Broadband: Worth Its Weight for Curing World Wide Wait?

If you use a dial-up modem, chances are you'll probably have invented your own way to kill time while graphics-laden Web sites crawl through the phone line. Maybe you play solitaire or open your snail mail. Fastidious? I bet you clean your office. Multitaskers might use my technique: reading one Web site while another loads.

The alternative to these dial-up dawdles is to gobble Web sites and music files through a "broadband" connection: cable modem, DSL (digital subscriber line), or satellite dish.

Already, almost one-third of American Internet users have broadband; that's a 50% increase in just one year. And while the explosive growth may be slowing (most speed freaks are probably wired by now), the phone and cable companies continue enticing new users.

The slide in prices, and increase in availability, means that broadband deserves a second look. How fast? How complicated? How expensive? And how risky?

The key advantage of broadband, speed, combines with an always-on connection that eliminates the wait for a dial-up connection. The disadvantages are cost, complexity of installation, and security holes that may open your always-connected computer to hackers.

If you simply do e-mail and occasional surfing, a 56k modem is probably plenty fast. But even if that's all you do … once you've had a T1 line at work, you'll want speed. And if you telecommute, download music files, or frequently tap the Web for information, always-on broadband is a real temptation.

The first step in deciding whether to yield to temptation is understanding the broadband options.

Broadband options

A digital subscriber line (DSL) turns copper phone wires into a high-speed Internet connection that simultaneously can carry a telephone conversation. DSL is technically more complicated than cable, and limited to phones within two or three miles of a telephone switching office. (To check if your phone wiring is DSL-ready, use an automated searcher at one of the Web sites listed below).

DSL is the choice of 28% of residential broadband users. You can buy the speed you want, ranging up to about 1.5 million bits per second (Mbps). With DSL (and cable), downloads are faster than uploads. As of May 2003, ATT WorldNet was offering 384 Kbps (kilobits per second) download and 128 Kbps upload service for $39.95 a month. The much faster 1.5 Mbps/128 Kbps cost $49.95. Both prices were discounted $20 for three months.

Cable modems, using the same cable that feeds many TVs, are faster, connecting at up to 7 Mbps. Not all cable systems are ready for two-way broadband transmissions. Although prices hover around $50 per month, 67% of residential broadband users now communicate through cable.

Satellite is the most expensive option, realistic only for people who can't get DSL or cable, and who have an unobstructed view of the Southern sky. Between dish and installation, you'd pay $800 to start from Earthlink, plus $69.95 a month on a 12-month contract that carries a $400 cancellation fee. As with the typical broadband contract, you get unlimited connection time.

Other items needed

Your price may buy some of the equipment and software your system will need, especially the modem (DSL and cable each have their own requirements). To complete the hookup, you also may need routers, cables, and cards. A router will improve security by masking the identity of other computers on the system. (The router built in to the Mac OS 10.2 is described here). Routers also allow you to build a home network so all your computers can get fast net access.

When it comes to simplicity, cable rules: The woes of first-time DSL users seem like urban legend--except that many are true. You can try to buy DSL and configure your system yourself, but prepare to tear your hair out. Anyway, ATT WorldNet says a $200 pro install is "required if you have a burglar alarm, a medical alert system, or more than five devices (telephones, FAX machines, and so on) connected to the telephone line you will use for your DSL connection."

Buyer's advice

Although the broadband choices in technology and provider may sound staggering, your actual choices may be almost nil. If your local cable TV is a monopoly, so is cable broadband. In bigger cities, several firms may be selling DSL through your existing phone line. But outside cities, DSL is generally not available at all.

In making your decision about broadband, consider these cautions.

Look for a money-back guarantee, especially on the more problematic DSL service. DSL is a hit-or-miss proposition, since the condition of local wires can't always be known until you sign up. If the vendor cannot fix your hookup within 30 days, it makes sense to cancel. Make sure you have that choice.

Phone the vendor's technical support number before you buy. Can you live with the wait?

You may be able to negotiate price with a broadband company. We know one cable user who was offered a lower price after telling his company he'd been offered a much cheaper service.

Once you have broadband access, consider building a home network to take fuller advantage. But remember that some broadband suppliers will charge extra fees if you link up several computers.

Be wary. ATT WorldNet helpfully advised that its DSL service is "compatible with Apple Macintosh® Operating Systems 10 and 11." OS 11 has not, of course, been announced …

Shop around. Broadband is fully covered by all sorts of review sites on the Internet. But reviews can be all over the map. One cable company was described as "fast, reliable" and "unethical, illegal billing practices, pro-censorship," in successive reviews at the same site.

The broadband decision can be daunting, but it comes down to a few key factors. Do you really need it? What is actually available to you? What are the financial and technological details? Once those are clear, you may decide that the "world wide wait" doesn't sound so bad.

After all, if you get broadband, when will you find time to open your snail mail?

July 28, 2003