CNET compares your High-Speed Internet options

By Gregg Keizer
(10/2/01)

Admit it, you have a need for speed. You love fast cars, fast sports, and fast politicians. Even when you're online--nay, especially when you're online--you want to move quickly.

Broadband, the slew of technologies that provide high-speed Internet access, gives you that bit of velocity you crave . With a high-speed connection, you can pull down files in seconds rather than hours and display Web pages faster than you can blink.

But all's not well in the world of broadband. Tough economic times and a lot of very bad business decisions have put scores of broadband suppliers out of operation or on the verge of extinction . It's more important than ever to pick your broadband provider carefully. Unfortunately, that's not easy. Depending on where you live, you may find your broadband options to be either staggeringly diverse or few and far between. Where's a speed seeker to turn?

We've distilled the nature of the top four broadband options--cable, DSL, fixed wireless, and satellite--into concise, clear descriptions, with plenty of pros and cons for each so that you can see their strengths and weaknesses. Then it's up to you to pick, depending, of course, on whether the companies are still in business or you can get their service at your home.

Cable

The Scuttlebutt
Just two companies deliver more than 80 percent of cable Net connections: Road Runner and Excite@Home . Time Warner Cable (part of the AOL Time Warner empire) owns the former, while the latter is affiliated with major cable TV companies such as Cox Communications and AT&T Broadband . (However, Cox and Comcast, another cable company, recently announced that they would pull the plug on their relationship with Excite@Home come next June.) The affiliations probably won't affect you personally, since you'll sign up through your local cable company, which determines its own pricing and rules.

The pros

1. Stability and Availability.
Forty-six percent of U.S. homes have access to cable Net service. If you're after broadband, your most likely source--perhaps the only one, other than satellite--is cable. Unfortunately, cable doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to sidestep the dying ISP problem (after all, Excite@Home is in some serious hurt right now). But with millions more subscribers than DSL, cable certainly has a fighting chance.

Technically speaking, your cable delivers much more than reruns of Gilligan's Island. There's plenty of bandwidth in the wire for data, too. In fact, cable boasts the fattest pipes of any broadband option, with maximum theoretical speeds in the unbelievable range of 27Gbps (that's Gigabits per second, folks). Real-world speeds, however, are a whole lot slower, with top ends closer to 2Mbps, and average speeds in the 500Kbps to 1Mbps range. That makes cable two to five times faster than basic DSL, and as much as 36 times faster than a plain-Jane 56K dial-up. Cable, in other words, has zip.

2. Quick Installation.
It often takes weeks to get DSL installed. Not so with cable, where the average wait is only days. Cable's two years in the business have streamlined the process; all it takes is a visit from the cable guy, a new coaxial cable to a special modem jacked into your computer, and new filters on your cable lines so that TV programming doesn't interfere with the data stream (and vice versa). If you already have cable to the house for TV, you may even be able to do all the installation yourself, saving both time and money. AT&T Broadband, for instance, sells a do-it-yourself kit in Best Buy stores for around $30, a $20 savings. On the convenience side, cable is tops among broadband options.
3. Cost.
Which brings us to cable's third pro: the price. Although your local cable company sets the price, typical monthly fees run $35 to $45, compared with about $40 or $50 for DSL and fixed wireless and $70 for satellite. Installation and hardware fees sometimes cost hundreds, but most services include cable modem rental in the monthly fee and charge about $100 to set everything up. Often, however, cable companies offer promotions that waive installation fees or give you a price break for using a do-it-yourself starter kit such as the one Excite@Home sells for $30 at participating Radio Shack stores. Plus, cable gets even cheaper if you already subscribe to cable TV. Time Warner Cable, for instance, adds its Road Runner cable access for about $40 per month to its digital cable package, while non-cable subscribers have to fork over $50 each month.

The cons

1. Crowded Lines.
If you don't like to share, you won't like cable. Cable, like satellite and fixed wireless broadband service, is a finite resource that you must share with others. If none of your neighbors have cable access, your surfing speeds may skyrocket, but when crowds hit the Web--particularly at peak evening time slots--you may see speeds plummet to sub-dial-up numbers. Ouch!

Changes in cable service, however, may bring some relief as early as 2002. A new set of cable Internet specifications, called DOCSIS 1.1 (for Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications) should be in place and in use by the end of this year. Among other things, DOCSIS 1.1 will let your cable provider channel data so that your neighborhood network will suffer less slowdown when lots of users log on. (DOCSIS 1.1 will also make possible multiple service levels, each based on a different bandwidth allocation, much like current DSL offerings.)

2. Security.
Speed aside, security is a touchy issue when it comes to sharing a cable connection. Is that teenaged hacker living two blocks away snooping inside your computer? Not likely, but cable's shared nature gives you another reason to protect your PC with a personal firewall. Fortunately, that doesn't take much money or technical know-how.
3. Interference from Above.
Radio frequency (RF) interference and even weather, to a lesser degree, affect cable performance.
4. Doodling Upload Speeds.
Like other broadband options, most cable accounts are asymmetric , meaning the download speed is faster than the upload speed. While download speeds may be in the "Wow!" category, uploads are often in the dawdling range of 128 to 384Kbps.

CNET's Recommendation
Cable costs less than other options, it's available to more people, and it's usually a lot faster and easier to install and get going. Even if you're lucky and live where broadband is as widespread as kudzu in South Carolina, pick cable over DSL or fixed wireless. DSL offers more flexibility for, say, a small business or a home office, because it lets you pick your speed and pay more for it if you like. But for the average home user, cable is the cat's meow.

DSL
This year hasn't been kind to DSL. Providers have dropped like flies , with big-time suppliers out of business (such as NorthPoint), filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (see Covad ), or on the verge of shutting down ( Rhythms ).

Those dark clouds, along with the general economic malaise, have put a damper on DSL's growth. While the number of DSL subscribers zoomed to nearly 400 percent in 2000, growth so far in '01 has been a measly 17 percent. So, is DSL dead or just taking a breather?

The Scuttlebutt
DSL certainly isn't as cheap as it once was. Many major DSL sellers (and resellers), including EarthLink, Verizon, and SBC, raised their basic DSL rates during 2001 by $10, to $50 monthly. That's a lot of green for speed.

Prices vary tremendously, though, because there's no such thing as standard DSL. DSL speeds range from a slowpoke 256Kbps to a blazingly fast 1.5Mbps, half as fast as cable on the slow end, right in cable's speed range on the top, and between 5 and 28 times faster than a 56K dial-up. Many vendors price their offerings according to bandwidth; basic DSL runs about $50 for 500Kbps service. That's about $10 per month more than cable but $20 cheaper than pie-in-the-sky satellite service. DSL providers charge from $100 to $300 for a DSL modem and sometimes $200 or more for installation and activation. Sellers often offer promotions, though, giving away the hardware and waiving activation and installation charges ( Qwest , for example, is giving away the modem until the end of the year), while others will let you do the installation yourself to save some dough. Check with multiple providers, if more than one is available in your area, to comparison shop service plans and hardware and installation costs.

Unfortunately, only a third of U.S. homes have access to DSL, compared to 46 percent for cable Internet access.

The pros

1. Steady Speed.
DSL beats other broadband options hands down in one respect: it doesn't make you share the line with the rest of the neighborhood. Cable, satellite, and fixed wireless users all share a finite resource--and during peak usage hours, speed can drop through the floor--but with DSL, you get exactly what you sign up for. Because you're not on a party line, no one limits your download size, as some satellite services do. Love to download MP3s until your ears bleed? DSL is your best bet, by far.
2. Business-Friendly Choices.
DSL is also the obvious choice for home-based and small businesses, which often need a fat pipe to the Net. DSL is the only broadband option with universal multiple speed/pricing schemes, each with its own bandwidth. All major providers sport DSL deals for small businesses, which can then pick their plan from an à la carte menu. Verizon , for example, charges $50 per month for 768/128Kbps (maximum download/upload speeds), but $130 per month for 768/768Kbps service. If you need the faster upload speeds, perhaps because your business transfers big files online, you can get it--for a price. Not so with cable service. More important for businesses, though, are DSL's service guarantees, which promise that your line remains up 24/7 or you get money back.

Other pluses include minor but still nifty perks, such as these:

• Your DSL line doubles as a phone line, even when you're online. If you currently use a second line to dial up and log on, you'll save money by canceling that line.
• Bad weather won't affect your connection's performance (as it can when you're using satellite or fixed wireless) and, although DSL isn't entirely free from RF (radio frequency) interference from other electronic devices, it's much less susceptible than cable is.

The cons

1. Hacker-Friendly Connection.
DSL shares its weaknesses with virtually every broadband connection. Among the bad news: as an always-on connection, typically with a static IP address (which means that the address never changes), DSL is vulnerable to hackers. But you can put up a software firewall to guard your computer without breaking the bank.
2. Geographic Difficulties.
Although DSL is much more available this year, physics still intervene. Unless you're within about three miles of the telephone company's switching center, usually called the central office, or CO, you can't get DSL. And the further you are from the CO, the slower your connection will be. If you live a few blocks from it, your speeds should run at the maximum your plan allows, but if you live at the fringe of the coverage area, you may see much slower speeds.
3. Poky Upload Speeds.
Nearly all DSL service is asymmetric (the download speed is faster than the upload speed); a basic DSL account typically zips downloads at 384Kbps but uploads at a relative poky 128Kbps. That can put a crimp on high-volume file transfers unless you spring for faster upload speeds by spending more on a higher-priced plan.
4. Clunky Installation.
Nightmare tales of DSL installation, configuration, and trouble-shooting--with repeated visits by clueless technicians--are legendary and legion. DSL is far from plug and play. Worse, it sometimes takes weeks to get DSL installation, while cable companies generally get up and running within days. If you're technically astute, you may be able to do the setup yourself, since some DSL providers sell self-installation kits with modem, cables, and necessary software, while others waive installation fees when you do it on your own. The kits, though, aren't for the faint of heart; they can take some serious technical know-how, depending on your provider.
5. Risky Endeavor.
Finally, with DSL providers going under faster than a fleet of Titanics in the middle of a herd of icebergs, you obviously need to be wary of second- and third-tier sellers. The biggest players are the safest, and that means steering toward one of the Baby Bells, such as SBC, Qwest, BellSouth, or Verizon.

CNET's Recommendation
Although cable service is generally faster, usually sports fewer installation headaches, and costs less, DSL is the ticket for broadband-hungry businesses. Not only is it more likely that you can pipe DSL into your business--cable is not typically strung to workplaces--the service guarantees and business plans make it the right choice. Of course, if DSL is the only land-bound broadband available to you, take it. It's better than the best satellite.

Fixed Wireless
Fixed Wireless may sound like a certifiable oxymoron--along the lines of jumbo shrimp and airline food--but it's also the newest and, so far, the least-applied route to broadband.

The term Fixed Wireless encompasses a slew of technologies, including cellular, radio, and microwave. In each case, transmission towers connected directly to the Internet transmit and receive data to and from your PC. To communicate with the tower, which can stand as far as 35 miles away, you have to mount a small rooftop antenna--some are as tiny as a VCR videotape; others, such as the one Sprint uses, are about a foot square--and connect it to your computer. The system works a bit like satellite service, but it's a lot more down-to-earth (literally).

The Scuttlebutt
Although big-name companies such as Sprint Broadband Direct and MCI WorldCom lead the fixed wireless effort, the technology is available only in limited areas. Sprint, for instance, operates only in Chicago; Colorado Springs; Denver; Detroit; Fresno, California; Houston; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Salt Lake City; San Francisco; San Jose, California; Tucson, Arizona; and Wichita, Kansas. MCI is even harder to find, with service in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and Memphis, Tennessee.

Scores of small ISPs offer fixed wireless service, too; many of them are in semi-rural areas where it's cheaper to build transmission towers than to string lines or cable to homes and businesses. If you're hunting one of these, try the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association locator or The List , where you can snoop for ISPs by area code, then use your browser's Find command and the search word wireless to locate service providers.

Those who do live within range of a transmission tower can get download speeds of up to 5Mbps in short bursts, and 1 to 2Mbps on average--18 to 36 times faster than dial-up, 3 to 6 times faster than DSL or satellite, and just as quick as cable. Upload speeds are--no surprise--much pokier: just 256Kbps or so.

Fixed wireless costs about as much as DSL and satellite, in part because of the extra equipment costs. Sprint Broadband Direct, for example, charges $50 per month for its service--right in line with DSL, about $10 more than cable--but between $99 and $299 for the modem and the 13-inch-square transceiver mounted on your roof. (You get a break if you sign up for a two-year contract but pay more for the gear if you want to be able to bail out at any time.)

The pros

1. Straight Speed.
Want superfast surfing and downloads that seem to simply tumble onto your hard disk? At download speeds up to 2Mbps (1Mbps standard), fixed wireless matches cable, beats same-priced DSL, and blows satellite into space.
2. Super-Responsive.
Fixed wireless suffers less from latency--the time it takes data to make it to your computer--than satellite, the other DSL/cable alternative, does. That's because the distances are much shorter between you and the transmitter: 35 miles maximum for fixed wireless vs. 22,000-some miles for satellite. Less delay means latency-sensitive activities, such as playing games online, are more likely to work well.

The cons

1. Dangerous Enterprise.
The recent economic downturn has kicked the stuffing out of every broadband option, and wireless is no exception. Whether you're talking about disgruntled users or major players such as Teligent filing for bankruptcy, fixed wireless has its share of bad news.

For you, though, oh-so-limited availability should top your list of concerns. For now, only a few can get fixed wireless. Analysts expect the market to grow, since it costs less to build transmission towers than to lay cable or phone lines. e-Marketer , for instance, estimates that by 2003, fixed wireless subscribers will number some 3.8 million.

2. The Madding Crowd.
Unfortunately, crowds kill speed in the fixed wireless world. Like cable and satellite, fixed wireless relies on sharing bandwidth with lots of users. (You've probably encountered this problem when your cell phone network is busy.) The silver lining? Currently, most users of fixed wireless are businesses, giving at-home users plenty of bandwidth during the evenings.

But there's more:

• Bad weather gets in the way. Rainstorms, snowstorms, and hailstorms sometimes disrupt fixed wireless communication.
• You need a clear line of sight from your antenna to the transmitter tower. Big building blocking the way? You're out of luck. We even found one wireless ISP that said, "In some instances you might be able to see one of our access points [transmitter towers] in the winter, but in the summer, when the leaves come out, your connection will be lost."

CNET's Recommendation
Fixed wireless may have a future, but, at present, it's a second-to-last resort choice. High equipment costs and poky upload speeds put fixed wireless squarely in the same camp as satellite: a fill-in for those who can't get cable and don't have access to DSL. Even then, wireless is probably not available where you live.

If your only other choice is satellite, however, pick fixed wireless. Its shorter latency and much faster speeds leave sky-pointed dishes in the dust.

Satellite
Denied DSL? Can't get cable? The heavens may prove your best bet.

No, don't pray that the cable company hops up and runs a line to your den. Rather, look up to see whether you have a clear line of sight to the south so that you can suck down the Web via satellite.

The satellite ISP technique differs only in degree from the way satellite TV dishes work. When you request a Web page, a satellite receives the info from your dish, which is connected to your PC via a modem and coaxial cable. After bouncing off the "bird" and down to the provider's headquarters, it's passed along to the Internet, just as if you were using a landline such as cable or DSL. The page reaches the HQ, gets beamed up, bounced off, and reaches your dish.

The Scuttlebutt
The two big boys in satellite broadband--Hughes Network Systems' DirecPC and StarBand --both promise DSL-like speeds and always-on connections. DirecPC boasts 400Kbps downloads with 128Kbps uploads; meanwhile, StarBand says it delivers 500Kbps downloads and 40-60Kbps uploads. Neither matches the top end of DSL. Those speeds are on a par with or slightly faster than basic DSL or cable, and they're eight or nine times faster than a 56K dial-up connection.

Satellite doesn't come cheap. StarBand sets you back $500 for the dish, another $200 for the installation (you can't do it yourself, since the FCC classifies these gizmos as two-way transmitters), and $70 per month for the Net access. DirecPC's a tad cheaper: $400 for the dish, $200 to install, and $60 per month. Those numbers make satellite the most expensive pick, with monthly fees $10 to $20 more than DSL and hardware and installation costs triple that of the next most expensive: fixed wireless. Since both StarBand and DirecPC use other companies to sell their stuff--StarBand partners with the Dish Network and Primus , DirecPC with EarthLink and Pegasus --it pays to shop around for a special promotion or discount. EarthLink, for example, ran a $300-off deal on the dish, modem, and installation until September 30, 2001.

The beauty of satellite, of course, is that you can get it nearly everywhere. As long as you can set the dish somewhere with a clear shot to the southern sky, you're set. Some caveats, of course: service in the United States is available only in the contiguous 48 states (plus Alaska, for StarBand), although DirecPC does serve several other countries , including Mexico, China, Canada, India, and most of Europe.

The pros

1. Space is Everywhere.
Getting to the Web via satellite has one, and only one, benefit worth mentioning: it's available in areas where DSL, cable, and wireless aren't. Satellite shines in rural locals, small towns, suburbia, and places where distance prevents DSL or cable--mostly because it's the only broadband option. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it's the only one satellite gets.

The cons

1. Costly and Awkward.
OK, forget the price. The only reason you're considering satellite is because you can't get cheaper broadband. But you heard it here: satellite costs hundreds more than other broadband routes. Our reviewer tagged the first-year cost at EarthLink Satellite (which uses DirecPC) at more than $1,700. Yikes!

And getting that signal from the satellite to your PC--neither Starband nor DirecPC work on anything but a Windows 95/98/NT/2000 computer--is a major-league pain. Not only do you have to spring for the pricey hardware, which includes a USB modem that plugs into your PC, you have to line up the dish, a task that sometimes daunts even professionals. (We had to trim a chunk out of a 60-foot Douglas fir to get a signal to our dish.) Setup is tricky--pointing the dish in the right direction takes more finesse than brain surgery, since a slight shift puts it off the mark--and means mounting the ungainly 3-foot-wide dish on the roof or the side of the house and running cables through walls.

2. Shared Bandwidth.
Once you're online, you have to fight for bandwidth with other dish users. Satellite, like cable and fixed wireless, is a shared resource. Satellites offer only so much bandwidth capacity, so at peak times, such as evening hours, speed drops as more users log on. In some cases, your once-blitzing downloads slow to dial-up slug speeds.
3. Big Brother and Big Weather Problems.
Another major flaw: both DirecPC and StarBand monitor your use and temporarily slash your speed if you're a high-volume downloader. That's unacceptable. And ugly weather--rain, snow, and even heavy cloud cover--sometimes disrupts or slows down your connection.
4. Slow Response Time.
Worse, the extra-long latency--the time it take data to bounce up to the satellite, then down to your dish--means that real-time game-playing is impossible; your browser hesitates a moment before loading pages, and even audio chat may be awkward and slow.

CNET's Recommendation
According to the tech analysis company Dataquest , a pathetically puny number of people rely on the sky to surf: fewer than 300,000 worldwide. Even the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) doesn't bother to break out satellites into a separate category, lumping it in with other wireless ways to connect to the Internet.

Satellite's poor showing--in comparison, DirecTV, the country's largest satellite TV provider, now has 10 million U.S. customers--is directly related to its high price and access problems. No wonder it's the broadband of last resort. If you can get a fast, fat pipe to the Internet through more conventional means, skip satellite.