SBC Communications (SBC) and America Online (AOL) on Thursday said they will provide high-speed access for users of AOL's online service, complementing a similar deal between AOL and Bell Atlantic.
The higher-speed service, expected to cost current AOL users an extra US$20 a month, allows for much faster Web use; constant, reliable connections; and use of the Internet simultaneously with a telephone or fax over a single line, the companies said.
The companies plan to offer the service in California, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas beginning in the fall, with Nevada set for later in the year.
Together with the Bell Atlantic deal, which covers the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Virginia, AOL plans to offer high-speed service in 21 states. America Online currently has about 15 million members.
SBC now makes high-speed Internet service available in 2 million homes, but plans to increase availability to 8.4 million by the end of the year.
The company is using asymmetrical digital subscriber line technology, or ADSL, to provide the high-speed connections. ADSL, a way of souping up existing phone lines, represents the main competition to cable modem connections for high-speed Internet service.
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