New technology being installed in 11 western states in its 14-state local phone service territory will let Qwest more than double the distance customers can live from a central office and still receive DSL service. Only customers within about three miles of a neighborhood central office could access Qwest DSL before, said Augie Cruciotti, executive vice president of Qwest local markets. The expansion will be phased in over two years in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The company said more than 6 million customers should be able to receive its DSL service by the end of 2002. The phone company had 306,000 DSL customers in the first quarter and hopes to have 500,000 by the end of the year.
Competitors offer high-speed connections through cable, satellite and wireless technology.
A lot of customers can't get DSL that want it. They need to continue to expand their offering, not just in their 14-state region, but nationwide. Qwest has been able to provide DSL over copper phone lines to some customers through its central offices, the hubs where individual phone lines come together. But DSL could be offered only over shorter distances because the signal quality deteriorates over distance. The new program was aimed at expanding offerings in major metropolitan areas, some smaller communities and areas that never had Qwest DSL service, the company said.