There's no need to roll your eyes over broadband offerings that sound the same. ALFRED SIEW spells out how they differ.

Choice is good. But to someone signing up for broadband for the first time, the names that telecoms operators conjure up for their many Internet services often do not give any clue to what is being offered.

Two things that a user should zoom in on are:

• Surfing speed, which ranges from 512Kbps to 100Mbps (the difference can be 200 times).
• Price, which can be zero to more than $100 a month.
  Here are the broadband options and what they really offer.

SURF AT HOME

SingNet Broadband and StarHub MaxOnline

Both are fixed line broadband services for homes and have been around for about a decade.

SingNet uses a phone line and ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) technology to carry Internet data to homes.

Speeds range from 1Mbps to 10Mbps, and are typically faster than what 3.5G offerings can provide.

But ADSL technology is increasingly looking long in the tooth - speeds are already at their max now.

For the future, SingTel is testing new technologies like Fibre To The Home, which can offer speeds that are 40 times faster and more.

Its rival, StarHub, has already upgraded its hybrid fibre co-axial (HFC) cable network to support speeds of 100Mbps for its fastest MaxOnline service.

WHO SHOULD SIGN UP: Homes with multiple users. Plus, people who play games, download music and use other bandwidth-heavy applications.

SURF ON THE GO

Wireless@SG

ST Graphic: LIM YEE HUNG

This refers to the 5,000 free Wi-Fi zones that are sprouting islandwide in shopping malls, libraries and cafes this year.

Provided by SingTel, QMax Communications and iCell Network, these wireless surf zones let people connect with speeds of up to 512Kbps with their laptops and PDAs.

For faster speeds of 1Mbps and above, you pay about $10 a month.

Speeds are more consistent than in 3.5G, but coverage is restricted to surf zones.

WHO SHOULD SIGN UP: Everyone, because Wireless@SG is free. In particular, people on the move, like insurance agents and salesmen.

SURF AT HOME AND ON THE GO

SingTel Broadband On Mobile

The service uses 3.5G technology - an upgrade to plain old 3G - which offers theoretical speeds of up to 3.6Mbps.

To hook up, users are given a small wireless modem that they can either plug into a USB port or slot in to a PC card slot on a laptop.

Portable and convenient, the service can be used at home, in your office and even outdoors to get your e-mail.

But 3.5G is not for heavy downloads as speeds can vary. A Digital Life test last month found that the service can crawl - to 20 times slower than what is promised on paper.

WHO SHOULD SIGN UP: People on the go, and those who go online to do e-mail and tasks that do not demand a lot of bandwidth.

M1 Broadband

This is M1's version of the Broadband On Mobile service that SingTel is busy rolling out now.

While the red camp only has the CBD covered currently, M1 has already got islandwide coverage after launching its 3.5G, or high speed downlink package access (HSDPA), service last year.

WHO SHOULD SIGN UP: The same people who might take up SingTel's Broadband on Mobile.

BUNDLED BROADBAND

SingTel mio

This is not really a service on its own, but a package of broadband, cellphone and Net telephony offerings aimed at tying customers to SingTel.

A mio package of $69.29, for example, gives 100 cellphone minutes, a 3Mbps broadband link and unlimited fixed line local calls from home.

That is a savings of $17.23 over what you would have paid if you had signed up for the services separately.

Besides Internet and phone services, SingTel also wants to include its upcoming pay-TV services in its mio package in future.

The reason: StarHub has been gaining ground with its Hubbing offerings that give between 5 per cent and 15 per cent discounts to subscribers of its broadband, cellphone and cable TV offerings.

WHO SHOULD SIGN UP: People who do not have contracts with other operators.