BELL'S NEW INTERNET SERVICE AVAILABLE TO SOME

Parts of Cape Girardeau are moving into the fast lane of telecommunications technology.

Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. is well ahead of schedule in deploying digital subscriber line (DSL) service in portions of the city.

"We're taking orders today," said Jan Newton, president of Southwestern Bell-Missouri.

Equipment has been installed in the central office at 800 Broadway, and all customers within three miles of the office can be hooked up now, said Newton.

Newton was in Cape Girardeau Friday to meet with city and state leaders and business representatives to discus the company's investment in high-speed Internet.

Funds are also available to start infrastructure work at the Jackson central office,.

"We don't have an exact date for Jackson hookups, but they should be available by the end of the year," she said.

The demand for DSL hookups has been great, and Cape Girardeau is the first area for the system in Southeast Missouri.

DSL technology provides data and Internet connection over traditional copper phone lines at speeds of up to 200 times faster than conventional modems, said Newton.

"Almost $340 million has been dedicated to construction of Missouri's high-speed network," said Newton. "This initiative positions Southwestern Bell as a high-tech leader, responding to our customers needs."

Southwestern Bell DSL initially will be available to more than 6,500 homes and businesses in Cape Girardeau. Customers can choose to receive Internet access from SWB Internet or a number of other Internet service providers. Customers should contact their provider of choice for additional details.

Cost of the DSL hookup is $39.95 a month. Customers can hook it up or have Southwestern Bell do it for a one-time cost of $99.

The deployment here is part of Project Pronto, an initiative that will transform Southwestern Bell's parent company, SBC, into America's largest single-broadband provider. Project Pronto will make DSL service available to an estimated 77 million people by 2002.

"Technology is exploding, Internet is growing and customers have been telling us this is what they want," said Newton, who has served as SWB-Missouri president since last June.

Once the Cape Girardeau phase of DSL is completed, SWB will be looking at Jackson, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff and Farmington. Within three years, SWB wants to be able to offer 80 percent of its customers DSL.

Newton said that recent regulatory changes, specifically the 1996 alternative regulation bill enacted by the Missouri Legislature and the 1996 Telecommunications Act by Congress, helped to make telecommunications advancements possible.

The new federal law encouraged SWB to open its local telephone market to competitors in exchange for providing long-distance services.