Links To Finding Service
June 2, 1999
Several years ago no one had heard of the Internet.
Now everyone knows about it, and as many as 40-percent of Americans go on-line.
The competition is heating up among internet service providers, but the customers feel the growing pains.
New Specialist Jed Boal has the story.
The competition for your on-line business is booming. Computer experts at iNetz in Salt Lake City see it every day.
They design web pages and live on-line, so we asked their opinion on the services.
First, we talked to a dozen companies in the game. Take a look at the options:
The most common, and most available is a basic modem hooked up to your telephone. It's also the most affordable, but the need for speed is fueling the new race.
U.S. West offers a Digital Subscriber Line.
And T.C.I. offers a cable internet hookup.
Both are dedicated lines and boast great speed.
They both cover a limited area, but are expanding quickly.
Our computer expert pegged the cable modem the fastest and called them all fairly reliable--your speed and reliability may vary.
Jon Gay, Vice-Presidentof iNetz says, "D.S.L. there're not a lot of complaints. Cable modems, I have heard complaints about reliability. It can be very fast at times, and very slow at times."
Regardless of the service, you should expect speed bumps, and be patient with the problem solving.
INetz senior systems engineer, Mike Sanders, says, "With a tremendous amount of new users coming on line, there are bound to be problems with that growth."
Jon Gay adds, "As long as there are services involved, there will be complaints. If they don't increase the number of modems, and the user base grows, you're going to have problems."
One of the smaller Internet Service Providers in Salt Lake called the competition cutthroat.
With the television and cable giants in the game, it may become a battle of Goliath and Goliath.
For more information on how to research internet service click here.
