Starstream begins retrofit for broadband access

Auburn's Internet users will soon have an option for surfing the Web that doesn't involve a phone jack.Starstream Communi-cations has retrofitted three south Auburn neighborhoods with fiber-optic cables, enabling high-speed Internet access through the cable provider. Once all 28 neighborhoods are complete by Nov. 30, everyone within city limits will have access to broadband cable Internet. Although some local businesses currently offer high-speed Internet through DSL, at least one fears Starstream Communications may muscle them out of business.Starstream's modem service does not require a phone line. Incoming and outgoing information travels on the upgraded network at up to 2.5 megabits per second for downloads and 1 megabit per second for uploads. Actual speeds vary depending on the user's computer and Internet traffic. Yahoo! DSL speeds, by comparison, are listed as 384 kilobits per second to 1.5 megabits per second for downloads and 128 to 384 kilobits per second for uploads on their most basic package."Starstream's broadband topology is an HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coaxial) network capable of offering a full range of leading-edge digital services that are compatible with almost all current cable TV resident inside-wiring configurations," said Dean Henderson, senior vice president of Starstream Communications.The cable company is notifying neighborhoods as the new service becomes available."It's huge. It's very significant for the areas covered," said Glenn Tonkin, chairman of the Auburn Telecommuni-cations Commission. "We've had DSL around, but it was limited because not that many lines were available through SBC. There was not enough access infrastructure for DSL to support the number of people who wanted it."With DSL, speed is limited by how far the user is from a central office, Tonkin said. Like dial-up Internet, DSL modems convert information to an analog format, which travels in tones."For broadband it is immediate, it's already data - there's no converting to tones," Tonkin said. "It's leaps and bounds (ahead), it's very significant."One SBC Yahoo! DSL subscriber said she'd be interested in Starstream's offer, if it were cheaper."You definitely have to have one or the other," said Kellee Scott, 18, of Auburn. "Dial-up is just miserable."While Starstream's broadband cable is another choice for consumers, some local Internet service providers fear they will be shut out because they don't have access to the network."The public doesn't know their hidden agenda," said Dave Winters, owner of WizWire Communications. "Their objective is to drive competition out of the market, that's their game."Winters said cable companies sell their services at below-cost, which local businesses that depend on profits can't meet. Then, once competition is out, Winters said they drive prices up.WizWire charges $49.95 for DSL service to residential customers. While Starstream's Auburn pricing varies, the company is offering $40.95 for monthly access in Rocklin, Lincoln, Loomis and other south Placer areas.Winters suggested that the City Council look at ways local businesses could purchase access to the cable company's infrastructure at cost to maintain healthy competition, something Starstream officials say exists."In keeping with a time-honored American tradition of competitive free enterprise Starstream is committed to offering a high quality service to area residents and let them decide the value of the offering," Henderson said.Other Internet providers say the "big guys" can never compete with what they say only a local provider can offer."I don't fear them at all, we have better customer service. Here we have no phone maze and we speak in plain English," said L. Scott Collins, manager of Lincoln-based Psyberware Communications, which serves communities including Auburn. "We still get most of our customers through word of mouth, and we believe that's because of fantastic customer service."The Journal's Michelle Miller can be reached at michellem@goldcountrymedia.com.