Bull.
It's a marketing issue. It's a monopolistic big-telco-doing-whatever-they-want-to issue. There is no technological requirement for there to be a dialtone on the same line as DSL, and no, I'm not talking about SDSL, I'm talking about ADSL which usually must be bundled with POTS service.
Heh. They'd love to do it. You could get DSL alone from SBC and they could do whatever they want to with no fear of regulatory repercussions -- because you can't complain to your state PUC about unregulated data services. (Well, you can, but they won't do anything.)
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA -
"In case anyone was wondering, that big glowing globe above the Victor Valley is the sun." -Victorville _Daily Press_ on the unusually large amount of rain the Southland has gotten this winter (January 12th, 2005)