is offer a package. Long Distance, Wireless, DSL/Broadband, etc. Many Baby Bells are doing this already. They hope that it will evetually average out and they make a profit out of it.

Hidden expenses of DSL, it costs more than the electrical power of a Redback router, someone has to pay for the tech support to answer the phone lines. They usually contract this out to another company not associated with the Baby Bell but paid to answer the phone lines. I know because I did this for a month for one of the contractors. They get two or three weeks of training and then hit the floor running answering the DSL Help Lines. Most of the calls are for bungled Installs, or people trying to connect to the DSL before their due-date and wondering why they aren't getting Synch.

They also need to pay for someone to monitor the Red Backs and then the DSLAM to make sure they are working. Also for the Contractors to come out to the house and install the line and equipment.

They are also doing upgrades in many areas, a lot of the phone lines are so old that they haven't been replaced since Al Bell and Dr. Watson put them up. A lot of orange wires are being put into the area where my parents live, and they are being told that DSL is available for their area now. So it costs millions to put in that orange wire to get more neighborhoods DSL ready. They hope it will pay off if they can get a majority of people to buy a package from them for DSL, Wireless Phones, Long Distance, etc for a few years or so.