Bootcamp: Cost Of The Net

Will the net get cheap?

When you hear all this talk about faster access to the Internet, there's usually a pretty steep price tag attached. So...a company called WorldGate is generating some interest with it's promise of faster web access using just a cable box and your TV. WorldGate CEO Hal Krisbergh says cable companies would have the computer equipment.... and would make enough money from advertising to almost give the service away. From the consumer's point of view...

"He has a simple set top box that he gets with his cable TV that he doesn't pay for. And for a very low monthly fee, under five dollars a month, he is able to get full internet access without having to buy any equipment."

You can browse with your TV remote...or add a wireless keyboard for another two dollars a month. Trials are being launched in St. Louis and Calgary, Canada.

That's down the road for most of us. Prodigy Internet...is hoping to grab a bigger share of the dial-up market today, promising cheaper and faster connections. Prodigy CEO Russ Pillar...

"Just the fact that we can offer a nationwide, all digital, 56k dial-up network is something that sets us far and away apart from every other ISP."

And prodigy pricing is as low as $15.75 a month. Once the online leader, Pillar says Prodigy is gaining strength again ...with about a million subscribers overall.