Connections to Websites that often fail; Web pages that take forever to download; and using the Internet through a regular phone line – the so-called dial-up system – can be a frustrating experience in Moscow. But, as usage of the Internet expands in Russia, several Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are trying to develop state-of-the-art and more efficient ways to access the Net.

True, most observers say, these new ways to access the Net – so-called fast access – are still problematic for most private users. For one thing, many remain expensive. Another difficulty is that, for now, some of these solutions are not available everywhere in Moscow. But companies offering these services are expanding coverage fast and, as competition increases, prices should gradually start to fall.

One factor that makes the prospect of fast access particularly attractive in Moscow is that dial-up ISPs are not always satisfactory and that picking one can be tricky, said Jack Klausen, whose Website, build-russia.com, has a section devoted to ISPs.

"There are more than 120 ISPs in Moscow, and out of those that use dial-up technology, picking a good one is no easy thing," he said. "The best way to proceed is to try to choose one that's located next to you: If your ISP is no more than 200 feet from where you are, you will connect through the same telephone station, which will provide satisfactory quality. But if you are farther apart, data will travel through analog, copper cables."

The drawback is that these cables, which carry normal telephone conversations, are congested. While some large dial-up ISPs do manage to provide fast enough access, smaller ones sometimes prove more problematic. To make matters worse, Moscow telephone wires are the oldest in Russia, said Vyacheslav Nikolayev, a telecom analyst with investment bank Renaissance-Capital.

True, dial-up ISPs have so far retained a major advantage over other technologies: They offer lower prices, a serious argument to attract customers. "Dial-up ISP tariffs have already started to go down, and this will go on," said Alexander Andreyev, Internet analyst with investment bank Brunswick Warburg. "I expect an average monthly subscription for unlimited connection to be around $10 in 1993, down from $30 in 1998 and $27 in 1999."

That's why one of Russia's largest ISPs, telecom group Golden Telecom's Russia- On-Line, still mostly uses dial-up technology for its private clients, although it offers fiber-optics dedicated lines to corporate clients. "Our customers can buy $10 pre-paid cards for 20 hours worth of connection, or $20 for 54 hours," said Andrei Kolesnikov, marketing project director with Russia-On-Line, which started focusing on private clients last year and is currently expanding into the regions.

Relatively cheap prices for clients are also the reason why even some newcomers in the ISP business choose dial-up, at least for a start. Such is the case of wireless TV company Kosmos TV, which last month launched an ISP service, KosmosWeb. "This will allow us to build our customer base quickly, which we would not have been able to do with high-speed access, because of the cost," said Dominic Reed, director of the Moscow office of U.S. multimedia and telecommunications group Metromedia, which owns 50 percent of Kosmos TV. The firm offers a bundled subscription in which customers who subscribe to the TV service pay an extra $2 to get Net access.

Reed said Kosmos TV will start offering fast-access service in six months, following the market's trend. It will use wireless technology, basically the same as it utilizes to broadcast TV programs. Data are converted into microwaves and sent from the Ostankino TV tower. Then they are converted back into electronic form at a user's premises.

Kosmos still hasn't decided whether users will send data through classical dial-up technology – as do customers who get access to the Internet through satellite, a system NTV Internet is currently testing – or they'll also emit using wireless, which would probably be more costly in terms of equipment. However, Reed said it definitely intends to service primarily private users.

There are already a few companies that offer wireless technology in Moscow, such as Art Communications and RM Telecom, Klausen said. But their prices are still too high for most private users: Getting the equipment set up varies from $750 to $950 at RM Telecom, and exceeds $2,000 at Art. Typical monthly fees would be $200 with RM and $250 with Art.

Another fast-access technology that is coming to Moscow is cable Internet. Com Cor TV, an affiliate of telecom company Com Cor, is currently setting up infrastructure in southern Moscow districts Khomovniki and Chertanovo, as well as in Zelenograd, in the northwest of the capital. Monthly fees will go from $30-$73, depending on the data traffic.

But one of the most promising fast-access technology may be Asymetric Digital Subscriber Lines (ADSL). ADSL's strong point is that it uses regular copper lines to deliver digital quality service, thanks to an ADSL modem, which must be installed both at the user's end and at the provider. This device splits a regular phone line into three channels: one for emitting data, one for receiving them, and one for talking over the phone. With the same line, you can simultaneously call someone and use the Internet.

One ISP offering this service in Moscow is Tochka.ru, a branch of telecommunication company PTT Teleport. Tochka.ru started providing ADSL last June and currently has 400 clients. "Private users account for 30 percent of our customers, but our objective is to have this figure grow significantly," said Nikolai Repin, PTT Teleport's general director.

PTT Teleport has already equipped 80 telephone stations with ADSL modems, out of a total of 164 in Moscow. Repin said he hoped all stations would be equipped by the end of next year. The main obstacle to a rise in the number of subscribers is the price of this service which, although not as high as that of wireless access, is substantial. Getting the equipment set up will cost a user $650, and monthly fees can vary from $150-$270.

But while costs are still a serious obstacle to getting fast access for private users, most observers and players say prices will gradually come down as competition increases. "Prices have already started to decrease, and I expect another fall in 2001," said Renaissance-Capital's Nikolayev.

PTT Teleport's Repin also expects a downward trend for prices, and thinks Tochka.ru's ADSL service monthly fees could be down to "Western levels" within three to four years. He described Western levels as $50 per month for unlimited access.

And while three or four years might seem like quite a long time, Metromedias's Reed said he expected the number of bundled offers – for instance, TV and Internet – to increase, providing people who already use one or the other telecommunications service with high-quality Internet access for a small additional fee.