In order to gain government approval for its acquisition of BellSouth, AT&T conveniently authored their own merger conditions (pdf). Among them was the promise that they'd offer $10 DSL and "naked" (aka standalone, no landline) DSL service territory-wide.

While AT&T does now offer $10 768kbps DSL to comply, they neither announced or advertised the price point in the hopes that nobody would notice. AT&T's new CEO says they don't advertise it because nobody wants it.

As for dry loop DSL, the company had twelve months from the date of merger approval to offer it, so before year's end they will unveil 768kbps dry loop DSL for $20. Some naked DSL is offered now, but the deals aren't consistent across service regions.

For instance in May, users in BellSouth territory were told they could order naked DSL if they bundled AT&T wireless service. As of this month it appears that users on Ultra or faster tiers can now get naked DSL (click for prices) if they call up and ask for "bundle 96."

AT&T already has to offer naked DSL in some markets to comply with conditions of the SBC acquisition of AT&T, but charges customers a dollar more for it than they charge for their DSL & landline bundle. AT&T at the time said setting that price was "a way to let customers know that buying several services at the same time is always the best value."

The company tells the Chicago Tribune that they're trialing another naked DSL variant aimed at college students in Austin, Chicago and Jacksonville. Users in those markets can get 1.5Mbps naked DSL for $23.99 a month, or $19.99 a month if you bundle wireless service. AT&T tells the paper the same thing they told USAToday last January: territory-wide $20 naked DSL is coming:The merger condition notes that they won't have to offer naked DSL service for speeds higher than 768kbps, or for more than 30 months. Also like the $10 DSL, they're under no obligation to announce or market it.