DSL comes to Ketchum
Two companies offer
high-speed Internet service
DSL in Ketchum: What’s being offered?
· Qwest Communications, based in
Denver, provides telecommunications services to more than 25 million customers
nationwide, including more than 550,000 DSL subscribers. Through its "Qwest DSL"
service, the company is offering Ketchum-area residents a variety of high-speed
Internet packages, with special introductory prices starting at $29.95 per month
for residential service (for the first 12 months, with a "qualifying Qwest
telephone package).
For more information, call (800) 244-1111
(residential), (800) 603-6000 (commercial), or visit
www.qwest.com on the
Internet.
· OneWest, based in Jackson, Wyo.,
and Idaho Falls, is one of the largest privately held regional Internet service
providers in the Mountain West. OneWest is offering DSL service in the Ketchum
area for a base price of $19.95 per month, plus a fee to use Qwest-owned
communication lines that increase the price for basic residential service to
$41.95 per month.
For more information, call (866) 663-9378
or visit www.onewest.net on
the Internet.
(Additional fees might be applied by
either company.)
By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
Two regional communications companies announced last week they are offering
high-speed "digital subscriber line" Internet services in the Ketchum area.
Denver-based communications giant Qwest Communications announced Wednesday it
is offering DSL service to residents and business owners within a roughly
three-mile radius of downtown Ketchum.
Concurrently, OneWest.Net, a Qwest competitor based in Jackson, Wyo., and
Idaho Falls, announced that it too has just started offering high-speed DSL
Internet service in the greater Ketchum area.
OneWest will provide DSL Internet service in Ketchum through a cooperative
agreement with Qwest, which owns the communication lines in Ketchum that enable
dedicated broadband connections. Qwest recently upgraded the Ketchum-area
telecommunications network to provide DSL services.
DSL service is provided through telephone lines that have, in effect, been
supercharged by special equipment to carry large amounts of data.
DSL service essentially splits telephone lines in a fashion that allows
subscribers to have continuous high-speed Internet access concurrently with
regular, uninterrupted telephone service. DSL Internet connections are always on
and do not require users to "dial up" a server to access the Internet.
Basic DSL lines can download Internet pages and files approximately 20-times
faster than standard dial-up Internet connections, while premium DSL
subscriptions can provide service that is up to 125-times faster.
Jim Schmit, Qwest president for Idaho, said DSL service could be valuable to
business owners and noncommercial Internet users alike. "We are excited to be
able to provide our customers in Ketchum with a service that can simplify their
lives and help their businesses run more effectively," he said.
Mike Reynoldson, spokesman for Qwest, said the service is currently available
only within a three-mile radius of central Ketchum, but could be expanded to the
Hailey area in the future.
Qwest is awaiting a ruling from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission on
whether the company can expand its DSL services in the Wood River Valley,
Reynoldson said.
OneWest representatives said they are offering DSL service in same
geographical area.
Jeff Rice, chairman and chief executive officer of OneWest, said his company
specializes in providing Internet-related services to communities in Idaho,
Montana and Wyoming. "We’re committed to providing our customers with
world-class Internet reliability, coupled with helpful, neighborly customer
service," he said.
State Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said she believes DSL services could
provide an economic boost to the Ketchum area. She said DSL service "gives our
area another broadband option to help ensure continued economic growth and
success and helps us remain competitive with other communities."
Cox Communications already offers broadband, high-speed Internet access via
its cable lines throughout Blaine County. The service is available only to
residents and business owners located within established cable service areas.