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Qwest touts latest upgrade to high-speed Net service

Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 11, 2007 at midnight

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Better Internet security package and parental controls. Easier Web browsing and custom news, weather and sports features. A new, simpler "q.com" e-mail address.

Those are some of the new features Qwest Communications is touting as part of its latest upgrades to its high-speed Internet service which, by the way, now goes by Qwest Broadband instead of Qwest DSL.

The Denver telco says it is the only major communications provider able to offer a single-letter e-mail domain, and the first to offer Microsoft Windows Live as part of its ongoing, five-year-old partnership with Microsoft Corp.

It is through Microsoft Windows Live that users will experience many of the new features, including e-mail reading panes, instant messaging, advanced spam filtering and a free OneCare security package, which includes anti-virus, anti-spyware and data backup functions. Parents will be able to set Internet usage limits, blacklist specific sites and create Internet activity logs.

Consumers should notice it's easier to customize and rearrange their home page to their liking, for example, putting favorite Internet sites and Denver news toward the top of the page.

"The Internet is about staying connected to things that are important to you," said Travis Leo, Qwest director of product management. He said consumers in trials and focus groups have found the changes to be intuitive and easy to use.

Qwest also is using the opportunity to add "messaging" to the home page, generally in the form of small product advertisements that rotate frequently.

PC Advisor magazine recently rated the Live OneCare security package as 14th among 17 tested - it's improving but still has a ways to go. But that's to be expected with a new version.

The Wall Street Journal gave an overall thumbs up to the desktop version of Windows Live Mail, while noting it still has some bugs to work out.

Qwest itself has launched Windows Live only to Qwest/MSN broadband customers in the Denver and Colorado Springs areas. In other words, customers in the area codes of 303, 720 and 719. Customers can migrate to Windows Live online by clicking the member center icon.

Customers need computers that run Microsoft XP SP2 or Windows Vista. Leo estimated that fits 80 percent of Qwest's broadband customers.

The new version may be launched in the rest of Qwest's 14-state region by early July, depending on the glitches encountered.

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