In Search of the Perfect Web Connection

If you're a serious trader, maybe it's time you thought about getting a serious connection to the Web. No, I'm not talking about cable modems or DSL. As anyone who's experienced either knows, when these connections work, we love them dearly. At present, though, they're just too unreliable.

Case in point: Last winter a friend of mine from Boston tried to buy shares of Web software provider InfoSpace (INSP Quote). It was near the close, and the stock was selling at around 238. Suddenly her cable connection bleeped out. "I guess I could have called up my broker," she says. "It's just so annoying when you can't check the price."

In any event, the order never got executed. And next day the stock gapped up to 246. (Gapping up is what happens when a stock opens trading at a higher point than the previous day's close.) InfoSpace eventually reached a day's high of about 268. The thousands of dollars in potential profits my friend lost, thanks to her failed cable connection, would have more than paid for an industrial-strength link to her broker.

Time for a T1?

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