Broadband Demand and Some Thoughts on Ryan Jacob

TheStreet.com publishes selected email received by the publication and its staff members. To send an email intended for publication in this section, write to [e-mail] and include your full name and city. Letters may be edited for length, style, clarity and accuracy.

Broad-Based Demand

George Mannes: In response to your column There May Be Plenty of Tomorrows for AOL in Its Bid for Cable Access, I was once an America Online (AOL Quote) customer. I was once a customer of IDT (IDTC Quote). I had both via phone, and both were unsatisfactory ISPs. Why? In a word, frustration! Get on? Maybe. Stay on for any length of time? Not! I had the 56K modem service, but it was still very slow. How do I know? I took a chance and signed up for Cablevison's (CVC Quote) Optimum online, which farmed out the service to Excite@Home (ATHM Quote).

I pay a little more but free up one phone line, with lower phone bills, and more importantly, I have zero frustration. I go online in the morning, stay on all day -- and all night, if I wish. Unbelievably quick downloads, limited only by the site's ability to deliver. It's simple to operate, and since January of this year, I have experienced only two minor downtimes, which were automatically corrected in short order. When the world discovers broadband, it'll go wild. No doubt about it! ...