It is the year 1996. The road to residential broadband Internet connectivity seems promising... with cable providers like Media One, TCI, and others offering the promise of high speed connections to the Internet using the existing cable coming into your home. All you need is a cable modem, 10Mbps network interface card (NIC), and possibly a 56K modem. "You will download at speeds greater than T-1 lines that companies currently pay over $1000 per month for" was the common promise. We were in awe. We awaited availability...

The year 1996 faded. 1997 came and went. A few households, relative to the number of cable subscribers, actually subscribed to the high speed cable Internet service. Most of them were eventually able to get symmetrical speeds through their coax only. The other, not-so-lucky ones were only able to get high download speeds through their coax. They would have to use their analog modems for actual upload. This is the worst kind of asymmetry. Of course, the majority of cable subscribers (the unlucky) had NO option to get either service.

The promise from telephone companies of another type of broadband service for both businesses and residences that will allow you to "surf the Internet" and use the telephone at the same time was intriguing. Add that to the promise that this new service would use the existing Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) line, for prices less than $100 per month and people started to salivate at the thought. "Napster, here we come. On-line games, here we come." Wow, could life get any better than this?

This new broadband service offered by these telephone companies was termed Digital Subscriber Line, DSL. Many traditional telephone companies, or incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and competitive local exchange carrier (CLECs) were offering DSL in some form. The perception of many, including me, was that DSL would be available for them within a couple years at a price they would be more than willing to pay. Playing on the words of the comedian Yakov Smirnoff, people were saying "What a promise!"

Promise indeed. Let us fast forward to 2001. It's been a few years since both broadband offerings (cable and DSL) have been made available, yet both are still not available to more than 50 percent of the current cable television subscribers and people with a residential telephone service. I am one of them, and maybe you, so let us point to the ones that have made the promises but failed to deliver - the cable companies and the ILECs (and some CLECs).

With the purchase of MediaOne cable and TCI, AT&T Broadband now has two broadband cable Internet services. Well, I don't know anyone personally who can get either service. Availability? What a joke!

BellSouth promises and promises but I still know a lot of people in the southeast region who can't get DSL for reasons BellSouth refuses to communicate. I, for instance, have been in contact with BellSouth on numerous occasions but have heard the same rhetoric:

"Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to provide you with an exact date as to when the DSL service will be in your area, we do however suggest that you visit our website at www.fastaccess.com that is where all of the latest and up-to-date information is listed first. "

In other words, Sorry Mr. Sharpe, I can't tell you anything, you are on your own, partner.

Well, there are other options that I won't even consider:

• ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network - requires rewiring, depends on availability, symmetrical at 64Kbps "single pipe" or 128Kbps if you are able to purchase the "dual-pipe" option. 64Kbps is not much faster than a 56Kbps modem, and can you justify the added cost of $30 - $150 per month for speeds not much higher than your current modem.?
• Satellite - Direct-PC (and probably others) have been out offering download speeds up to 400 Kbps. That's nice but, until recently, you still had to use the modem for uploads like the first generation cable Internet access. Coupled with the cost $60 - $100+ per month, and high start up (sometimes $400 - $600), is it really worth it?

If you have been using the Internet for a long time using a 28.8 Kbps or a 56 Kbps modem, you might be yearning for the availability of something faster. God knows, I have heard the people newer to computers, many of whom are relatives, complain how their 1GHz computer is slow. Unfortunately, they do not refer to the computer, but their 56 Kbps connection to the Internet. When you explain this to them, they respond with classic answers like:

It sort of defeats the purpose if one has a Ferarri but is forced to use a Chevette engine when driving on the highway.

I agree.

The only suggestion I have for you is to wait, no matter how painful it is right now. Patience is a virtue.

Once again, good luck.