The broadband battle ensues

The need for speed is on everyone's mind especially when it comes to Internet access. Dial-up modems are slowly becoming as obsolete as the typewriter. But there are plenty of companies ready and eager to offer nondial-up, high speed Internet access to the country's Internet users - 65 million to

Unlike many parts of the country, Long Island business users and consumers have, and even demand, a wide range of Internet delivery choices including cable, DSL and satellite. The competition is hotter than ever, and the options are many.

If price isn't a concern, some experts recommend satellite service. "Satellite is the real key - it can make the Web mobile," Richard Vestuto, the senior vice president for the Jericho branch of 5B Technologies Corp., which offers numerous integrated services, including customized design and development of Internet infrastructure and commerce solutions, systems integration and staffing services.

Moreover, Long Island has the luxury of being located near New York City, whose skyline is littered with satellites, making the option easier because of the shorter signal distance.

Laptop users on trains or in cars can easily connect to the Internet without the burdens associated with a modem, such as slow connections and wires.

"We are doing a Web site now for airport services; with a cell phone or Palm (device) you can find out where you need to go if your plane is delayed," Vestuto said. In addition, 5B is developing a fitness Web site that will allow a wireless, handheld linkup with the Web site so those using the gym can track their aerobic progress, among other options.

Even with the wonders of satellite service, spending $6,000 up front for the satellite dish with the additional monthly cost of service - which can range from $1,000 to $2,000 per month - is not a practical investment for most.

Telephone, cable duke it out

The real broadband war is being waged between DSL and cable providers. The major DSL players are "the big telecoms like MCI and AT&T; companies that have networks already," Vestuto said, though Verizon, formerly Bell Atlantic, is the biggest local DSL competitor and the owner of Long Island telephone infrastructure. "Cablevision is wired into so many homes, but phone companies have the resources."

According to industry tracker Cahners In-Stat, DSL appears to be the strongest growth area for companies among categories including the newbies (those who are new to Internet usage) and the post dial-up community. In fact, Cahners reports that DSL equipment sales from phone companies are expected to grow at a robust 48 percent in the fourth quarter, dwarfing the 5 percent growth rate of cable modems.

"Cable is generally not a business offering at this point; companies mainly just use DSL," Gary Stoller, the CTO and executive vice president of Sandata, a provider of data processing services and custom software and programming services. Sandata does the "dirty work," as Stoller described it, of setting up a business' DSL service, which entails working, in part, with the phone company and owner of the building on installation.

"DSL is a horror to install," Stoller said, and the process takes between four to eight weeks to be completed. "But the benefits are worth it in savings. (To initiate DSL service), you need in the ballpark of $200," Stoller said.

Verizon offers its Online DSL Plus package for small businesses ranging from $49.95 per month for up to 640kbps up to $204.95 per month for 7.1mbps, while touting up to 126 times the speed of 56.6k modems for the direct connection.

But DSL isn't available everywhere. Installation is contingent on the business location. "Once over a certain distance (around a 15,000-foot radius, or two to three miles) from the phone company's central office,

S-DSL, the most common DSL service, can't run," said George Werner, a vice president for Farmingdale-based Delta Computer Group. Delta is a hardware maintenance company and provider of DSL, cable and satellite services for the Internet. S-DSL, meaning symmetric DSL, allows an equal amount of simultaneous upload and downloading capability.

"What we do is resell DSL and satellite at his point; for cable we need to do it through Cablevision," Werner said.

When it comes to home use, Werner sees advantages to both cable and DSL. "Cable is the best of both worlds for the home user. You can get cable TV and cable Internet. But with a fixed pipeline, there is only a certain amount of bandwidth available. As people are added, it uses more of the bandwidth and it starts to slow down. It has to be continually

updated as more bandwidth is added," Werner said.

For DSL home use, there is asymmetrical DSL, or A-DSL, which means that there is more bandwidth allocated for downloading than uploading.

"For about the same cost as cable, you get a more consistent connection it doesn't really fluctuate up or down. Once your wire reaches the phone company, your speed is all set," Werner said.

The cost is reasonable as well, running around the $40 per month range for home use.

Customer service is big

Even with all the options and the choices, Werner says that the choice of which service to purchase and what company to purchase it from might be influenced by other factors.

"How much a company advertises and is in the news is important. Also, customer service has a tremendous amount to do with it. And it is important for a business to have a good relationship with Verizon," Werner said.

Cablevision Systems sees good customer service as one of the company's biggest assets in addition to dependable Internet service.

"Each customer has its own personalized customer representative. The network is monitored 24/7 and we offer tech support 24/7," said Susan Markowitz, manager of media relations for Lightpath, Cablevision's phone service provider.

Lightpath caters to businesses on Long Island, along with southern Connecticut, New Jersey and New York City and customizes its service with different packages.

Lightpath, which claims 1,100 buildings wired under its Business Optimum Online service, boasts high-speed fiber optic digital connections to the Internet through its Lightpath.net service.

"It's intended for businesses with four or fewer users, like small financial groups and law firms," said Victoria Rodriguez, the media relations director of Internet services for Cablevision.

Business Optimum Online offers downloading speeds of up to 10mbps and upload speeds of 1mbps and is delivered through Cablevision's broadband network.

Business Optimum Online has been welcome by the Long Island community, with "large success," Rodriguez said, that has spurred the launching of the service into New Jersey this week.

Cablevision is also targeting home users - a market that nationally will reach $6 billion by 2001, according to Forrester Research - with its Optimum Online service. Cablevision. reports 4,000 Internet packages being ordered online, over the phone, or picked up at its The Wiz unit per week.

Optimum Online boasts more than 93,000 users islandwide. The majority of orders are from customers picking up the self-installation kit from The Wiz.

"Optimum Online is four times faster than DSL," Rodriguez said, "and the speed quality is never affected," because of the nodes that are built within the system and through which the information runs can be divided to compensate for an increase in information transfer.

The package cost is comparable to DSL, with a range of between $30 and $40 per month, though to get the cable modem at $99 requires a two-year service agreement with Optimum Online. Otherwise, the modem costs $299.