[Ham-Computers] RE: AT&T/SBC post

[Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)]

>>> In a PM, someone asked:
Aaron, in your ham-computers post on 23 Jan 2007 "RE: AT&T "YooHoo" DSL" you identify AT&T and SBC and ASI.  I am familiar with the "alphabet soup" for AT&T, of course, but who is SBC and ASI?


>>> My reply:
SBC stood for "Southwestern Bell Corporation", one of the "baby bells" after the AT&T divesture in 1984.  Over the years, they "aquired" and merged with several of the other baby bells to form one of the largest landline phone companies (one of these other baby bells was Pacific Bell which serves my area).  You might have seen TV commercials for SBC touting their service reliability (not always the case...).  If you're a San Francisco Giants fan, you might also recognize the name of the ball park they play in - SBC Park, formerly known as Candlestick Park.  In 2005, SBC aquired what was left of AT&T and decided to run the newly merged company under the AT&T banner as it has better brand recognition (though SBC's customer service recognition was better).  Despite the AT&T name, it is *NOT* the "old" (aka "original") AT&T and is basically SBC under a new name - the original AT&T no longer exists.

A brief history of SBC Communications can be found on Wikipedia:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBC_Communications

More info on the new AT&T is also on Wikipedia:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT&T


ASI stands for "Advanced Solutions, Inc.".  They are the actual company that provides DSL for SBC customers.  All calls for DSL service eventually get routed to ASI somewhere - that's why there's a seperate phone number for DSL service calls rather than using the standard SBC service line.  The AT&T/SBC forum on DSLReports.com is moderated by ASI techs.

And, for reference, DSLReports.com also as support forums for other ISP's (not just AT&T/SBC).  Several cable providers, regional providers, and even telecom equipment providers have a forum on the site.

73,

  - Aaron, NN6O