Verizon cranks DSL pricing bundles, hikes speeds

After a drop in DSL subscriptions last quarter, the gloves are coming off at Verizon. The company announced new, lower-cost, DSL-based, triple-play bundles today, along with announcing higher speeds for its entry level service and wider market availability. The L.A. Times smells a telecom price war in the works.

Verizon's new DSL bundling combines voice, data, and DirecTV service together. Entry-level service with 1 Mbps download, voice, and 150 DIRECTV channels is $79.99 per month with an annual contract. The mid-range bundle prices at $99.99 per month and includes download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, unlimited local and long distance service, and 200 DIRECTV digital TV channels, plus a DVR upgrade and SHOWTIME for 12 months. At $119.99 per month, there's all that plus more TV services. Upgrades to 7.1 Mbps at the mid- and high-end tier can be had where available for an additional $10 a month.

Entry-level DSL speeds for Verizon have been hiked to 1 Mbps downstream and 384 Kbps upstream, raised from 768 Kbps/128 Kbps respectively. Users now can order the new entry-level service for $9.99 per month for the first six months under a one-year contract. Depending on the market, monthly pricing on the remainder of an annual plan will range between $19.99 to $25.99.

You can also find 7.1 Mbps download speeds available in 6.6 million households nationwide within Verizon territory.

The L.A. Times blog speculates that the price cuts are to keep customers from fleeing to cable providers such as Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications. Me thinks Verizon may double-down and try to accelerate FiOS rollouts at this rate.

For more:
- Verizon announced DSL bundles. Release [1].
- LA Times speculates on a telecom price war. Blog [2].