Options for Connecting Your Firm to the Net
An Internet connection is practically a necessity for small business these days.
E-mail is rapidly replacing fax and voicemail as the preferred method of reaching people. The World Wide Web, despite delays and other problems, can be an incredibly efficient way to gather business information.
To access the Internet, you’ll need a computer and a modem plugged into a standard phone line. Options range from an off-the-shelf modem to a high-speed digital Internet connection. What you choose depends on how often you go online, what you do online and how many people from your company need Net access.
Most new PCs come with modems that operate at 56 kilobits per second. But if you’ve had your modem for more than a few months, it’s probably a 28.8 kbps or 33.6 kbps model. For sending a few e-mail messages a day, the speed difference doesn’t matter much. But if you spend lots of time on the World Wide Web or if you send computer files with your e-mail, a faster modem can save you time and frustration.
The 56 kbps modems are readily available and reasonably inexpensive, from a little more than $100 for an internal modem to about $140 for an external unit. But there are two types of 56 kbps modems and they can’t talk to each other. U.S. Robotics (now 3Com) was the first company with a 56 kbps modem, called X2, which is licensed to other modem companies. Rockwell Semiconductor Systems has a competing standard called 56Kflex.
Although the underlying technology differs, both work the same way. Information flows at up to 56 kbps from the Internet service provider to your PC, but flows at only 33.6 kbps or slower from your PC to the ISP. In other words, information comes to you faster than you can send it.
That’s not a big issue, because most of the time you send short e-mail messages or even shorter commands to your Web browser. But the real traffic jam occurs when graphics and other data come to you from the ISP. The flow of data slows down because your modem can’t accept it at those higher Internet speeds. With a 56 kbps modem, you can receive the data faster than with the slower modems.
In reality, neither modem will ever give you the full 56 kbps. First, the maximum actual speed is 53 kbps, because of government regulations in the U.S. and Canada. Second, maximum speed on any modem assumes that you have an extremely clean phone line. I’ve tested both types of 56 kbps modems on a variety of different lines and generally experience downloads at between 40 kbps and 45 kbps.
In January, the International Telecommunications Union is expected to approve a worldwide standard for 56 kbps but, until that happens, you must be sure that whatever modem you have works with whatever ISP you decide to use. My recommendation is to pick the ISP and use the modem they recommend.
You’ll find that a greater number of ISPs support X2, but there are plenty that support 56Kflex. American Online is supporting both in some areas. Both Rockwell and 3Com have said that their current modems will be software “configurable” to whatever standard the ITU approves.
One way to avoid this 56 kbps controversy is to opt for an alternative way to connect to the Internet. There are a number of high-speed options. For most small businesses, the most economical is ISDN, or integrated services digital network.
In most cases, ISDN allows for digital communication over standard phone lines with no special wiring. Your local phone company can install ISDN service, which is available in most, but not all, communities in California.
ISDN operates at speeds up to 128 kbps in both directions. It consists of three channels: two regular 64 kbps data channels--both are needed to achieve the full 128 kbps data rate--and a third for signaling and other purposes. An ISDN line can be used for voice, but you need a special telephone or an ISDN modem with an adapter to plug in a standard telephone.
Unlike a regular phone line, ISDN doesn’t have a standard dial tone, doesn’t use sound to transmit data and doesn’t work with a standard modem. Instead, you need an adapter, typically called an ISDN modem, that serves a similar function. ISDN modems, like the 3Com ImpactIQ or the Ascend Netwarp 128, cost between $175 and $250, depending on whether it’s an internal or external model.
The real cost of ISDN is its usage. For a business ISDN line, Pacific Bell, for example, charges about $200 for a one-time installation fee, plus $39.95 per month, plus usage charges, which can add up quickly. If you work at home, you can save money by getting a personal ISDN account, with no added charges for evening and weekend use.
If you own a business with several employees who need Internet access and are thinking of installing a local area network, consider getting a network hub that will let you share the Internet connection with every machine on the network. WebRamp M3t, an Internet access device by Ramp Networks (https://www.rampnet.com), not only shares the connection with up to four people on a network, it also allows you to take advantage of the cumulative speed of up to three machines.
You can even mix and match 56 kbps, 33.6 or 28.8 modems on the same machine. The device, which costs about $550, serves as a network hub, so the only additional equipment you’ll need is a network interface card (as little as $30) for each PC on the network. Most Macs have built-in network adapters.
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You may write to Lawrence J. Magid at magid@latimes.com and visit his Web site at https://www.larrysworld.com
