High speed Internet access is becoming ever more important to achieving success in business. Among the questions those thinking about getting online for the first time, or upgrading, should ask themselves are:

• Do I need always-on broadband Internet access?
• Do I understand the difference between the types of Internet service such as dial-up modem, cable modem, DSL, T-1 and OC-3?
• Are details such as co-located Web servers and backbone allocation for serving video on the Internet important for my business?
• With growing numbers of Internet providers to choose from, am I getting the best service for my money?

To get online or change your online services you first need an Internet Service Provider or ISP. Many different types of ISP are available: cable companies, telephone phone companies and independent providers who offer differing technologies, including wireless. Among the firms in San Diego competing fiercely for the business customers are Pacific Bell, CTSnet, Teligent, Cox Communications, NorthPoint and Intervu.

Pacific Bell provides Internet service packages for everything from the home office to Fortune 500 companies. "Our service offers small to medium business affordable high speed Internet service, with e-mail, a choice of one of four Web hosting packages and an array of equipment options — all for one monthly price," says Brian Brokowski, a Pacific Bell spokesman. "For large businesses Pacific Bell offers packages for Frame Relay, DSL, DS1, DS3 and ATM." DSL, which stands for Digital Subscriber Line, is the phone company’s alternative to cable modem.

"With Online Office, the business chooses the features and equipment that work for them," says Brokowski. "Pacific Bell takes care of establishing the Internet connection, hosting and e-mail accounts. The business handles equipment installation and ongoing maintenance." Online Office ranges from $99 to $575 per month. With Online Office Plus, customers also get complete installation including the Local Area Network, or LAN, that connects multiple computers, ongoing maintenance and 24-hour support. Online Office Plus prices start at $299 per month, with no upfront equipment costs. Online and Online Office services will be available in Southern California in early fall.

CTSnet offers free installation with a broadband connection for $125 per month if you sign up now. "We are a local company and value the relationships we have made in and around San Diego," says Morgan Davis, director of operations. "A typical small business might use a DSL line and take advantage of Web hosting. A large business will often require a T-1. They may also take advantage of our networking capabilities, Web hosting and co-location services.

"Our co-location services allow clients to park their remotely managed servers in our Internet data center for maximum performance, security and full system administration," Davis continues. "We also offer Web hosting, FTP hosting, custom domain name hosting and full Web publishing services. Our backbone, with over 300mbps of Internet bandwidth carried over redundant connections, offers speed and the ability to handle a large amount of traffic reliably."

For business to business services, or "B2B" in business slang, CTSnet offers dial-up, dedicated ISDN, DSL, T-1/T-3, co-location and media streaming. The cost for business DSL ranges from $125 to $1,000 depending on the carrier and line speed, up to 7mbps. "We also offer T-1s ranging in price from $116 for a partial T-1, to $795 for a full T-1," says Davis. Even speedier options are available.

NorthPoint Communications is a wholesale provider of services that partners with more than 250 different service providers. In San Diego that includes CTSnet, Cari.net, Intelenet and Internet Express. "NorthPoint has built the nation's largest DSL network," says Liz Fetter, NorthPoint's president and CEO. "We offer a robust service delivery and support engine to meet the ever-growing demand for faster Internet connections and the powerful applications it enables."

NorthPoint says its DSL service is equally as fast at sending data as it is receiving. "Northpoint DSL is available at speeds up to 1.5mbps, the equivalent of a T-1 line," says Susan Doerr, associate manager of public relations. In general, users can expect to pay between $75 and $250 for business class DSL service, depending on the speed. Doerr says the service supports intranets, extranets, virtual private networks, e-mail, electronic commerce and Web hosting.

Teligent licensed a big chunk of high-frequency spectrum to build its own DSL encrypted wireless network carrying both Internet and voice traffic. "The speeds range from 144kbs to 1.5mbs using Teligent's SmartWave DSL product," says Sheila Blackwell, director of corporate communications. "This provides customers with bandwidth up to 30 times greater than that of a dial-up ISP provider." A small microwave antenna is installed on the roof of a customer's building to bypass local cable and telecom wiring.

"Teligent's SmartWave DSL Internet access service is interoperable with most standard Web browsers and Internet applications," says Blackwell. The company serves small and mid-sized businesses offering high-quality local and long distance service, broadband Internet access and enough bandwidth to support full-motion videoconferencing. Teligent is running a special promotion that waives the $499 installation fee. Prices range from $149 to $499 per month.

Cox Communications offers broadband on cable modem, T-1 or fiber optic lines, depending upon the bandwidth the customer requires. A cable modem is a box the size of a hardback book. It connects a computer's Ethernet card to a cable line. A T-1 line is a telephone trunk line, traditionally used to connect a company switchboard or PBX (Private Branch eXchange). For the small business or home office, a cable modem is very versatile because it has the capability of carrying television, telephone and Internet access on the same line.

"When you talk about Internet services for business it is a question of broadband capacity and storage," says Dan Novak, vice president of programming and communications at Cox. "They want to be able to customize what they need with what is available. We deliver Internet access either on our coax cable modem or through fiber directly."

Attila Tota, a director at Cox Communications says, "If we are working with a small business and deliver over a cable modem then a lot of the same rules apply as for home. Downstream speeds (what comes to the computer) are a lot faster than upstream." Cable modems are asymmetrical. That means they are optimized for users surfing the Web, where much more information is being downloaded than uploaded. Tota says, "Our business pricing is based on capacity, not upstream or downstream usage. Cost starts at $99 on up."

When it comes to full-blown Internet video and audio Webcasts for business, San Diego-based Intervu has emerged as one of the largest service providers in the nation. Because of the demands a successful Webcast will make on the system, a business that chooses that route may need extra backbone capacity to ensure everyone in its intended audience can enjoy the conference. Brian Kenner, chief technical officer and a founder of Intervu, says the company can scale up its service to deal with larger numbers of participants in a Webcast. Those participants not only see and hear a speaker, but they also can privately ask questions. "It is very interactive," Kenner says.

Now back to those basic questions.

1.) Do I need always-on broadband Internet access?

The answer is probably yes. Using the Internet heavily is becoming a business requirement, not a prerogative. Clients want to exchange large business documents containing graphics or even video. And, they expect a quick reply to e-mail, not one that comes following a twice daily dial-up session.

2.) Do I understand the difference between the types of Internet service such as dial-up modem, cable modem, DSL, T-1, and OC-3?

The difference for the most part is access and bandwidth. A dial-up modem will drive those sending and receiving large files crazy with wait times. DSL or cable modem is a hundred times faster. You still need to take care in what you send, however, so you don’t overload your customers who are still Internet-challenged on a modem.

Bandwidth can be expanded as a business grows. A cable modem is fine for a home office or small business, but larger businesses usually opt for T-1. That's enough to support many employees online simultaneously, but still not adequate if you offer a Web site containing large graphics or file downloads. For that you want to host your Web server at your ISP on an OC-3 (or better).

3.) Are details such as co-located Web servers and backbone allocation for serving video on the Internet important for my business?

A co-located Web server provides heavy-duty access to serve thousands or millions of users on the Internet, but is not a redundant system. It can still go down. If you run an e-commerce site where time is money, you may need multiple mirrored servers running at multiple locations. And, just because you have heavy-duty access to the Internet doesn’t mean the Internet itself can withstand the demand for delivering your media content. Victoria's Secret, for instance, reserves massive amounts of backbone bandwidth to support their Internet video events. The Internet still has trouble with the load.

4.) With growing numbers of Internet providers to chose from, am I getting the best service for my money?

That's a hard question to answer. With so many ISP companies to choose from there is price competition, but the prices and special offers are constantly changing. As important as price is reliability. Just like your electricity or phones, your broadband access will fail sometime. How often that happens and how quickly service is restored will vary with ISP. You can’t predict by the size of the company how it will do. Small companies may give better service because they try harder and don’t have so many customers, but big companies have an advantage in resources. As with any business service you buy, talk with other customers who are using the service first. Although it is certainly feasible, few companies go to the trouble to have two broadband connections at the same location from different ISP companies. Problems are more typical on installation than usage.

Always-on broadband Internet access makes good business sense, and is becoming a business necessity. With broadband access starting at less than $100 a month, more businesses than ever are entering the Internet age. As with any communication services your company might need, you should get good service but be careful not to overbuy. For many small businesses that means DSL or cable modem. Whether you choose delivery through DSL, cable, independent fiber, or microwave may depend on what is available in your area. Another factor to consider is installation delays. The backlog for DSL can be weeks or months. Fortunately, in San Diego you have more broadband options to choose from than most anywhere else in the world.