American telecom giant, AT&T, is planning to begin selling netbook PCs for as little as $50 to customers that sign a two-year DSL and wireless broadband contract.

This is similar to the business model AT&T uses to market cell phones; subsidizing the cost of a handset in exchange for a contractual commitment on the part of the consumer. The offer will initially be available in Atlanta and Philadelphia, using Acer Aspire One, Dell Inspiron Mini 9, Dell Inspiron Mini 12, and LG Xenia netbooks.

Industry experts predict that the combination of fixed and mobile broadband could be a strong selling point for AT&T, allowing it to be more competitive.

“With growth in new home broadband service subscribers slowing, providers will need to steal existing broadband users away from other providers if they want to continue to grow their customer base,” explains In-Stat analyst, Daryl Schoolar. “Our research shows that current broadband users would be willing to switch from their current broadband provider to one that could combine a home and on-the-go service.”