DSL Extreme to resell Sonic.net's ADSL2+, phone service in LA

DSL Extreme, a competitive broadband provider, struck a partnership with longtime rival Sonic.net to offer its new dual-play DSL Extreme Fusion Broadband + Phone bundle for its growing number of residential and business customers that are looking for alternatives to the traditional cable operator or telco.

Initially, the new bundle will be offered in three California markets: Sacramento, San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles. The company also plans to offer the dual-play service by either the middle or the end of this year in Orange County, where it will battle the likes of established cable MSO Cox Communications.

Eligible consumers can get up to 20/1 Mbps of bandwidth via ADSL2+. Users will also have the option of higher speeds where the service provider can bond various copper pairs.

Customers will also be able to port their existing phone number and get all of the traditional features they receive from incumbent carriers, including unlimited nationwide calling to all 50 states, international calling at reasonable rates and numerous standard features such as voicemail, caller ID, call waiting and call forwarding, says the company.

One of the key selling points with which DSL Extreme hopes to attract new and existing customers is the price. The dual-play voice/DSL bundle is priced at $39.95 per month with no data caps, but does require a one-year contract.

In comparison, a dual-play offering of video and broadband from Consolidated Communications (Nasdaq: CNSL) costs about $51.95 a month.

This partnership has benefits for both DSL Extreme and Sonic.net.

For DSL Extreme, the initial benefit is time to market. Already offering both consumers and businesses speeds ranging from 768 Kbps to 6 Mbps, DSL Extreme will be able to appeal to customers with a 20 Mbps offering that puts it on a competitive footing with traditional telcos such as AT&T (NYSE: T) and Consolidated Communications and cable operators like Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Cox.  

George Mitsopoulos, general manager of DSL Extreme, said in a release announcing the service that through its relationship with Sonic.net, which uses "existing phone lines, DSL Extreme is able to expand its current suite of services to businesses and consumers."

Sonic.net, meanwhile, expands its growing wholesale service base by adding another service provider.

"Our DSL Extreme partnership is actually the ninth ISP launch, so including our Sonic.net retail offering there are now ten ISPs on the open Fusion network platform," Dane Jasper, Sonic's CEO, told Broadband Reports.

For more:
- see the release
- Broadband DSL Reports has this article

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