(MONEY Magazine) – Imagine a world where you no longer have to wait to get on the Internet. Where you can play a computer game with an opponent in Hong Kong in real time. Where it's quicker to look up a telephone number on the Net than it is to fetch the phone book. Welcome to the world of high-speed broadband Internet access, a world arriving as fast as the connection it provides. But to be part of that world you'll have to pay at least twice what you're paying now for your Internet connection. Is the speed worth the price? Here's how to figure that out--and how to hook up if your answer is yes.

Broadband basics. The appeal of broadband is that you can stay connected to the Net 24 hours a day without tying up your telephone, and the connection is fast: five to 50 times faster than today's high-speed standard, a 56 kilobits per second (kbps) modem. Downloading the latest version of America Online takes an hour at 56kbps. With a high-speed 1.5 megabits per second (mbps) connection, it takes just two minutes.

You have two primary ways to get a high-speed connection: cable, which requires you to have a cable modem, and a digital subscriber line (DSL), a technology that uses a DSL modem and an existing phone line--the same line you already use for ordinary calls and Net access. (Two other options are nowhere near as fast. An ISDN phone line offers speeds of up to 128kbps; a satellite dish gives you a 400kbps connection and can cost hundreds more than cable or DSL to set up.) In the race to connect customers, cable has taken the lead. Cable services such as At Home (www.home.com) and Road Runner (www.rr.com), which is owned by Time Warner, MONEY's parent company, reach more homes, especially in rural areas. But the regional phone companies, including Bell Atlantic, SBC and U S West, are quickly rolling out DSL service--mainly in and around major cities--and lowering prices to catch up. Between cable and DSL, some 39 million homes can already get high-speed access, according to the Yankee Group. That number should reach 51 million next year.

How much does speed matter to you? Rapid Net access will cost you $40 or more a month (plus at least $100 to install new equipment). If you're satisfied with your current 56kbps connection, there's little reason to pay more than you do now. You're a likely candidate for high-speed access, on the other hand, if you often download video clips or large software packages; you work at home and network with another office; you're already paying $10 a month for a second phone line because you spend so much time online; or you're just tired of driving a Beetle in a Lamborghini world.

Keep in mind that while the advertised connection speeds are very high, the limitations of the Internet mean the fastest you can surf is about 1.5mbps. When we saw a Bell Atlantic demonstration of a 7.1mbps connection, we didn't reach websites nearly that fast because the Internet was so clogged with traffic at 5 p.m. Opening pages within the sites, however, was nearly instantaneous, almost as fast as turning the pages of a book. One last caveat: Switching to high-speed access most likely means giving up your current Internet Service Provider (ISP) for now and using your cable or phone company's service instead.

Here's what else you need to know about switching. Cable: the value choice. Not only is cable service more widely available than DSL, but you'll pay less every month for a connection that's as fast as or faster than the lowest-priced DSL hookup. (Setup costs may be higher or lower than with DSL, depending on your provider.) To get started, you'll need to rent a cable modem from the cable company, and if your computer isn't near your TV's cable outlet, you'll have to rewire your house. With both cable and DSL, you may also need to install a $100 Ethernet card in your computer.

Cable prices vary across the country. Hooking up with provider Cox at Home in Omaha, for example, costs $149 for installation and $44.95 a month, including modem rental. Cable subscribers in Tampa who sign up for Road Runner pay $99.95 for installation and $39.95 a month, modem included.

While cable is fast, speeds can vary from 384kbps to nearly 10mbps because of something called the bleed-down effect. If there's more than one household in your neighborhood using cable for Net access, you may notice a slower connection during peak times.

The phone alternative. You may want to pay slightly more for DSL--or even wait for it if your phone company doesn't offer it yet--if you'd rather not run a new cable line through the walls but still want the ability to fax or make calls from your home office while surfing the Net.

Again, costs vary greatly. Homeowners in the Northeast who subscribe to Bell Atlantic's DSL service and use Bell Atlantic as their ISP, for instance, pay $99 for installation, $99 to buy a modem and $49.95 to $189.95 a month for service, depending on connection speed. (Since the limitations of the Net mean that you're unlikely to surf at speeds exceeding 1.5mbps, don't bother paying for a faster hookup.) Sign up with U S West in the Rocky Mountain states and you'll pay $69.95 for installation, $50 for a modem and $49.95 and up a month.

To get DSL, you must live within three miles of a central office, making it out of the question for many rural residents, and the phone company must come to your home to install a splitter.

What's ahead. By the end of this year, you may also have the option to get high-speed access with a name you know. America Online hopes to offer DSL service in 21 states through Bell Atlantic and Texas-based regional phone company SBC. You may already have the option to get DSL service from someone other than your phone company. Just watch the price. ISP Concentric, for example, offers a 384kbps high-speed DSL connection over a phone line for $199 a month. For half that price, you could get four times the speed with Bell Atlantic.

Finally, computer makers such as Compaq and Dell are already selling PCs with so-called G.lite DSL modems installed. Should you pay an extra $100 or so for this feature? Probably not yet. While phone companies have said they'll start using the new technology later this year, you will need to buy another modem in the meantime if you want to go online.