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Mix 'n' match your DSL, phone

By LOUIS HAU
Published August 2, 2005

A settlement between Verizon and Bright House allows mixing services for the best deal.

Verizon Communications and Bright House Networks have reached a settlement that will make it easier for customers to switch their phone service to the cable company, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said Monday.

Under the settlement, Verizon customers will be able to switch their phone service to an Internet phone service, cable company or a wireless carrier without dropping Verizon's DSL service.

That will give cost-conscious consumers greater flexibility. For example, Bright House's digital phone service offers unlimited local and long-distance calls for a lower monthly charge than Verizon's similar Freedom plan. And Verizon's DSL service is cheaper than Bright House's RoadRunner broadband service.

Previously, Verizon had claimed that it was technologically incapable of allowing customers to switch their phone number to another phone company while retaining DSL service.

That prompted Bright House last September to file a complaint with the Florida Public Service Commission, charging the phone company with anticompetitive behavior.

Crist's office intervened in the case. On Monday, Crist said in a statement that all parties had asked the PSC to dismiss Bright House's complaint.

"Competition should mean more choices and lower prices and this agreement will benefit Florida consumers through the free-market system," Crist said.

Even with the settlement, customers who don't have Verizon landline phone service will not be able to sign up for standalone DSL service until later this year.

One exception to this rule are apartment complexes served by Verizon's marketing subsidiary Verizon Avenue, which offers DSL service without a phone hookup.

Verizon spokesman Bob Elek said the company is holding off on launching standalone DSL service throughout its Florida service territory until it can do so without glitches.

"We're very pleased with the outcome," Bright House spokeswoman Kena Lewis said.

"We think it will allow customers to have choices in their phone service," Lewis said.

The settlement comes after the Federal Communications Commission ruled in March that established landline phone companies do not have to continue providing DSL on a phone line that a customer wants to switch to another carrier.

Despite the ruling, some phone companies have been moving toward standalone DSL anyway. Qwest Communications International of Denver began doing so last year. Verizon recently began offering standalone DSL in its service territories in the Northeast.

The move stems from the companies' view that broadband services will be more important in the future than voice-only connections, Verizon spokesman Elek said.

"We would rather retain the customer as a broadband customer rather than lose them altogether," he said.

--Louis Hau can be reached at 813 226-3404 or hau@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 2, 2005, 02:45:17]