BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhuanet) -- AT&T is not blowing any trumpets or banging on drums to promote a new broadband Internet service that costs only 10 U.S. dollars a month, half the price of its least expensive advertised plan.

    That's because the digital subscriber line (DSL) launched Saturday is part of the concessions made to the Federal Communications Commission by AT&T to receive approval of its 86 billion dollar acquisition of BellSouth Corp. last December.

    The offer, which expires at the end of the month, is available to customers in the 22-state AT&T service region, which includes former BellSouth areas, who have never had AT&T or BellSouth broadband, spokesman Michael Coe confirmed Monday. Local phone service and a one-year contract are required. The modem is free.

    The plan was not mentioned in a Friday news release about AT&T's DSL plans, and is not easy to find on the AT&T website. A page describing DSL options doesn't mention it, but clicking a link for "Term contract plans" reveals it. It's also presented to customers who go into the application process, Coe said.

    The service provides download speeds of up to 768 kilobits per second and upload speeds of up to 128 kbps, matching AT&T's 19.95 dollar plan.

    The agreement with the FCC required the company to offer the plan for at least 2 1/2 years. Coe said he could not comment on future advertising plans for the offer.

   (Agencies)