Sure, many companies have ISDN, a leased line or even T-1 lines, but even these heavy users are expected to convert to broadband services which promise speeds of up to 10Mbps, at a price only slightly higher than current dial-up charges.

This next evolution of the Internet is based on (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) ADSL modems and cable modems offering speeds hundreds of times faster than traditional dial-up modems.

"Broadly speaking, you have the wireline and wireless options. On the wireline side, ADSL makes use of the existing copper wires to send data. The cable modem can use coaxial cable, and other developments are fibre based and the use of LDMS for wireless," explained Carlson Chu, manager, Networking and Technologies, Cable & Wireless HKT.

Hong Kong's compactness and high density phone network -- 3.86 million phone lines covering 55 per cent of the population -- means it already has most of the infrastructure for broadband.

According to the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), over 80 per cent of households and 90 per cent of business buildings in Hong Kong are covered by a broadband network -- optical fibres and copper cables.

Cable modem services work by transmitting and receiving data via cable television coaxial cables at speeds 1.5Mbps and 10Mbps respectively. Compared to paying $7,000 a month to lease a 256K line, jumping on the cable wave seems to make sense.

The not-so-good news is that traditional cable TV networks were designed to carry one-way traffic and some were poorly maintained. Because upgrading and laying new cables is painfully slow and expensive, few companies are willing to make the investment, restricting the service to high-density areas. Another downside is that transmission speeds vary considerably.

"Theoretically, coax cable can support data rates between 10-27Mbps, but you have to bear in mind that cable users have to share the line with other users. It is controversial whether a highway loaded with traffic or a private road is better," Mr Chu said.

Users of ADSL services, on the other hand, can get consistent access speeds because they are on a dedicated line. ADSL modems can run as fast as 8Mbps, but CWHKT currently offers 1.5Mbps and 3Mbps services.

"We see the current bottleneck is at the international bandwidth especially to the U.S.," Mr Chu said.

Hong Kong is one of the world's leaders in broadband infrastructure, thanks mainly to CWHKT which started laying its broadband network in 1995. The network was initially designed to provide video-on-demand, but the company is now using it to offer its UltraLine and MegaAccess services, which run at a zippy 1.5 and 3Mbps. For very large corporations, there are fibre-based options, such as 155Mbps ATM, 100Mbps Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet transparent LAN connection.

Wireless is another option, but most likely will be used in conjunction with fixed line technology. Buildings will be linked to the hub through wireless lines, and then make use of the copper wires or coax cable in the building to deliver data to individual subscribers.

"We are talking about wireless between building to building," Ricky Wong (left), chairman of City Telecom (Hong Kong) Ltd., said. "Within the building you can use a cable modem, or we can in some projects lay optical fibre, or copper wire, just like within the office environment."

Good for business
Through broadband, businesses will be able to operate more efficiently for less money, enabling them to provide better quality services to their customers.

Because of the high speed at which you can send and receive data, broadband allows people to work with immense amounts of data over the Internet which until a few years ago was impossible.

"Because of the speed you can do the job more efficiently," Mr Wong said. "You also have more applications to work with, like video conferencing and video mail, so basically speed is fundamental. Based on that you can have different sorts of advantages."

Large and small companies will be able to have closer ties with their vendors and customers. If you look at the auto industry in the U.S. General Motors wants to put tenders for parts on the Internet, allowing all companies to bid. So being connected will theoretically allow all companies to bid for orders previously out of their reach.

"I see broadband will allow Hong Kong's SMEs to not necessarily go international, but certainly regional," Mr Chu said.

Security
Security is an issue for broadband users, because unlike dial-up services, where you are connected to the Internet for a limited time, broadband users are "always on," increasing the risk of being hacked.

Once a computer is permanently attached to the Net, it comes vulnerable whenever it is turned on. The chances of a hacker being tempted to break into "Mr Wong & Sons Golden Dragon Enterprise Ltd." is low. But the risk is real. Because you are on a network, an outside person could read your files, and even print them out on your printer if your print sharing option in Windows is checked.