(FORTUNE Small Business) – Recently I began to notice a smug look and a new air of privilege and superiority on the faces of some of my clients and friends. They had just obtained high-speed Internet access using the technology called DSL, or digital subscriber line. Their connections were six times--in some cases, 100 times--faster than mine, and they never had to dial in to the Internet, because their connections were always on. They talked about DSL in the same tone of voice they might use to discuss a miracle drug that had made them smarter and healthier than everyone else. I couldn't pretend not to be envious.

They were especially smug because they were paying so little for these connections. The slower varieties of DSL typically cost $50 to $60 per month. The fastest plans cost about $200 per month and can surpass the speeds of dedicated T-1 lines, which cost large corporations $1,000 to $2,000 per month.

Best of all, DSL connects to the Internet over ordinary telephone lines. If you get the service from your local phone company, it piggybacks over your existing line. You can talk, send a fax, or even use a traditional modem and browse the Web with DSL at the same time over the same line.

DSL technology comes in many flavors, the two most common being ADSL (asymmetric DSL), in which download speeds are faster than upload speeds, and sdsl (symmetric DSL), in which uploading and downloading are equally fast. adsl is best for small businesses: It's relatively cheap, and if you aren't transferring lots of large files regularly, you don't need fast upload speeds.

Until recently, adsl installation and setup was too complex and unreliable for anyone except the bravest early adopters. If you ordered adsl from a third-party provider (such as Concentric), you had to wait while the local Baby Bell installed a new line--and then wait as long as a month while the DSL provider set up service over that line. The DSL provider is generally a reseller of another company's services, so you had three companies to deal with if anything went wrong. If you ordered service from a Baby Bell, you didn't need a new line, and you knew who to call with problems, but you still had to wait for a technician to visit your office.

My home-based consulting business uses the Internet constantly, and I was tired of waiting while my slow connection blocked my way to the information I needed. When Bell Atlantic began advertising its Infospeed DSL Home Connection Kit at local office-supply stores here in New York City, I decided to try it out. Bell Atlantic recently made this kit available in New York and Washington, D.C., and other Baby Bells plan to roll it out in urban areas this year.

The kit ($229, with a $130 rebate after you use adsl for three months) consists of an add-in adsl modem card that fits into any recent Windows-based PC, plus tiny boxes called microfilters that you install on your phone line to block possible interference between the adsl and voice signals. If you can open a computer and plug in a modem or sound card, you can install an adsl modem.

On Bell Atlantic's Website, I confirmed that my ordinary phone line could support all available adsl speeds (the wire between you and the office to which your phone line is connected has to be less than three miles long to get adsl), and a few more clicks let me order the service. The site promised to have it ready in seven business days and said I'd get software in the mail that would get me started. Even though it took a few extra days to get the package (typical), the instructions walked me effortlessly through installation.

The new setup did have some minor inconveniences. Windows takes an extra 30 seconds to start, and at first I thought my computer had locked up. And whenever I close my browser, an annoying message pops up asking if I want to close my connection to the Internet. (I don't--I got adsl so that I'd always be online.) My service also stopped three times for a couple of hours during my first weeks with it, and even with DSL, it can still take a frustrating few seconds to make the initial connection to slow Websites, although pages then load quickly.

But I can't really complain. Web pages snap open instead of oozing down my computer screen as they did before. And the only problem for my business is that it's now a lot easier to enjoy the Internet and a lot harder to get back to work.

www.fortunesb.com Find a DSL provider in your neck of the woods. Log on to fortunesb.com/articles/0,2227,567.html.