SWBT rolls out digital subscriber lines

In the past, small business and residential Internet users who wanted to speed up their data connections often had only two options accept the status quo or pay for faster, more expensive alternatives.

But recently a third choice was added to that list when Southwestern Bell ushered in its new service that provides customers high-speed Internet access via digital subscriber lines.

"We're introducing DSL to the Springfield area," said Bill Bailey, president of external affairs for Southwestern Bell, at a July 28 press conference held at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. "DSL service provides the type of flexible, high-speed connection society needs in education and e-commerce. It allows users to talk on the phone and use their computer simultaneously."

During the press conference, Bell officials demonstrated the new technology and outlined the company's plan to introduce the service. Danny Matthews, a Southwestern Bell technical sales support representative, said unlike traditional dial-up Internet access, DSL is an "always-on" service that lets users connect to the Internet with a delay of only a few seconds. He said DSL is a feature added to existing phone lines that enables communication at speeds up to 200 times faster than some standard analog modems.

"The basic DSL service is an asynchronous digital subscriber line," Matthews said. "That means it uploads and downloads at different speeds. For the basic service those speeds are 128 Kbps upload and download up to 1.5 Mbps that's up to 50 times faster than a 28.8 Kbps modem."

DSL is currently available to 7,500 homes and businesses in Springfield. To receive the service, the phone line from the user to a DSL-equipped central office cannot be longer than three miles. Sandy Howard, Bell's regional sales manager, said the three-mile limit is based on the length of telephone cable running from the central office, not an actual distance on the ground.

"Not all customers within three miles of a central office will qualify for the service, due to existing conditions on the telephone lines," Howard said. "Examples of limiting conditions are bridge taps and load coils, both part of telephone company infrastructure designed to provide better voice service."

Howard said anyone interested in obtaining DSL should contact Southwestern Bell to determine if their existing phone line qualifies for the service.

Southwestern Bell is not the only company to offer DSL service in the Springfield area, Matthews said. He added that some companies have purchased their own equipment in order to provide the service, and several Internet service providers are reselling Bell DSL lines.

Steve Vaught, Southwestern Bell's regional manager, said deployment of the service is part of Project Pronto, a $6 billion initiative meant to bring DSL to 80 percent of Bell's customers by 2002. More than $340 million of that amount, he said, will be spent in Missouri.

"Project Pronto will extend our central offices into more neighborhoods," Vaught said. "We'll do that by running fiber optic fingers outward from the central office and installing remote terminals. Then users just have to be within three miles of the remote terminal."

New users will need some additional equipment to get started. Matthews said the first item needed is a DSL modem, since analog modems won't work with the service, followed by a network interface card. Because DSL uses signal frequencies above voice range, he said a splitter might be added to the user's phone line to separate voice and DSL signals.

"In a typical small business, with multiple computers trying to use the Internet, a local area network will need to be set up," Matthews said. "That connects to a router, another device users will need, which acts as the modem for the LAN."

Supplying the LAN, router and NIC is the user's responsibility. These items can be purchased from any equipment provider as long as they meet interface and technical specifications, Matthews said.

Howard said the cost for the basic DSL service starts at $39. She said for a typical small business that cost would likely be in the neighborhood of $79 offer faster upload speed.

Both prices include Internet service, however, if the optional Internet service is declined, the price of the plan remains the same.

In addition to speed, DSL allows users to run dedicated servers, set up their own Web site, and take advantage of DSL's remote access capability, which Howard said would make working from home more practical than ever.

"The worker's home DSL would go directly into the corporate network," Howard said. "This would allow them to retrieve e-mail messages or access the Internet as if they were at their desk."

There are other services small businesses and residential customers could turn to instead of DSL, such as ISDN and cable modems, Vaught said. But each comes with its own disadvantages.

"ISDN is twice the price, and about one-fifth the speed of DSL," he said. "Cable modems share bandwidth and can slow down when the local network becomes congested."

Bailey said there are alternatives to the service, and products on the drawing board that could replace it down the road.

He said that doesn't change the fact that Southwestern Bell is trying to provide a high-speed service over existing copper wire, using technology that's available today.

"We're responding to what customers want," Bailey said. "We're providing a reasonably priced service that gives them a very high-speed connection."