Sprint Launches Business DSLSprint Launches Business DSL

Sprint Corp. on Tuesday launched its Business DSL service, an asymmetrical digital subscriber line that includes customer service and performance guarantees designed to satisfy the requirements of small- and medium-sized businesses.

The service is available now in 32 cities and offers top download speeds of 8 Mbps. The top upstream speed of the service is 512 Kbps. The service comes with a guarantee of 99.9% network uptime and installation in less than 45 days from a customer's order.

"There are millions of ADSL lines already in service," from both incumbent local phone companies and competitive local phone providers, says Pat Hurley, DSL analyst at telecom consulting company TeleChoice Inc. That means Sprint will have to differentiate its service on the basis of the business-oriented guarantees it's offering, Hurley says. Still, the new service from Sprint is good news for customers because it gives them another alternative to choose from, adds Hurley.

The service will cost $225 a month for month-to-month customers, $185 a month for customers with one-year service contracts, and $160 a month for customers signing up for two-year contracts. Installation costs $199. Under a promotion being offered between now and the end of February, Sprint will give new customers a free modem, which regularly costs $199, and will waive its $99 service-activation charge.