Verizon to stop offering standalone DSL

IDG News Service - Verizon Communications then and there month will stop offering so-called "naked DSL" -- high-speed Internet without landline phone service -- in a move that flies in the face of the trend of consumers ditching their home phones for mobile handsets.

The tie between wireline Internet

While Verizon is restoring the tie between wireline Internet and voice services, many consumers are choosing to cut the cord. Verizon reported an 8% decline in residential retail voice connections in the year ended last Sept. 30, which it blamed on subscribers substituting wireless voice as so then as broadband, cable and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services. The carrier has about 24 million total voice subscribers.

The company's Verizon Wireless venture is benefitting from the mobile trend, gaining 1.5 million mobile subscribers in the quarter ended Jan. 24, reaching a total of 108.7 million. However revenue from its wireline business is falling.

The move may increase Verizon's landline voice rolls

While the move may increase Verizon's landline voice rolls, it could as well give a boost to the carrier's faster, higher-priced FiOS service where it is available. FiOS, which runs over fiber to each subscriber's home, is available in bundles of voice, TV and Internet access at 15M bps downstream and 5M bps upstream. A limited-time offer on Verizon's site Friday offered that "triple play" bundle for $84.99 per month for two years with a two-year contract.

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com