Most CIOs are unable to follow the road map of their Internetstrategies as getting bandwidth in India can take anywhere between three to sixmonths. Even after they do get those fat pipes, reliability remains a majorproblem. Though the situation has improved with aggressive gateway plans ofISPs, a lot remains to be achieved.

On Internet access depends the other value-added servicesthat ISPs are planning to provide. In India, Internet access started withdial-up, ISDN, and leased-line. Leased-lines are considered to be the mostpreferred for corporates. But many ISPs have also started providing Internetover cable, satellite, and DSL technologies. Newer technologies like LMDS andMMDS still have a long way to go before corporates can decide what to opt forand what not to.

Dial-Up

It is the most popular and the cheapest way to accessInternet. It requires only a PC, a modem, and a telephone connection. Themaximum bandwidth that one can get is 56 Kbps, but even in the best of thenetworks it is difficult to get more than 28 Kbps. A better infrastructuredefinitely helps in providing a better service by the ISP.

ISDN

ISDN provides digital service typically in increments of 64Kbps. Its usage has increased with increase in the Internet usage. It uses 2B+DChannels. and comes in two modes—64 Kbps and 128 Kbps. To access this service,a corporate user has to get an ISDN link from the basic service provider that isconnected to the ISDN modem and in turn is connected to the PC for accessingInternet. The advantage here is that one can access Internet on one channelwhile make or receive voice calls on the other.

Leased-Line

This is a cost-effective Internet access solution offered bya majority of ISPs to corporates. The corporates can receive high-speed Internetconnectivity and pay for the bandwidth according to the usage. Considered to bethe more reliable network, corporates can get a leased-line from the basicservice providers. Leased-lines come in 64 Kbps and its multiples—124, 256,512 Kbps.