MCI is adding DSL service to its enterprise access offerings in six more markets, including China, the global carrier announced Tuesday.

The Ashburn, Virginia, company offers DSL (digital subscriber line) as a less expensive alternative to dedicated leased lines and other forms of data access, aiming primarily at smaller branch offices of multinational enterprises as well as backup connectivity to offices that already have a leased line or other type of access, said Myles Gene Kearon, MCI's global business partner manager. The carrier is trying to make DSL available in as many countries as possible, he said.

DSL was newly available Tuesday in Thailand, the Philippines, Israel and Hong Kong, the company said. It will be available in China and Singapore in September.

In China, MCI will provide ADSL (Asymmetric DSL) through partner China Network Communications Group (China Netcom), China's second-largest fixed-line telecommunications carrier. The service will be available in most major metropolitan areas across all provinces and will offer a downstream speed of 512K bps (bits per second) and an upstream speed of 128K bps, according to MCI.

Pacific Internet is MCI's partner for DSL in Thailand, Philippines and Hong Kong. In those countries, speeds will vary. In Israel, MCI is working with Golden Lines, offering DSL services ranging from 64K bps to 1.5M bps. MCI also plans to offer DSL in Malaysia and Peru over the next several months, the company said. In Singapore, as in Australia and some other countries, DSL will be provided by local MCI operating companies, Kearon said.

Even in countries where partners provide the DSL service, enterprises that buy it through MCI can take advantage of aggressive pricing and quick response times in case of failure, because of MCI's international clout, Kearon said.

MCI also offers a DSL option in the U.S. and in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the U.K.