A day after Verizon entered into a similar partnership with Yahoo this week, SBC and Yahoo said they will offer SBC's DSL customers an unlimited music download service for a flat rate, reports Red Herring. Yahoo announced a similar deal Tuesday with Verizon DSL service, which is being offered in a discounted but lower-speed version of DSL - at the same $14.95 per month that SBC introduced in June. The trend could spur other internet service providers and phone companies to follow suit.

The partnership is likely to benefit both Yahoo and SBC. "Yahoo Music Unlimited will benefit from being marketed to SBC DSL customers and SBC will benefit from being able to offer complementary entertainment services to its broadband customers," said Susan Kevorkian, a senior analyst with IDC.

The new SBC Yahoo Music Unlimited service offers the Yahoo Music Unlimited service at recently finalized prices of $6.99 per month, or $4.99 per month for customers who commit to a one-year subscription.

Yahoo is "trying to partner with folks who have a pipeline into the home," said Mike McGuire, research director on research firm Gartner's media team. ISPs "are also looking for value-added services to offer their customers. For [users] who haven't made the jump to digital, it is more comfortable for them to get the service from a provider where they get their broadband connection."