Chicago burbs and AT&T and DSL. Help needed.

[ArrMatey!]

Hey folks,

I'm a bit of a twitchy computer-phobe when it comes to all things DSL-related. Because of this, I need a little help.
Due to financial issues beyond my control, I need to figure out if I can continue to get DSL without having a land-line phone for calling purposes. I live out in the burbs of chicago (Lombard, in fact), and I'm completely unsure who to talk to, who to ask, or really what to do in order to find this out and make it happen. Any advice (and the more detailed the better) would be snazzy.

[Tim R. Mortiss]

If I were you, I'd start by talking to AT&T and see what kind of internet-only packages they offer.

I assume that you are going to rely on a cell phone for your telephony needs? Depending on your carrier, you may find it cheaper to add wireless internet service from them, thus getting yourself a package deal. Then you can dump AT&T completely.

[C K Dexter Haven]

I second what Tim said. Start with AT&T (I assume your current carrier) and see what they say. Second call is to whomever your cell phone is with. There are different answers (I think) in different suburbs: for instance, some areas (even in the same suburb) are set for AT&T's U-verse (getting heavy publicity) and others are not.

[Mr Downtown]

Google naked DSL.

[C K Dexter Haven]

Hey, ArrMatey!, congrats! Your post has been answered by Cecil Hisself! Link: http://chicago.straightdope.com/sdc20091203.php

Folks can discuss here, or there's another discussion thread here: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11848556#post11848556