AT&T owns the ground lines, period.

The smaller companies just lease the lines from AT&T. Therefore you are still keeping AT&T in business.

I bought AT&T DSL when it was still SBC. The kicker to DSL is that you have to maintain a certain, higher, level of local phone service to keep the DSL or you break the contract and have to pay the termination fee.

Meanwhile, they start hiking up the local phone costs. But, you cannot switch local companies because you would void the DSL contract. Then when the contract expires and they start charging $34.99 a month for DSL, you are forced to either re-up with them for another promotion, drop DSL all together, or choose another DSL carrier…

This is where the fun begins.

If you switch your DSL service you CANNOT change your local service because AT&T owns the fiber optic lines for the DSL. If you drop their local service, then you can no longer access DSL service through anyone!

So, I now have a one year contract with another DSL provider but I have to keep AT&T as my local service to maintain the DSL. I cannot change to broadband or something because I would have to pay the contract fee for terminating my new DSL before the 12 months is up. Now AT&T can start upping my local phone cost and I have to just take it or else I have to pay to get out of the new DSL company’s contract, find totally different internet service, and new local phone service.

Once AT&T has your DSL -- through those great promo prices -- they then control your local service. That is the monopoly.

They may offer great initial DSL prices but they can now play with the charges for your local service and there is nothing to be done unless you are willing to get broadband and pay the termination fees of your contract.

Then you have to go to cellular or broadband for your local residential service to try to get away from AT&T!