Verizon Goes 'Naked' With DSL

Northeastern customers of telecommunications giant Verizon will soon be able to drop their landline phone service, but still keep their high-speed Internet. The program will first be offered in the areas formerly served by Nynex and Bell-Atlantic.

Initially, only customers already subscribed to both services will be allowed to take advantage of the new option. However, Verizon has plans to eventually extend it to its entire service area and allow anyone to subscribe to the "naked DSL" service.

Verizon claimed that "technical issues" prevented a nationwide rollout.

Only one other phone company so far has made such a service available: Qwest. Other companies have been under pressure to do the same, similar to what most cable companies already offer. Some consumer advocates have expressed concern that big phone companies are attempting to extend their monopolies to high-speed Internet.

Pricing for the new service was not discussed, but it would likely be higher than the $29.95 monthly base price that Verizon currently charges for its basic service. If customers would like to keep local calling, they could switch to a VOIP provider such as Vonage or even Verizon's own offering.

Customers wishing to take advantage of the offer where it is available could do so starting Monday.