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Tired of waiting for the Web? Get connected fast.
Author/s: Susan Kraft
If you feel the need for Internet speed, stop logging on through a
telephone line. Consider these state-of-the-art options instead.
Are you tired of slow downloads? Do you leave to get a snack while
waiting for a Web page to paint the screen? A quick connection to the
Internet is essential nowadays, as more and more facets of medical
practice--billing, medical records, continuing medical education, you
name it--are going online.
Fortunately, speed is readily available in many parts of the US.
So-called broadband Internet connections, such as cable modems and
digital subscriber lines (DSL), can turn your computer into a Web
jackrabbit. What's more, they can give you all-day, uninterrupted access
to cyberspace without having to dial-up a connection. (No more busy
signals!)
If you're like the average Internet user, you spend some nine minutes
per day waiting for pages to download. You also rely on an ordinary
phone line and an analog phone modem designed to receive or transmit up
to 56 kilobits of data per second (kbps). You subscribe to an Internet
service provider (ISP), and it puts you online. But given the physical
limitation of most phone lines, your ISP connection may be good for only
33.6 kbps.
For years, the main alternatives to a plainvanilla phone line were an
ISDN line, which revved up to 128 kbps, or a T-1 line, which boosted you
to 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps)--roughly 25 times faster than a
56-kbps modem. However, these technologies have been left in the dust by
cable and DSL, whose speeds can exceed 5 Mbps.
Plus, cable modems and DSL are far less expensive. While T-1 can cost
as much as $2,000 a month, cable and DSL services can be had for as
little as $40 to $50 a month under a one-year contract (prices and
availability may vary, depending on your location). Ideally, the monthly
fee should cover Internet access and e-mail, meaning you don't have to
pay a separate Internet service provider to go online. But to make this
all happen, you'll have to shell out several hundred dollars for a new
modem.
Both DSL and cable are asymmetric, meaning they download faster than
they upload. Because most physician offices and households don't
constantly upload (send) huge amounts of data, this isn't a problem.
Practices that electronically transmit claims, for example, usually do
so only once or twice a day. And upload speeds for broadband services
are still lightning fast compared with those for ordinary phone lines.
If DSL service is available in your area, you can purchase it from
your local telephone company. Because the Telecommunications Act of 1996
required the Baby Bells to offer DSLs to competitors, however, DSL is
now available from many Internet service providers, too, as newspaper
ads and bill-boards attest.
Cable companies, in contrast, have no regulatory or legal
obligation--at least not yet--to sell their service to independent ISPs.
Ironically, AT&T, once the pre-eminent phone company, is now the
king of cable, thanks to its acquisition of TCI.
Cable modems link to the Internet via a coaxial cable, just like the
one for your cable TV. Installation costs less than $100, but that fee
might be waived if the cable company is running a promotional deal. Just
because you watch cable TV, however, doesn't mean you necessarily can
enjoy "cable" Internet. Many cable companies are still in the
process of upgrading their networks to offer broadband Internet access.
Indeed, cable and DSL have a long way to go before they become the
dominant pipelines into the World Wide Web. Last year, about 41 million
users connected to the Internet with phone modems; fewer than 2 million
used cable and DSL. But one study predicts that the number of broadband
households will increase to 16 million by the end of 2002.
While cable and DSL service have many things in common, each has
distinctive features that may figure into your choice. So let's conduct
an electronic physical.
Cable modems usually have a greater bandwidth than DSL, meaning
they're faster--capable of download speeds of 400 kbps to 10 Mbps and
upload speeds of 128 kbps to 10 Mbps. Because of their roomy bandwidth,
you can watch cable TV and surf the Internet simultaneously without
affecting either service.
Cable isn't e-nirvana, though. One of the biggest complaints involves
security. By using cable, you're essentially joining one huge open
network of computers relying on the same line. The cable that goes to
your house also goes to your neighbor's house. Most cable modems are
designed to prevent a snoopy neighbor from accessing your computer's
data, but nosy hackers with special equipment could easily bypass those
safeguards.
To protect against intrusions, consider cable modem software that
will restrict access as well as provide other security measures, such as
virus protection and data encryption. Regardless of modem type,
encryption is a must if you're transmitting patient billing information
and other sensitive data over the Internet. So make sure your cable
security software is a complete package.
Another problem stemming from shared use of the cable line is that
your modem speed may slow down if hordes of other folks are surfing the
Web at the same time. Cable companies can remedy this by upgrading your
service with various technological tweaks, but most cable households
don't yet have this upgrade option. So the key question to ask the cable
company is: "Can you guarantee that I won't lose speed when a lot
of other cable users go online?"
Finally, some people worry that with cable, their Internet access
will be as unreliable as cable TV service. The answer to that one isn't
available yet, but the cable industry is working hard to overcome its
poor reputation.
DSL provides Internet access via a copper telephone line--existing or
new--from your regional Bell provider. Download speeds range from 128
kbps to 8 Mbps; upload speeds, from 128 kbps to 1 Mbps. Like cable, DSL
is always on.
One huge advantage of DSL is that it lets you use the same phone line
to surf the Web and talk on the phone simultaneously. And when you hang
up the phone, you're still on line. In other words, you don't need one
phone line for voice and a second one for the Internet. That saves you
money. However, all the telephones in your office or house must be
digital if you want to reap this economy. And you'll still probably want
a dedicated fax line, because you can't fax, talk, and be online all at
the same time through DSL.
To use DSL, your home or business must be within three miles or so of
a phone company's switching office--assuming, of course, the service is
offered locally in the first place. This distance actually applies to
the wire, and since it is twisted, the critical radius may be closer to
two miles. The distance restriction is bad news, because about 40
percent of all US homes--mostly in rural areas--don't qualify for this
service. Ultimately, DSL must solve the distance problem to increase its
market share significantly.
To find out whether DSL or cable is available in your area, log on to
www.getspeed.com. Type in your ZIP code, address, and phone number, and
a list of DSL and cable vendors will pop up.
While cable and DSL are the rage today, keep your eye on wireless
connections to the Web, such as satellite. Right now, they let you
download data only. To transmit, you need a second Internet connection.
But given the pace of technological progress, this handicap could
disappear, and your best Internet connection could be literally out of
this world.
The author, a family physician in Leawood, KS, is a computer
consultant.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Medical Economics Company, Inc.
in association with The Gale Group and LookSmart. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale
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