This lasted until about 2011 Feb whereupon I switched to AT&T’s U-Verse.

Here is what I pay and what I get:

I pay:
$27/mo for a year. (Now after a year it is about $50/mo).
$149 (- rebate?) for DSL modem.
$80 for wireless PC card, which is necessary only if you want to go wireless. (Most new computers include this.)

I get:
1.5 Mb/sec downstream (towards me) full time: no dialing. (no permanent IP address)
384 Kb/sec upstream (towards internet)
Modem that connects locally via:

A Yahoo ISP account with a few extras. (e-mail, private web site, etc.)

About 2009 they upgraded the downstream rate to 3Mb/s

The DSL service is tied to your SBC phone service. The DSL bill comes with your phone bill. The two services use the same wire to your house. You pay for POTS (Plain Ordinary Phone Service) if you get DSL even if you don't use the phone.