugly, and we haven't come up with a way to game that system to our favor.

      We, the voters, have the numbers. We get what we vote for and what we will tolerate.

      --
      "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]