Louisville, Ky., public-relations agent Susan Rostov is considering ditching the dial-up Internet connection that has served her one-person company for more than 10 years and moving up to high-speed broadband service.

"Nothing's ever fast enough for me. I mean, I'm always in a hurry and always impatient," says Rostov, owner of S.R./P.R.

But it's not always simple for small businesses to sort through an array of broadband choices and find the one that matches their need for speed — and their budgets.

The options, which include services such as DSL, cable modems and wireless Internet, range from $50 to several hundred dollars a month — and have different speeds, though all are faster than dial-up. Typically, the faster the service, the more it costs. Choose a connection that's too fast, and you pay for more bandwidth than you really need. Pick one that's too slow and Internet service can bog down under heavy use.

Rostov has put off the switch to broadband partly because she hasn't had time to study the complex issues, she says. "To make an informed decision, you need to understand all the options — and I don't," she says. "The small-business owner is the accountant, is the information technologist, is the account exec. I just never get caught up."

Small businesses need not worry so much about choosing a broadband service that's too slow, says Brian dos Santos, a professor of computer information systems at the University of Louisville. For more speed, they can call the service provider and arrange for a different plan.

Dos Santos typically advises businesses to consider the cheapest broadband service first and upgrade as needed.

Wireless broadband lets customers ramp their speed up or down easily, says Bill Kline, vice president of sales for Louisville-based U.S. Wireless Online. Most startups buy more speed than necessary, he says. Thinking more is better, "if they are buying phone lines, they buy too many. If they are buying bandwidth, they buy too much."

Small companies that use the Internet mainly for Web browsing, e-mail and transmitting text files may do fine with entry-level DSL service costing about $50 a month for a business account, says Eric Wolbach, director of business DSL for BellSouth.

A home business can save half or more with a residential account, but it won't include some business services, such as professional installation and a guarantee to fix an out-of-order connection within 24 hours, he says.

Companies may need more than entry-level DSL if they frequently move big files such as pictures, sound or video clips.

Even companies not thought of as technology-driven may need a fast Internet connection.

J.R.'s Spa & Salon in Louisville moved up from dial-up service to cable about 2 1/2 years ago after a problem with the business's software. Using the Internet to send a copy of the software to California for analysis took all night, says owner Jack Riley.

With its cable Internet service, the business can download very large files in minutes, Riley says. The business might be able to get by with cheaper broadband services, "but their speed is not quite as fast, and I'm spoiled now," he says.

Web-site management was a big reason that Rent & Rave, a Kentucky rental company, moved to a high bandwidth line, says owner Royce Lawrence.

The site, www.rentnrave.com, is updated frequently to show what merchandise is available at the company, which specializes in supplies for parties, weddings, conventions and other events. Changing text on the Web site is no problem, even at slower speeds. But a picture "takes a lot more load time," Lawrence says.

Rent & Rave bought a package of services that includes five phone lines, long-distance service and high-speed Internet, and "it ended up being cheaper than just our phone service," which had been about $340 per month, Lawrence says.