Asp smart upload

Working from home can offer Countless benefits over working at the office, but having to dial up your ISP on an analog phone line isn't one of them. Fortunately, cable and digital-subscriber-line (DSL) Internet access provide up to 10Mbps connection speeds. And although they cost at least twice as much as conventional dial-up service, most users think that office network-like connection speeds and always-on service are worth the investment.

The rollout of broadband services has been slow as providers strive to supply the largest cities with access first. But now, most areas of the country have at least one broadband option. And many users are signing up.

Residential broadband subscribers will total 20.7 million by 2003, representing a 356 percent increase from year-end 2000 levels, according to a study by eMarketer Inc., a market research firm based in New York City. The study also projects that by year-end 2000, broadband subscribers will represent 23 percent of the overall Internet access market. By 2003, eMarketer anticipates that 40 percent of Internet users will be surfing with broadband connections.

Not all of those broadband users will have cable or DSL modems--a small portion of them will use wireless technologies. Firms like Hughes Network Services and Starband offer satellite Internet access that rivals DSL's speeds. And Sprint PCS is offering a fixed-point wireless service in about 40 cities nationwide. So far, wireless services have appealed mostly to subscribers in remote locations where DSL and cable are unavailable, but this may be changing (see "Broadband Goes Wireless" in this issue's Up Front section).

MORE THAN JUST SPEED

What can home office workers do with broadband that they can't do with an analog modem connection?

"It makes life simpler," says Daryle Brown, solutions marketing manager for 3Com Corp., which makes cable modem equipment. "Working at home becomes as easy as working in the office because consumers have almost the same quality of connections now."

The most obvious advantage of broadband is faster Internet download times. Surfing the Web and exchanging large files are no longer slow, painful processes prone to time-outs. Beyond that, however, broadband has expanded the range of applications home users can utilize. Business applications that don't make sense at dial-up speeds--videoconferencing, for one--become far more feasible with broadband.

In addition, most application service provider (ASP) and networking applications are practical only when a broadband connection is in place.

"For remote office access, broadband gives faster access to applications running on the company LAN" says Brown. "This applies also when accessing applications from the growing number of applications for rent by ASPs"

Using PlayNow.com, a broadband software-on-demand service, home office workers can rent or subscribe to business software, which is delivered in real time over the broadband network.

"Instead of buying and installing productivity or reference software, users can rent or subscribe to just what they need--just when they need it" says Bill Holding, vice president of marketing at Into Networks, which created the streaming technology that makes PlayNow.com work.

For example, Holding says, a small-business owner might need to write a marketing plan, but not want to purchase software for a onetime project. On PlayNow.com's office channel, a user can subscribe to The Idiot's Guide to Writing a Marketing Plan for 48 hours for just $2.99. The software is launched on the user's desktop, but it is not installed. A business plan is created, the files are saved locally, and the software goes away once the rental period is up.

Similarly, a home office user might want to take advantage of Lotus Smart-Suite, but not have the budget or resources to keep it updated, installed, and serviced. In this case, the user can choose a monthly or annual subscription to the office channel, where dozens of office and productivity titles are available for just $5.99 a month.

SEARCHING FOR SERVICE

The first step in getting broadband service is to learn what's available in your area. To get DSL, you must be within a particular distance of a local exchange. The closer you are, the better your connection will be. Although a handful of true DSL providers exist--including Covad, NorthPoint, and your local Baby Bell--in most cases you will need to order DSL service from your ISP. Earthlink, for example, resells Covad's DSL service in much of the country.

One or two cable companies currently operate in most cities or towns. If neither of these companies sells Internet cable service where you are, you'll have to pursue other options.

Once you know who provides service in your area, you should start checking out the details of their packages. Several Web sites will tell you which providers operate in your region and help you evaluate their offerings. Check out C/Net's Web Services (webservices.cnet.com) or DSLReports (www.dslreports.com) for a complete list of providers in your area.

It is important to ask the right questions when evaluating providers (see the sidebar "Questions to Ask Your Broadband Provider"). The quality of your connection has a lot to do with the quality of your service provider's backbone. Although DSL providers often give you a dedicated connection, if the backbone is overloaded, you won't get the maximum throughput. Cable subscribers have an even greater problem because of the shared nature of the connection.

Although cable and DSL providers rarely disclose this kind of performance information, you can usually get a feel for a provider's reliability by asking other customers in your neighborhood or in online message areas.

PLUG-AND-PLAY IT'S NOT

Although the telecommunications industry is making broadband easier to install, it still has a long way to go. In most cases, both cable and DSL installation require a technician to visit your home, install software on your computer, and occasionally do some minor rewiring.

There's little chance that an existing CATV line can be easily recycled to serve a cable modem for a PC, as the type of cable needed is different, according to Kristen Hendrix, a spokesperson for SBC Communications Inc., a DSL provider. She says cable modems often require a "reinstallation--with hole drilling and cutting and splicing of cable" DSL, on the other hand, "splits" a single existing telephone line into separate voice and data channels and doesn't require rewiring. Ideally, you can just connect microfilter adapters to the lines you need for analog devices (like phones and faxes) and run the unfiltered line to your DSL modem.

But DSL installation has its own issues. With so many brands of DSL out there, the only way to make sure your DSL modem will work is to purchase it from your service provider. And if you ever change providers, you will probably have to change modems, as well. "It's been a little easier for cable installations than for DSL over the last few years, due to DSL interoperability issues," says Brown.

Still, for the technically adept, it is possible to order cable service and install the modem yourself. Eliminating a house call by the company technician can help you save the $100 installation fee, but it should not be undertaken lightly. These products are a long way from being plug-and-play.

Aside from installation, cable and DSL service are relatively well-matched. Cable is more widely available, cheaper, and a bit slower. DSL is primarily available in urban areas but is quickly becoming available farther afield. Still, in most areas you will have a choice of at least one cable provider and several DSL providers. Which technology you choose will depend largely on the use you have in mind.

BRAVO, HBO, AND THE INTERNET

Cable Internet service is available nearly nationwide and provides potential connection rates of 3Mbps downstream to 1Mbps upstream. Although it uses cable TV wires, if the cable wire in your home is more than a year or two old, it will need to be replaced. To use the service, you'll need an Ethernet network adapter and a cable modem that works with your service provider's network.

Although cable modems have a huge potential connection rate of 27Mbps, most users get download speeds of anywhere from 500Kbps to 2Mbps. This is because cable users share a common connection with potentially hundreds of other users in their areas. As more users share the "pipe," the speed and quality of service decreases for everyone on the line.

To learn how strong the competition is in your area, you need to know how many users share your local cable hub. If the providers aren't willing to give you this information, ask them for a guaranteed minimum download and upload connection rate.