On the Web Where You Live: Provider Selection Varies by Area

For most Internet users, geography still dictates their choice of Internet providers. Although dozens of firms compete in the Washington area -- the chart below is just a small sample of what's available -- you may be able to pick from only a handful of them, depending on where you live.

Dial-up service works almost everywhere (if often at less than the theoretical modem speed limit of 56 thousand bits per second, or kbps), but cable-modem access is not a given. Digital-subscriber-line service is even less so, and not just in rural areas; we have heard from quite a few would-be DSL users in the District and other urban areas who report that they can't get service.

If you do have a choice of broadband services, DSL usually wins on price, while cable modem generally wins on speed. In DSL's favor, there's little real-world benefit to be had from download speeds beyond 1 million bits per second (Mbps), the speed at which just about any audio or video stream will play back without interruption. In cable's favor, it doesn't require you to pay for conventional phone service, as DSL still does in most cases -- something to consider if you use only wireless phone service or are planning to do so.

If neither cable nor DSL is available, satellite is still an option, but it's the broadband of last resort. The hardware required -- a souped-up dish and receiver -- costs several hundred dollars. The service itself costs more than most cable or DSL offerings while providing slower download and upload speeds, and real-time uses such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone service are awkward or impossible, thanks to the slight delay imposed by the long round trip taken by your data.

A last option is "accelerated" dial-up access, in which special software compresses Web pages to speed their arrival on your screen. This won't help e-mail downloads or file transfers, nor will it cut down on the time it takes for a modem to connect and log on. But it's better than nothing.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to choose from multiple broadband providers, take some time to shop around. The market consists of far more than just your cable company and Verizon, as this chart shows. Competing DSL providers can often offer options unavailable from the cable and phone incumbents -- for example, the option to access your e-mail via the IMAP (Internet Mail Access Protocol) standard, a more convenient, flexible upgrade from the POP (Post Office Protocol) service most mainstream providers are limited to.

Not having used more than a handful of these firms, we can't assess their quality of service or reliability. We can, however, suggest you read the write-ups and reviews at such sites as BroadbandReports ( http://www.broadbandreports.com ).

-- Rob Pegoraro