Why bother with high-speed Internet?

By David Strom

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For those who are still using a dial-up Internet provider, you probably are frustrated with how slowly Web pages load and how long it sometimes takes to get connected. You might be tired of tying up your phone line with computer calls, and tired of busy signals or dropped connections. Or fed up with having the various bits and pieces of AOL software interfere with your computer, as when it keeps you online to update itself right when you are trying to logout quickly. Those with multiple computers may be tired of having to setup separate printers for each, and having to worry about which one can go online to access the Internet.

This article can help you move out of the dial-up neighborhood and get you familiar with the new world of the always-connected Internet. The days of dial-up access are coming to a close, and it is time to get on board the high-speed train and move to a better way of getting Internet access. Sure, you might have one of several excuses for why you should stick with your dial-up connection (see sidebar 1). But these aren't really solid reasons. Hooking up to a faster connection can pay off in several ways and there are several reasons why you should consider it.

Reasons to make the switch from Dial-up

First, the high-speed connections that are available today are anywhere from 10 to 50 times as fast as a typical dial-up connection. This means that downloading one song from an online music site could take minutes instead of an hour, and getting video could take less time to download it than to actually watch it. Sharing your digital photos could take just a few seconds to view on your screen, rather than waiting for minutes while the photo slowly appears piece by piece.

Next, getting a faster connection is one of those things that could actually save you money, not to mention time. Many of the high-speed plans cost about the same as having a separate telephone line for your computer's modem. If you already have cable TV service, most high-speed plans can add as little as $30 a month to your bill. Having a high-speed Internet connection means that you can share it among all your computers, rather than sharing the "Internet PC" and playing traffic cop with who gets to use the “connected” computer when. You can also build a home network that will ease much of your home computer congestion. Finally, having high-speed means your Internet is always available, 24 hours a day – no busy signals to worry about. No more waiting for the modem to connect; it takes just a few seconds to look something up online. In addition, if you decide to build a home network you can play games on it, share printers, and listen to music and watch movies, too. But the most important reason to leave dial-up behind is that you will begin to use your computers differently: The Internet will become more of a companion rather than some stranger at the end of a beeping modem.

The good news is that the longer you have your high-speed Internet connection, the more uses you'll find for it. What has been interesting for me is to see how quickly my own family has taken to having a fast Internet connection around the house, and has begun to use it in new and exciting ways that had little to do with my initial reasons for moving from dial-up in the first place. Here are a few examples:

• Tired of trying to find something in the phone book, or of even trying to find the phone book itself? Having a high-speed Internet connection means you can easily search for someone or something using any of the various directories online. (Go to BigBook.com)
• Need to keep a family calendar to figure out when and where everyone is going to be? There are several online versions that you can access from anywhere, so you don't have to count on Post-It notes on the fridge to remember. (Go to Google.com/calendar)
• Want to look up the times a particular movie is playing nearby? You don't have to wait for the weekend newspaper with the movie schedule to arrive. (Go to movies.Yahoo.com/. Or if you’re nostalgic, try Moviefone.com.)
• Want to share the latest photos of the kids? You can do it instantly at the push of a button. (Go to Picasa.google.com)
• How about selling that old sofa, or your car? The Internet is full of classified ads that are free and simple to post, or browse if you are looking for something such as craigslist.com.

The list goes on and on. Having high-speed Internet means having lots of sources of information at your fingertips. 

Excuses for sticking with dial-up Internet access, do they still make sense?

I often ask people who still use dial-up as a means to connect to the Internet why they have not yet switched over to an always-on, high-speed Internet connection. The excuses I typically get are:

"I don’t use the Internet often enough to justify it."
Before I had a car, I rarely went places. Now, with 15,000 miles added to my car's odometer each year, it's clear I go further and do more now that I have the means. I can no longer imagine my life without it. The same is true with Internet service. Those who say they don't use the Internet for much other than e-mail and occasional Web-surfing, well, to put it bluntly, if I still used a dial-up connection, that's all I'd use the Internet for, too.

"It's too expensive."
This might have been true in the early days of high-speed Internet, but today it can often be cheaper and more convenient than old-fashioned dial-up. Consider that a bare telephone line, with no added services, starts around $15 a month and dial-up Internet service costs AOL subscribers $23 a month. Your average high-speed Internet service costs around $40 a month, and with careful shopping you can get service for as low as $15 a month in some areas. Sites like Digital Landing can help you find the best deals available where you live. For the few extra dollars, your Internet goes much, much faster and you're telephone line is no longer tied up when you are online. Not only that, but if you have more than one computer, you can share that high-speed connection with all the computers in your house at the same time. Not to mention it is always on, so your Internet is always ready when you are. It's also more reliable (no random disconnects as many people currently experience with old fashioned dial-up). Bottom line, if your biggest concern is money, it shouldn’t be, there are several ways to save money on your high speed internet service.

"I don't want to lose my email address."
In many cases, you can keep your current email address for free. For example, if you're a current AOL subscriber, simply tell AOL you are going to connect through your high-speed Internet connection instead of your telephone and they will permit you use AOL for free indefinitely (use AOL keyword "change plan" for more details). Of course if you use Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail or other Web-based email services, your e-mail will also remain unaffected. On the other hand, what better way to put an end to all those spam e-mails you get everyday than by changing your e-mail address?