 
 Until now, Concord has not had infinite choice for Internet service, particularly high-speed access. Since our cable provider cannot offer us Internet service, the few fast choices available to us just weren't affordable for residential use. We have had frequent calls and email about regular dialup service from people dissatisfied with THOSE choices, as well.
We've been pretty unhappy with what's been available, too. But we're glad to say that things have changed for the better recently. This is the first of an occasional series about Internet services newly available in Concord. We begin with two: ADSL and another choice for plain ol' dialup. - Editor |
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Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL)
By Aaron Burnett, HarvardNet, providers of this service to businesses and residences in Concord.
 xDSL, one of the several varieties of ADSL, is a modem technology that transforms
ordinary phone lines (also known as "twisted copper pairs") into
high-speed digital lines for ultra-fast Internet access.
Today, high speed Internet access is seen by many as the first "killer"
application of ADSL. There is a pent up demand
for higher access speeds which only ADSL can practically provide. Today's analog modems routinely offer 28.8 kbps (kilobytes per second) or 33.6 kbps and,
in a few but growing number of instances, up to 56 kbps. However, 56 kbps
is probably the practical limit for analog modems. ISDN can
increase this to 128 kbps, but this is still slow compared to ADSL speeds of
between 128 kpbs and 7.0M bps (megabytes per second; 1024 kilobytes=1 megabyte). ADSL will open a whole new world of
virtually-instantaneous download of massive graphics and even a form of
video over the Internet.
HarvardNet has been successfully deploying xDSL for over two years in New England. We are the first ISP in the country to bring
xDSL from "buzz words and rhetoric" to a viable, fully functioning,
alternative to cable modems and standard analog modems. Previously
available only to corporate clients as a leased-line alternative, the
town of Concord was chosen for HarvardNet's first full roll-out for this new residential service. For more info, go to: www.harvard.net/products/concord.phtml
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Basic, Dependable, Inexpensive Dialup Service
By Deborah Bier, editor and publisher of this site.
 No, there's nothing new about dialup -- 33kbps or 56kbps service -- in Concord. But we've tried a variety of providers and have abandoned ship on each one, mostly because they promised much and delivered very little, particularly in the area of customer support. And some asked what we felt were high prices considering the lack of service. Not to mention a few were downright arrogant and rude. Sound familiar? Hmmmm....we thought it would...
Working with an ISP is like any relationship: none are perfet, but you find one whose flaws you can live with and whose features you can enjoy. But some flaws are beyond tolerance.
Since we are asked so frequently for recommendations, we have tried to scope out available companies and have even tried to work with a number of them, helping new customers get signed up. When we found that even we were being ignored by these ISPs, we KNEW customers weren't getting any better...so we'd always sever our relationship (really: breaking up isn't THAT hard to do...).
We do think we have found a company which actually gives what they offer: FlashNet. They don't promise the sun, moon, or stars: just basic, dialup service. We used them for about six months, found their service just fine, and that they beat the price of most other services in the process.
FlashNet is a national company which leases facilities from other ISPs all over the country. So there are local dialup numbers throughout the nation (including Maynard) and you can take your service (and email address) with you when you move with no problem. For more info, see here. The Concord Magazine/Homepage benefits from FlashNet accounts -- we are grateful for this kind of support.
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