Connecting to the Internet with DSL

Phone companies offer a broadband type of connection: DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). DSL service is supposed to use your existing phone line and in-house wiring. But DSL often works better if the phone company runs a new wire from outside your building to where you use your computer. (Bell Atlantic calls this a home run.) For DSL to work, you have to live within a couple of miles of your telephone central office, so DSL is unavailable in many rural areas.

DSL is available at different speeds. The higher speeds cost more (surprise, surprise!). The lowest speed (usually 640Kbps) is fast enough for most users.

If DSL service is available, you call your phone company. A phone installer comes with a network connection box (similar to a cable modem) and hooks it up to your computer.

Your phone company may soon offer video on your DSL, and your cable company may offer local phone service via your cable modem. Confusing, isn't it? DSL was originally supposed to provide video on demand (that is, almost any movie or TV show whenever you want it); but when customers demand video, they tend to meet that demand by turning on HBO or running down to the video rental store. DSL has now been reborn as yet another high-speed Internet gateway, but the video capability is still in there.

A hidden cost in getting either cable or DSL Internet access is having to take a day off from work to wait for the installers. Sometimes it takes them two trips to get things working. Try to get the first appointment in the morning. Also, the cable company or phone company is usually your ISP unless you pay extra, so you don't have a choice of ISPs.