If you have subscribed to AT&T DSL service at any point from 1994 until today, you may be eligible for a cash payout from the company over allegations that it improperly rate-limited some DSL lines, making it impossible for subscribers to achieve maximum speeds.

AT&T has agreed to settle an Ohio class-action lawsuit over the issue of Internet speeds, one that reaches all the way back into the dark ages of DSL and includes all of AT&T's predecessor companies (BellSouth, SBC, Ameritech—even Prodigy).

Class members who want to take part in the settlement need to apply online. If the settlement is approved by a judge at a June 1 hearing, AT&T will run every class member through its databases to determine if they ever had DSL service that was "limited to a rate below the maximum rate for the plan you purchased." In such cases, AT&T will pay the class member $2.90 for every month that such a limit was in effect.

AT&T will do a similar check on minimum speeds. Class members whose service "performed at speeds lower than certain speed thresholds" will get a $2.00 rebate for each month that the lower-than-minimum speeds applied.

And, if you were an AT&T DSL subscriber, but the company's records show that nothing improper was done to your line, you can still get money. The proposed settlement says that those who "believe that your DSL Service has not performed at satisfactory speeds" may still be eligible for a "one-time payment of $2.00." Yes—$2.00.

In addition, AT&T will dole out $3.75 million to charity and has agreed not to contest attorneys' fees of up to a whopping $11 million.

Such cases rarely go to trial. AT&T continues to deny it did anything wrong, but says that a settlement is a cheaper, easier way to dispose of the litigation than to fight it in court.