Broadband Reaches General Public.

The words "broadband" and "high-speed Internet access" are the key words on the lips of many of today's technology and telecommunications leaders. Most notably, Microsoft made headlines with their much-publicized alliances to various media companies involved in today's development of the broadband network. Regardless if the medium is cable, DSL or wireless, the goal is to see these services offered in almost every location and at an affordable price.

Why the big push for broadband? Each company would give a list of different reasons, however, the overriding and most obvious one would be the possible profit they would reap from their efforts. Microsoft stands to benefit, as only broadband would be able to support their upcoming streaming video software. Telecommunications companies, particularly the cable providers, would get the support and funding to increase the number of new high tech cable lines throughout the world.

The inevitability that broadband be the staple for Internet surfing is almost assured with this much effort on the parts of these influential companies. The only hurdle that could slow the proliferation of broadband is the cost of development of these new networks and how much the consumer would be willing to bear when these costs trickle down to them.

At present, most high-speed ISPs charge on average $50 per month along with a steep setup fee for their service. Although the demand for high-speed Internet access is high, the majority of today's Net users still use standard 56k dial-up modems. Unless the cost of usage becomes comparable to the cost of using standard phone lines to connect, most users will not join this broadband revolution.

To bridge this barrier, Microsoft and others have sought the aid of Internet advertising companies like Engage Technologies, Inc., who specialize in targeted Internet advertising. A large part of the plan for these broadband pioneers is to use advertising to help subsidize the cost for themselves and the user. Where the plan seems to falter is how they will offer Internet advertising to make it attractive enough to draw national sponsors.

Thus far, Internet advertising has been less than spectacular with the types of ads it's offered. Static banner ads have on average only shown a 1-to-2 percent click-through ratio when untargeted and only 10 percent when targeted. These numbers have been the main reasons why many national advertisers have been wary of investing their money in Internet advertising even with the growing numbers of Net users.

Ideally, advertising on the Internet would utilize the dynamic capabilities of multimedia, the amazing speed of broadband, and the interactive nature of the Internet.

In Pasadena, California, one startup Internet solutions company has developed a product that is helping to push broadband to the general market. The company, Auric Web Systems, Inc., has developed an advertising tool called the Auto Targeted Live Advertising System (ATLAS), which works with all forms of broadband media. This server-based system follows the model of today's Broadcast TV advertising, with an Internet twist. It can enable the full potential of high-speed Internet access to be realized when delivering any sort of Internet advertising.

Allowing for full screen interactive commercials and capable of handling all forms of multimedia content, ATLAS could revolutionize Internet advertising. Instead of allotting space for banner ads, the ISP could sell advertising time where advertisers' commercials would pop up on a separate browser from the users at specified times. No longer would advertisers have to wait for the user to come to them by clicking on their banner or link -- the commercial is brought to the user.

Also, ATLAS' tracking capabilities can determine which users would be most interested in the ads by profiling the user's web surfing habits and then matching the types of commercials to their preferences. This added benefit allows for highly targeted advertising, which would increase the likelihood that the receiving audience would respond to the ad.

Not only will users receive advertisements pertinent to their interests, Auric has also included several other features just for the user, such as a reward program and a customized tool/content bar.

Ko Ikudome, President of Auric, stated, "When creating ATLAS, we had everyone in mind, the ISPs, the advertisers and the users. It may sound idealistic, but we wanted to do something no one else could, effective Internet advertising, but still please the general public. With the advertising capabilities of ATLAS, we can give high-speed Internet access the tools to become a household service."

Michael Nam is with Auric Web Systems. For mote information, check out Auric's web site at (www.auricweb.com).