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Broadband ISPs have gotten a bad rap lately, but our research into the current state of broadband reveals a surprisingly positive picture. Almost any U.S. Internet user who wants it can get it, with fewer service and installation hassles than in the past. But above all, we found that once people get service, they're hooked.

Cynthia Basinet, a Los Angeles-based vocalist who publishes her recordings on the Web, is one user who won't go back to dial-up. Basinet relies on her broadband service to collaborate with a Canadian multimedia production firm and to keep in touch with music fans worldwide.

But even as Basinet praises broadband, she admits it isn't perfect. In fact, her EarthLink DSL service was down for a few weeks due to a bad modem.

"Going back to [dial-up] temporarily [was] a bit of a hassle," she says, "but I'm a loyalist, and DSL is the only way to fly."

Basinet's story isn't unusual. In our survey of Internet users who either already have broadband service or want to get it, most indicated that they are willing to endure installation and support headaches in exchange for fast downloads, streaming media, and freedom from busy signals.

The vast majority of Internet users still dial up, but the number who use broadband is growing rapidly. Broadband accounts are expected to climb from 11.5 million in 2001 to 43.4 million in 2005, according to Amy Harris, program manager for IDC's Broadband Markets and Technologies group. That's a dramatic rise for a service category that was notorious in the past for installation headaches, spotty availability, and subpar customer support.

If you're still holding out on broadband because you've heard too many horror stories about interruptions in service and disappearing providers, no one could blame you. This article will let you know what you can expect when you're ready to take the plunge, based on the recent experiences of real broadband users.

Comparing Broadband Providers

To gauge user satisfaction with currently available broadband technologies and ISPs, we conducted a survey from August through September 2001 on PCWorld.com. We asked site visitors to describe their overall satisfaction (on a seven-point scale ranging from Extremely dissatisfied to Extremely satisfied) with their broadband ISP service, and to rate the service's installation, performance, features, and value. Though we would have liked to compare ISPs on connection speed, too many uncontrollable variables affect performance to allow us to measure and judge it accurately.

There are many more ISPs in the United States than we could cover in this story, and they have varying service areas and offerings, so we can't make direct comparisons or rank providers. Instead, we provide examples of good pricing, features, and service so that you'll know what to look for when you evaluate the broadband options in your area.

So what did our survey show? For one thing, cable ISPs have had the happiest customers. Slightly more than 76 percent of surveyed cable Internet subscribers said they were Extremely satisfied or Very satisfied with their service. (We conducted our survey before Excite@Home's financial woes caused service interruptions to hundreds of thousands of users.) In contrast, 58 percent of respondents who use DSL and just 36 percent who use satellite were similarly satisfied. Meanwhile, users of less-common fixed wireless rated their service as highly as cable users did theirs.