Bell Canada has finally announced they'll stop forcing the purchase of local service and will begin offering a stand-alone DSL line, also known as "naked DSL". It's a move North American telcos are slowly being forced to embrace as users migrate toward going VoIP or cell only, and regulators apply increasing pressure.

According to the Toronto Star, the company will be engaged in a "soft launch" (read: they won't shout about it) of naked Sympatico service this month.

"We want to be ready for the summer, the whole back-to-school season," says an Exec. "We think the whole concept of mobile (phone service) and Sympatico as a student offering is really compelling." Corporate-speak translation: Students want to go wireless or VoIP only, and are switching to cable, so we need to stop pretending naked DSL isn't possible.

Something not mentioned by the article: Bell Canada recently justified the "forced-bundling" tactic by claiming that without local service pushing 48-volt DC current through the lines, the lines "would oxidize and fail". We've seen similar excuses delivered over the years by American providers on why a dry pair can't be offered; ranging from "it's illegal" to "it's technically impossible."

It has been a painfully slow process here in the States for the bells to admit that the only reason to force bundle DSL/local service is to prevent local service defections. Only now that the land-line market is dying, are they slowly loosening their stance.

Qwest was the first to break down and begin offering naked DSL early last year. Verizon promised the option before the end of 2004, but so far haven't followed through. Verizon insiders tell us "technical issues" have slowed the shift, but it should be announced by mid-year. No word from SBC or BellSouth.

It became a hot issue after Bell DSL Customers found their DSL lines terminated after switching local carriers - without fully understanding why. We've even seen some customers forced to pay re-installation fees after they realized what happened and tried to return to their original carrier.

Responding to complaints, regulators in a growing number of states have ruled the tactic to be illegal. It's an issue many argue the FCC should have addressed long ago; though the market is slowly forcing telcos in that direction naturally.