August 28, 2002

It's all about speed. Using the computer and surfing the net are like a lot of other things with computers, speed is everything and prices continue to go down. Broadband access continues to gain popularity since the speeds are much faster than a conventional modem and the price of the service is getting closer to the price of using a regular modem with a second phone line.

There are basically three alternatives to regular dial-up service here in Maui today, ADSL, Road Runner, and Clearwire, the newer wireless technology.  In a previous discussion in October, 2001, I went over some of the main differences between modems and broadband. I would like to expand a little on that discussion.  Since Road Runner has been here for a while now, I can address the facts of service here in Maui versus what you read on the net, and also bring up yet another new technology, wireless Internet access. 

I personally had ADSL for three years.  There were spells where the service performed well and there were periods of time, one of which lasted several months, when the service performed almost as slow as a regular modem connection.  I found one thing consistent, the speed was not consistent.  Even during a download, the speed would sometimes decrease during the download process.  The biggest drawback to ADSL is the service range.  You have to be close to the telephone company switching office and your physical phone line must be in excellent condition.  You must also sign up for service for a one year period, so, if you end up moving two months after you get the service and the service is not available at the new address, you pony up the remaining money for the rest of the contract. 

Enter Road Runner. You read all about the security issues and bandwidth problems, well, again here on Maui, so far the only problem has been bandwidth, and so far, they have seemed to be able to deal with fixing it. 

Security is definitely an issue, you must use a firewall, either software or hardware. If you don't, it's almost guaranteed you are going to have virus problems. Firewalls are no big deal, and one of the best has a free version, click here to get it. 

The real kicker in comparing the services is the speed.  If you do any speed test, the Road Runner will consistently out perform ADSL by two to three times.  For example if you do a speed test through the Internet for DSL, you will usually see speeds from as low as 150 to as high as 650kbps. The bandwidth speed is in kilo bits per second (1000 bits per second).

A regular modem with a good connection in Kihei and close to the ISP, you're looking at 35 to 40kbps.

Road Runner will consistently show speeds in the range of 1,400 to 2,400kbps. Now you can see the difference.

Now comes the new guy on the block, Clearwire. The idea of hooking up to the net without any wires is always appealing, particularly for people with laptop computers.  I have a couple of clients who seem to like it.  If you live in an area where no cable or ADSL service is available, this might be a viable alternative, if it is available to you.  It works as a wireless service. Your modem, almost like the other two services as far a connection, has an antenna and picks up a signal wireless.  Problem with this service is that you have to be in an area where there is an antenna and the speed is equivalent to ADSL. I went to their kiosk at Kaahumanu and download the Norton antivirus definitions, which took 30 seconds. At home, using Road Runner, the same download took 13 seconds.

If you have any questions please