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MacFixIt Extras

Accessing the Internet via DSL April 16, 1999

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For those seeking fast Internet access at an affordable cost, cable modems have become a popular choice. However, another technology is emerging to compete with cable modems: DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). The May 1999 issue of Macworld had a great article (not yet posted online) summarizing various connectivity alternatives (56K modems, cable modems, DSL, ISDN). It had this to say about DSL: DSL "works by adding digital-data-transmission capabilities to an ordinary phone line." Your phone line is essentially split into analog and digital components. The digital portion goes to a "DSL modem," which connects to your Mac via the Ethernet port. Most likely, you will get ADSL (A= asymmetrical), which means that upload speeds will be far slower than download speeds. But we are still talking fast: upload (640 Kbps) and download (6Mbps). And unlike ISDN, DSL is a "dedicated connection that's always online with no per-minute or distance sensitive costs." DSL is not available everywhere (in fact, it's still hardly available anywhere), but if it's available in your area, it's definitely worth considering. In this regard, reader Larry Beck sent MacFixIt the following description of his experiences using a DSL connection: After being told by the @Home Network and TCI that cable modems were not yet available in my area, I turned to DSL. A local ISP, Easystreet Online Services, was offering DSL connectivity - but only if your neighborhood qualified. My location was OK. I called Easystreet, who took care of all the details, testing my line, contacting GTE, making the arrangements for the GTE technician to come to my home and install the DSL line. A very seamless process. My suggestion is that if there is an ISP in your area that offers this type of service, take advantage of it. It's worth the $40 setup charge I paid not to have to make all the telephone contacts yourself. The day arrived when the GTE technician came to my home, installed the splitter that is necessary to allow the analog and digital line to co-exist, and then connect the DSL modem. Once again, no major difficulties, except that the cross-over Ethernet cable needed to connect the DSL modem (which is, by-the-way, a very nondescript beige box reminiscent of a 70's style modem) to my Ethernet card was too short. Moved a few pieces of furniture and took care of that quickly. An Ethernet connection is necessary. [If your Mac does not have Ethernet (mine did not), you can add it via a PCI card, such as the Asanté 10/100 PCI Ethernet card.] And now for the really good news. I signed up for the cheapest ADSL package, and got 256K downstream, 64K upstream bandwidth. The first thing I did is try downloading a file, the new Star Wars trailer, of course. 24 megs in just a little under 20 minutes!. 25K/sec download rate, consistently. And web pages flew by. Checking for email went from over two minutes from double clicking on Outlook Express to receiving my first email, to under 30 seconds. David Pogue recently wrote an article on cable modems and said that the speed of web pages depended on the server they were hosted on, which is true, but it is much faster than my 56K modem - which would never go much faster than 33.6K anyway. And the best thing about DSL? Unlike cable modems, I own all the equipment, the modem, the line (well, sort of), and it's my own line, I don't share it with anyone else. Cable modems right now are great because they are few and far between, but just wait until everyone in your neighborhood has one, then the bandwidth will take a nosedive. And I now need only one phone line again, I can talk and be online at the same time on the same line. All told, this cost me about $200 to set up, for the Ethernet card, the service charge from my ISP, and the connection charge from GTE. I now pay $40/month for the DSL line to GTE, and $24.95/month for my ISP, about $20 more per month than I was paying before. I save about 20-30 minutes per day not sitting around waiting for downloads, or the modem to dial in. Well worth the investment.

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