Broadband, DSL, and the Race for Internet ConnectivityAbstract This article discusses current technologies and trends related to Internet connectivity. Broadband cable, DSL and fixed wireless are examined. Issues addressed in relation to these technologies are the possibility of providers preferring specific content over broadband cable and the "digital divide", i.e. the trend towards inaccessibility of the Internet in poor and rural areas. In recent years the Internet has radically changed both our economy and social institutions. The driving force of the Internet has been increasingly cheaper, faster, and more reliable connections between distant machines. With the increase in internet connectivity, internetworking can be used in more places for more purposes. Until recently, businesses and consumers depended on modems to connect to the Internet, but now several new technologies are being used to continue the trend toward greater connectivity. These include digital subscriber lines (DSL), cable modems, and fixed wireless networks. This document briefly reviews each of these new technologies. More important than the details of how they work, however, is the effect they will have on the Internet and society. This document discusses two of the biggest issues: corporate control over Internet content and equal access to the Internet by all races and classes. The creators of the Internet designed a system in which all people everywhere could access the Internet and in which information sharing could not be suppressed. However, the cost of implementing these technologies has resulted in increased access for affluent communities, putting poor and rural communities at an economic disadvantage; this unfair... middle of paper... Jeffrey. “End of the open road?” The American perspective. Princeton. vol. 11, Iss. 5. January 17, 2000. pp. 42-47. Dunham, Richard S. "Across America, a troubling 'digital divide.' Business Week. No. 3640. August 2, 1999. p. 40. Steppanek, Marcia. "A Small Town Reveals America's Digital Divide. Blacksburg Electronic Village, Virginia, and surrounding communities; Report on the Internet Age." Business Week. No. 3649. October 4, 1999. pp. 188-91. Mehta, Stephanie N. "The $1,000,000,000,000 Bet." Fortune. Vol. 142, No. 8. October 9, 2000. pp 124-136.1 Mehta, “The Billion Dollar Bet”2 Mehta, “The Billion Dollar Bet”3 Mehta, “The Billion Dollar Bet”4 Chester, “The End of the open road?”5 Dunham, “Across America, A Troubling Digital Divide” 6 Stepanek, “A Small Town Reveals America's Digital Divide"