ISDN is the most widespread of the "alternative" access methods, and it is quite fast, though not up to par with cable or satellite access. ISDN technology has been available for over a decade, and allows data to be transmitted simultaneously across the world in purely digital form. If the connection is clean, throughput rates can top 115Kbps in some instances, easily double what most analog modems are able to provide. Even better, ISDN signals can be carried over existing phone lines. The problems with ISDN access include costly setup, costly accounts with ISPs who are ISDN-ready, and sometimes-balky connections. Most home users will gravitate to cable or DSL. T1/T3 connections are quite fast but damnably expensive, priced way out of most home users' budgets, and require expensive hardware to boot -- think corporate usage only. Still, ISDN is a viable alternative, well worth consideration. Read up on it at www.isdnzone.com/dyndefault.htm, at www.isdnshop.com/isdn-basics.html, and at support.intel.com/support/isdn/. A good tutorial is available at www.ralphb.net/ISDN/.