AT&T home Internet falls short, years after promising 100% coverage

AT&T is seemingly close to winning approval of its acquisition of DirecTV, in part because it has promised to use the merger's financial benefits to expand home Internet service. But this isn't the first time AT&T has claimed it will expand broadband service if the government approves a merger.

Nearly a decade ago, AT&T promised 100 percent broadband coverage throughout its entire territory if it was allowed to buy BellSouth, yet today offers little or no service to millions of people in the 22 states where it operates wireline facilities. Two opponents of AT&T's latest merger have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to delay the DirecTV buy and investigate AT&T for perjury, saying the company falsely claimed to have lived up to its promise. The perjury allegation might be a stretch, as AT&T argues that it did meet the obligation, at least under the definition of broadband that was used at the time it purchased BellSouth. But the petition and various statements made by AT&T illustrate how many gaps there are in AT&T's network today. The petition is being filed this week by telecom analyst Bruce Kushnick of New Networks Institute and audit director Tom Allibone of telecom customer advocacy group Teletruth. They pointed to the AT&T/BellSouth merger commitment, in which AT&T promised that by December 31, 2007 it would "offer broadband Internet access service (i.e., Internet access service at speeds in excess of 200kbps in at least one direction) to 100 percent of the residential living units in the AT&T/BellSouth in-region territory," with at least 85 percent of them getting access to wireline broadband. The rest would get alternative technology such as satellite or Wi-Max fixed wireless. AT&T falsely said it met this obligation, Kushnick and Allibone claimed.