Broadband Internet access continues to get cheaper as providers aggressively target residential customers who don't have the Internet now or are among the dwindling group of "technology laggers" with dial-up service.

Milwaukee-area residents can now get broadband service for $14.95 a month when bundled with a telephone service contract.

Sometimes referred to as high-speed Internet, broadband is an "always on" fast connection. There is a variety of broadband technology available in most areas, including cable and digital- subscription-line service known as DSL.

Nationwide, about 54% of U.S. households now have broadband service, compared with 13% with dial-up service.

In this region, AT&T and Time Warner Cable have launched intensive marketing efforts aimed at broadband users. During the next few months, mailboxes will be stuffed with special offers.

"It's a real battleground" for the broadband providers, said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal with Park Associates, a Dallas research firm that specializes in telecommunication.

"There's a lot of fear and trepidation driving these guys," Scherf added.

Last week, AT&T announced a DSL subscription for $14.95 a month when ordered before Dec. 15. The price is for new residential orders with AT&T phone service and includes a two-year rate guarantee with no term contract required.

For $19.95 per month, you can get the same AT&T basic broadband service without having one of the company's telephone plans. But the so-called "naked" DSL line requires a modem, which AT&T sells for $49.99, plus there's a $50 service connection fee, and a cancellation fee if you don't keep the service for 12 months.

"That's about as low as it gets if you want a DSL line and nothing else," said company spokesman Chris Bauer.

AT&T said it was expanding its free wireless Internet service, known as Wi-Fi, to all of its broadband customers regardless of their subscription plan.

Time Warner Cable also is offering a $19.95 per month broadband subscription. But, as with the AT&T plan, it's for the slowest- speed broadband -- which is faster than dial-up service but slower than other broadband connections.

The basic broadband service from both companies is suitable for surfing the Internet and handling e-mail, but its maximum speed of 768 kilobytes per second would frustrate someone who uses the Internet for videos and other large digital files.

The 768 Kbps speed, while relatively fast, isn't guaranteed or necessarily consistent.

"If you are used to what's generally called broadband, this isn't going to be attractive," said Barry Orton, a telecommunications professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.