The promised bandwidth.

For consumers and small businesses, there's still hope for broadband technology

The call for high-speed access to the Internet for homes and small offices is at an all-time high. And broadband service providers have ramped up sales efforts, offering attractive perks like lower monthly rates, free installation, and even free modems.

Despite the perks, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies have been coming up short in meeting consumer expectations, and broadband access remains unavailable to a good portion of the online population. Service providers' inability to quickly roll out service nationwide is contributing to a slow adoption rate, despite analysts' predictions of quick acceptance. Compounding the problem: customer horror stories about costly and time-consuming installation.

But according to eMarketer Inc.'s The Business of Broadband report, high-speed deployment will soon start to accelerate. By 2003, broadband access will have grown nearly sixfold to 32 million users. At year-end 1999, broadband Internet access accounted for 14.6% of all U.S. subscribers, or 5.3 million users.

Although cable modems have the lead over digital subscriber line (DSL) among residential users, that could soon change. DSL will be available to at least 70% of U.S. homes by 2004, reports the Pelorus Group, a Raritan, New Jersey-based market research firm. While cable modems will continue to be popular, DSL will make dramatic inroads in the broadband market, says Al Fross, Pelorus Group president.

THE DSL DEAL

DSL is an efficient, cost-effective technology that transmits voice and data over existing phone lines. Because traditional phone lines are used, there is no need to install costly wires or cables.

Using the copper wiring, DSL operates on frequencies. Currently, lower frequencies are used for voice, while the unused portions of the wiring, specifically the higher frequencies, are used for transmitting data. This also gives DSL its "always on" capability and lets you use both voice and data frequencies at the same time--so you can talk on the phone and check your e-mail without needing an extra phone line.

Service providers offer entry-level DSL at speeds of around 256Kbps (kilobits per second) and mid-range DSL at about 1.5 Mbps (megabits per second)--which is about the same as a T-1 line--and up to 7.1 Mbps at the high range. How quickly you access the Internet depends on how close you are to the central office. As the distance grows between your home (or office) and the central office, the signal weakens. Greater distance means less bandwidth, which is just one of the problems with DSL. Another is the "always on" feature, which makes users vulnerable to hackers.

So why the long wait for DSL? Local exchange carriers determine the deployment of DSL services. The process is slow, experts argue, because there are simply not enough trained technicians to handle the backlog (installation of DSL in rural areas is almost unheard of at this time).

Some telecos are offering free or reduced cost ($50) for a DSL modem. Expect to spend $100 to have the hardware installed and a flat rate ranging from $19.99 to $50 a month. Since pricing on DSL service varies depending on the service plan you choose and the connection speed, you should shop around before signing up with a company.

CABLE CONNECTIONS

In most cases, when you subscribe to a cable provider, a technician will come to your home and install the cable modem and a splitter on your existing cable connection so that you can log on to the Internet while still using the wire for your cable TV. Minimum requirements for cable connection are a 166MHz Pentium processor and 32MB of RAM; any PC with these requirements can be equipped to use a cable modem.

Cable companies are in the process of installing and upgrading their equipment to accommodate the more than 63 million households that have cable TV connections. Cable modems upload data at 10 Mbps, but can download data at speeds of up to 30 Mbps, depending on the service and equipment. Users typically pay as much as $200 for a cable modem, a $100 installation fee, and a $50 monthly service fee.

Cable broadband operates in much the same way as DSL, giving you faster connections without the wait. The major problem with a cable connection is that the more users that are logged on, the slower your access. Privacy is another issue. Like DSL, cable connections can stay active 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This aspect gives broadband access its vulnerability.

Normally, your computer is protected by your service provider's firewall, but for extra protection, you can install your own firewall using products such as Network ICE's BlackICE Defender ($39.95, www.net workice.com) and Norton Personal Firewall 2000 ($49.95, www.symantec.com).

Another level of protection is IP addressing. Simply put, when you connect to an ISP, your modem is assigned an IP address and becomes your identity only for the time you are on the Net. Because you usually get a different IP address each time you log on, this provides additional protection from break-ins. Check with your cable or DSL provider to find out what type of IP addressing is used.

BROADBAND'S FUTURE

The reality of high-speed access is that both technologies have a long road ahead. Some states just don't have the infrastructure or backbone needed to accommodate cable or DSL--and it might take a while to implement. In the meantime, some service providers are touting wireless broadband. For example, Sprint is offering a wireless broadband service that is being piloted in Phoenix. But industry insiders say that wireless broadband is still far out of the reach of the average residential customer.

Despite the service gaps and the billions of dollars at stake in the mad dash for DSL and cable modem broadband connections, traditional narrow-band dial-up service still rules the day. There are more than 30 million Web users still linking to the Internet via 56 Kbps modems.

But stay tuned. First-to-market will have a major impact on whether or not any given broadband service provider's DSL or cable modem offerings take off. But for the end-user, how soon they actually get to the promised band may well depend on two things: how efficiently high-speed service providers can deliver quality content--and cost.

                                                         MONTHLY
                             COST OF       COST OF       SERVICE
                SPEED      INSTALLATION   EQUIPMENT        FEE
                (kbps)

ANALOG
MODEM
(dial-up)           56.6           0      $150-$200          $20

DSL          1,500-8,000        $200           $200      $50-$60

CABLE
MODEM       1,200-27,000     $5-$500           $250(*)       $40

(*) Rental cost included in monthly service fee

Source: eMarketer Inc. report, The business of Broadband, September 2000

Content-rich broadband service

As major telecos and cable companies rush to sign up broadband-hungry customers, a number of start-ups have entered the market to provide content-rich services to feed the demand. Atlanta-based Incanta Inc. (www.incanta.com) is one key player offering broadband users personalized music, video, sports, games, and community-based information.

Incanta currently offers a free service that lets users create their own music library and personal profiles. Incanta's service is offered on a downloadable "player," so the application sits on the user's desktop. Customers can use the service while running other applications. Users can also select music videos, Webcasts, and movie shorts from the company's streaming video service. Incanta supports streaming audio and video in a variety of formats, including Windows and Java.

The company is currently seeking content partners to expand its offerings. "We are working with the larger and smaller players in the content arena. This is an opportunity for African American film producers or [those who] provide audio or video content to get exposure in the broadband market," says Jackie Jones, director of business development.

Incanta goes a step further than most other distribution companies, which just transport audio and video data across networks, by also providing personalized content over superfast broadband connections. "What distinguishes us, is [that] we deal with the interaction between customers; we focus on the user interface," adds Jones.