Fewer companies means fewer options for consumers. "There's not as much innovation out there as there should be, because all these small guys have disappeared," said Pat Hurley, an analyst at consulting firm TeleChoice Inc. (and a DirecTV DSL refugee himself). "You're stuck with the phone company, the cable company and a few other options."

Is it safe to log on with a small company that must compete with the cable and phone giants these days? That depends on what you're comfortable with and what you want. Some people like the more personal service that smaller firms can deliver; others just want to get to Amazon.com and don't care what firm provides their Internet access.

"It's hard to have 100 percent assurance about any small provider," said Joe Laszlo, senior analyst at Jupiter Research. "But I think the shakeout is just about over. There aren't that many more companies that can leave the business."

Some small ISPs report that business is just fine. "Profitwise, last year was our best year so far," said Dave Troy, founder and president of ToadNet Inc. "Go figure." Troy's is still growing -- the Severna Park, Md., firm bought Radicus Internet, a Baltimore ISP, this week.

In one corner of the market, the spirit of the tiny mom-and-pop ISP isn't just hanging on, it's flourishing. That's the new category of wireless community networks.

While most people within subscription range of The Post could subscribe to DSL or cable-modem access if they wanted to, there are still spots where Web surfing is stuck at low tide. Not all cable systems have been upgraded to allow high-speed access, and DSL is limited to houses within 10 to 15,000 "wire feet" of the nearest telephone central office -- that's not as the crow flies, but as the cable crawls.

The traditional remedy for DSL and cable deprivation has been satellite broadband, which works pretty much anywhere but requires pricey hardware and costs $10 to $20 more than cable or DSL while offering slower downloads.

Instead, however, some enterprising geeks are leasing business-grade T1 lines at $500 and month and up, then sharing that fast connection with their neighbors over WiFi wireless networks. The neighbors, in turn, pay their share of that monthly bill. Bruce Potter, founder of Capital Area Wireless Network (www.cawnet.org), has put together an organization focused on helping such tiny services get up and rolling.

"There's no money in this for me," said Potter, who works as a software security consultant. "I'm just trying to help build a community."

There's the optimism of a true early adopter for you.