FRANKFORT — BellSouth has announced plans to expand high-speed Internet access in 57 Kentucky communities, ranging from Paintsville to Paducah.

        “Having this type of capability is as essential as having things like water lines and sewer lines for a town like Paintsville,” Mayor Robin Cook said. “This is going to be just as important as building a four-lane highway. It's going to be very instrumental in our economic future.”

        Digital subscriber lines, which turn existing copper phone wires into high-speed data conduits, provide Internet connections 20 times to 50 times faster than traditional dial-up connections.

        The service has been available in parts of Louisville since 1999. But most of rural Kentucky lacks fast Internet access. Officials hope the expansion will help eliminate the digital divide.

        With the expansion, about half of BellSouth's 1.2 million phone lines will be capable of subscribing to DSL by year's end, said Eddy Roberts, BellSouth Kentucky president.

        People must live within three miles of a telephone company's central office, where DSL is stored, to use the service.

        The company plans to offer DSL to residential and business customers for between $40 and $59 a month, depending on the level of service. It also will sell wholesale access to other Internet providers that could charge different rates.

        DSL also requires a special modem, which is a $200 charge. If the customers maintain service for a year the modem is free.

        “One of the great things about DSL is that it brings speed to small business,” Mr. Roberts said. “It really allows everybody to participate in the knowledge-based economy, even down to a one-line business.”

        Mr. Roberts said he isn't sure what the expansion will cost BellSouth, but the company originally estimated $16 million to bring DSL to 35 communities.

        Service already has been introduced in Frankfort, Bowling Green and Pikeville.

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