I hate dial-up service. Yes, I said hate. Nothing irritates me more than hearing that telephone line pinging sound when I try to log onto the Internet. I hate two-hour downloads. I hate getting booted off. You get the point. Are we or are we not trying to run a business here? As popular as the Web has become, wouldn't it be nice to have the convenience of performing Web-related stuff quickly? Ask yourself. How prepared is your business for the future of the Internet? Well, this column would have no point if I were unable to supply an answer to these questions. So here we go.
The biggest problem that providers face seems to be keeping up with the demand. I've heard of some providers who aren't going to be caught up on cable access orders in their area until 2005. Some areas still don't even have it available. Then there's the speed. Broadband technology offers speeds far greater than dial-up phone modems. For example, a file that takes 10 minutes to download over a 28.8 phone modem would take five minutes on a 56K modem, compared to about two seconds on a broadband service. Actual speed experienced is dependent on several factors, including: