DSL without paying for local phone line?

   I am interested in solutions like MagicJack, but am not sure if it would
be worth it, or if it would even work for me.  Here's my current setup:

Internet: dialup VTISP.com, 150 hours per month, $3.50 per month

Local AT&T telephone service: ~$23 a month

long distance: MCI calling card, roughly 3.9c per minute (about $13 per
month)



  So right now, we're paying just under $40 a month (including taxes) for
all of our telephone service (local & long distance), and our Internet
connection.  Anything else I would consider would need to be $40 a month or
under.

  If I could get in on some sort of DSL deal for about $10 a month that
didn't require also paying the $23 or so for a local phone hookup, I could
probably use something like the Magic Jack to really decrease my costs.
Then, instead of $40 a month, we would be paying about $12 a month for all
of the same services.  $144 a year for high speed Internet, plus local and
lond distance phone service sounds like a GREAT deal!

  Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to pull this one off yet.  All of
the DSL deals I've looked into require you to also pay for local phone
service hookup.  I'm not interested in cable TV, because we can get all of
the good shows on DVD from the library later anyway, without all of the
annoying commercials.

  On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:46:17 -0500, OhioGuy wrote:


The dsl-only circuit is called something like a "naked loop".  The
problem is that since the telcos don't want to sell that to you, they
price it the same as the dsl+phoneline.  So you pay the same with or
without dialtone.  At least that's how it was here in Dallas when I
looked last.

 brother mouse wrote:

The cost of  basic phone service just covers the costs of providing it.
The higher margin calling packages and such are the revenue stream. It
would make no sense at all for a phone carrier to provision a circuit
for below their costs never mind including data.

 George wrote:

But it was one of the concessions att gave to the FCC to
allow the reassembly of att from all the judge Greene
breakup parts.  Bad news, it is only a 2 or 3 year
requirement.  The last time they gave the concession, it
expired before they came up with rates and provisioning.

-- larry / dallas

 larry wrote:

  Speaking on the anti-trust case some people are not aware that the
original intent was to get AT&T out of the equipment business. AT&T had
a controlling or total interest in the regional Bell companies which
purchased equipment from Western Electric and Bell Labs which were owned
by AT&T. They would overcharge the telcos for equipment and they,in
turn, passed it on to customers.
   The Reagan Justice Department changed the suit to split up the local
carriers.