Back in May an SBC spokesman had this to say about naked DSL: "We haven't seen a significant market demand for it, and our customers show us increasingly they are interested in bundled services." Odd, since we've watched customers across the country complain for six years about the inability to buy DSL without being forced into buying local phone service... .

Cable providers don't offer sub-500kbps "lite" tiers because they're afraid customers will downgrade and they'll lose money. Telcos aren't offering naked DSL because they're afraid they'll lose even more landline revenue. The reality is they'll get naked when they're ready to migrate you to their VoIP services.

To justify the stalling tactics to customers, telcos have spent half a decade pretending that offering stand alone DSL was illegal, technologically impossible, would cause the oxidation and failure of copper, or the latest bluffs: it's already available and/or nobody wants it.

In California, the PUC is growing tired of the excuses and is taking action; nudging (but not forcing) SBC to unbundle DSL and local phone service. Some want to make naked DSL an approval condition of SBC's merger with AT&T.

"We're always working to meet the needs of our customers, and because some of them may be interested in stand alone DSL service in the future, we are evaluating the technical issues involved," SBC says in a statement. "We may, at a future date, trial standalone DSL service on a limited basis."

So now SBC admits customers want it, but we're to believe the brightest minds at SBC just can't seem to overcome "technical issues"?

Verizon has also been dragging their feet, Verizon execs insisting naked DSL is "generally available"; It isn't.

Existing customers in their Northeast (old Nynex and Bell Atlantic) territories can now switch their local phone service to a competitor without fear of having their DSL line terminated. Back in May customers were following this convoluted process to order naked DSL:

•Order Verizon POTS, get phone number•Order DSL via Verizon Online, get that working•Have DSL billed to your credit card•Order VOIP or cell service•Port POTS/DSL phone number to VOIP or cell service•POTS service is removed, DSL remains•Dump VOIP

They've since simplified the process, though it's only available in select communities in the Northeast. Verizon continues to claim technical hurdles are responsible for the delay in offering all territories naked DSL. That's not "generally available", it's "half-assed".

As with SBC. state regulators are also growing tired of Verizon's excuses. NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer wants naked DSL offered as a condition of the Verizon/MCI merger. A few weeks ago, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist forced Verizon to unbundle after BrightHouse Networks - who is pitching VoIP - filed a suit with the Florida PSC, accusing Verizon of anticompetitive behavior.

How many more years will SBC and Verizon give customers excuses as to why they can't offer them the most simple of services? Just DSL, please.