With its stoush with Telstra nearing to completion, South Australian Internet Service Provider, Adam Internet, is readying to launch its ULL broadband or 'naked DSL' service to the marketplace.

Naked DSL abolishes the need for users to pay for a wired phone line.

Not surprisingly, Telstra has been antagonistic to the technology because it argues it is being nudged out of the pay equation.

"They don't want us to offer these [VoIP and Internet] bundles because the first thing the customer does is close the phone line," says Adam Internet chairman Greg Hicks.

Beta testing began very early in January 2007. However, negotiations with Telstra quickly broke down which effectively put the brakes on the release, according to Hicks.

Adam Internet and a number of other ISPs including Internode and iiNet, which launched its Naked service last week, have been involved in a access dispute with Telstra that is currently under review by the ACCC.

"They offered us just over $30 [for line rental], which is ridiculous given it's $19 with Telstra. Telstra put hoops in front of us so that they could get money for nothing."

"But we expect a determination in a week or so", he says of the ACCC dispute.

Owing to the impending resolution, pricing has yet to be released. Nonetheless, Hicks suspects it will be under $18 for consumers, with bundled services included.

The savings for consumers will be significant, says Hicks. Rather than pay an exorbitant phone bill, money is instead freed up to put into IP services or a mobile phone bill.

He also believes the phone line component is fast becoming outdated technology for many residents. "Home users are opting to use their mobile phones rather than a landline. Why do you need a phone line at home?"

While Naked DSL is currently available to businesses because the $30 fee can be absorbed when packaged with their Voice over Internet Protocol product AdamTalk, the objective behind this launch is to extend the offering to residential customers as well.

The services will go on Adam Internet's own network and it will be available to customers on both ADSL and ADSL2+ connections.