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)."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2015, @09:35PM
It's for people who literally cannot afford anything else. The federal government recently announced they would sponsor up to $9.90/mo of a "broadband" (aka 1.5 mbit+ ) connection for people making less than X.
Which means AT&T will do it anyway to get all those customers.
(Score: 2) by Sir Finkus on Friday July 10 2015, @07:17AM
HAHAHA so even better, another way for taxpayers to subsidize the ISP's expenses. Fucking great.
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