SBC offers $19.95 a month broadband

SBC Communications will offer a high-speed Internet connection for $19.95 per month to new customers who buy a top-line calling plan and sign a one-year contract, the company said Wednesday.

The $19.95 deal, which lasts the length of the contract, will be the lowest regular price broadband service from one of the four "Baby Bells," which typically have list prices of at least $25 per month for their basic high-speed Internet lines.

The move by SBC, the second-largest U.S. telephone company, highlights the rush by telephone and cable companies to grab high-speed Internet customers with bundles of phone, data and video services.

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SBC said it added 402,000 residential high-speed Internet lines last quarter, bringing its total to 4.7 million, and generating $578 million in consumer broadband revenues.

Comcast Corp. , the largest U.S. cable company, said Wednesday it had added 549,100 broadband customers during the third quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates. Comcast said it increased spending on broadband promotions by $30 million during the quarter, adding an extra 100,000 subscribers who are expected to generate $50 million a year.

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SBC said the offer for its 1.5 megabits per second service was aimed at new high-speed Internet subscribers who have either never had broadband service or were interested in dropping their cable service. To get the $19.95 rate, consumers have to buy an unlimited calling plan for an additional $48.95 per month. Both rates exclude taxes and fees.

Some of the Bells have offered temporary discounts to lure broadband customers, with BellSouth Corp offering a limited-speed service for $9.95 per month for six months. Cable companies have aimed their services upmarket, with monthly fees starting at $35 for data rates usually twice as fast as those from the Bells.