AT&T Offers Internet,
LD Calling Service Combo

First it offered an ad-supported unlimited access plan for less then $5 a month, now AT&T has the guts to promote a voice and data deal for $7 a month plus change. What next—broadband access for less than $20 a month?

by ISP-Planet Staff [February 6, 2001]

AT&T Corp. is offering an Internet access and long-distance service plan to U.S. consumers for $7 a month. The data and voice service bundle is dubbed AT&T 7/7.

Subscribers get unlimited Internet access on AT&T WorldNet services and seven-cents per minute rates on state-to-state long distance calls made from home.

For the time being, the package won't include AT&T Broadband services, according to company spokesperson Janet Wyles. She said there are no plans to include the company's high-speed Internet service in the bundle at this time.

The Internet access service includes six e-mail addresses and personal Web-page space, along with e-mail filters, child safety Web filtering options, and online customer support.

Howard E. McNally, AT&T's consumer division co-president, said the offer gives consumers a great value on two award-winning services.

"With every call and every click, it is a sure winner for consumers," McNally said. "By combining the best of both worlds—access and long distance—we are confident that the AT&T 7/7 offer will help us attract new AT&T WorldNet subscribers and strengthen relationships with our current long distance customers."

Perhaps AT&T can get it's communications service bundle right this time. WorldNet had to invest millions to upgrade its network from being overrun by a fast-growing customer base back in 1999.

At the time, WorldNet acknowledged that it was blind-sided by a sudden increase in customers, 100,000 of whom jumped on the network after the ISP began offering unlimited usage for $21.95 a month.

AT&T WorldNet Service is quick to point out that it has been ranked in the top slot of national service providers for overall customer satisfaction by JD Power and Associates. AT&T just might maintain the ranking, if its network is ready for new dial-up subscribers—this time around.

However, WorldNet has not done much to change its ranking among national ISPs. The Internet arm of AT&T reportedly supports 1.3 million subscribers, a figure that has remain unchanged since the end of the first quarter, last year.

Unlike most its rivals that averaged 7 percent subscriber growth rates from 2000 to 2001, AT&T WorldNet experienced a 7 percent loss. Analysts believe the new 7/7 program is part of the company's initiative to reclaim lost market share.

—End