Choosing An ISP - Everything You Need to Know, Plus a Little
Apr 06 '01
The Bottom Line Take your Time
So you want to venture out into the World Wide Web and see what you are missing? You have no clue who to turn to and who to trust? With the thousands of choices out there it may be a bit intimidating. So lets go through exactly what you need and what you don’t.
Price
No matter who you are - rich, poor in between – there is an ISP for you. The number of free isp’s have risen and dropped in the last year or so. Unfortunately for every 5 companies that offered free Internet access 4 shut down within a few months.
Free ISP’s
NetZero – Netzero is probably the leader in free isp’s. However starting last month they have dropped the number of hours you are allowed to 40 hours a month. The setup is fairly simple and the sign up is even easier. One funny thing to note about Netzero is that Gateway now advertises that you get free Internet for the life of your computer with any Gateway computer purchase, then at the bottom of the screen it says, “Free Internet provided by NetZero.” Just thought that was humorous, talk about an useless offer.
))-((Pros))-((
1. Free access of course is the biggest pro when it comes to this service, and unfortunately the only pro.
))-((Cons))-((
1. Frequent busy signals, that is if there is dial-up in your area.
2. Banner ads on the screen at all times. This is the norm for all free online services. Although with Netzero if you attempt to move the banner even a fraction of an inch off the screen you will get disconnected if you don’t move it back.
3. Really slow connection speeds. They do have 56k lines, but most times I have connected I was lucky to connect at 28.8k.
4. The program is not that stable. Frequently it has crashed when I attempted to open Internet Explorer or Outlook.
5. Forget about playing Internet games with this type of connection. I tried to play Unreal and Starcraft and both times the games were shrunk down and because Netzero had a message pop up telling me I had 30 seconds to put the banners back before I would be kicked offline.
Bluelight.com is the only other free ISP that I think is worth it. It has the same features as Netzero, but with a bigger ad banner. The pros and cons are pretty much the same as Netzero except the fact that I could play games while on Bluelight. However the connection speed was so bad it was a short game.
Of course there is a company called FreeDSL as well, but I think it’s a complete scam. I did do an Epinion on it so read it if you want.
Regional ISP’s Vs. Local ISP’s
Regional ISPs are any ISP that has access across America. Companies like AOL, MSN, Juno, Mindspring/Earthlink, BellAtlantic etc.
I myself prefer the local ISP’s above those of the regional only because of the customer service. However regional ISP’s have advantages that the local guys cannot provide. When looking for an ISP you need to ask yourself a few questions.
1. Do I travel at all?
2. Do I call customer service a lot or can I troubleshoot problems myself?
3. What does Epinions have to say about the provider (shameless plug)
4. Does the company I am looking at have a good reputation with current subscribers?
Once you answer the above questions you can decide between regional or local.
Q #1 Answer: If you travel at all you might want to use the regional provider since they will most likely have access in the areas you travel too. A local ISP will probably only has access in your local area and maybe your state. Although you might want to call and see if they have 800# access, it may cost extra so be careful.
Q #2 Answer: If you find that you spend a lot of time with customer service you might want to consider a local ISP. I am in no means saying that Regional ISP’s can’t fill your needs, but I have found that the local ISP’s provide quicker and more knowledgeable troubleshooting. The hold times are usually a lot shorter when you call a local ISP and you also may not have to go through the “Press 1 for sales, press 2 for … now press 1 for Fred, press 2 for …”. Of course with the regional ISP’s you get the benefit of some kid who took a 2-week course on how to use a PC, then after your 10th call you get someone that knows what they are doing. Ok, Ok, I won’t bash the regional ISP’s anymore. Actually I was with Mindspring for about 3 years and I loved it. The few times I had to call tech support I had to wait 10-20 minutes and the people who I talked to knew their stuff. Then again if you call AOL you will be lucky to get a human on the phone in an hour. That’s if you make it past the computers tricky numbers game.
Q #3 & 4 Answer: Ya the question was a kiss-up question, but I was serious. Go around to sites like Epinions and Consumer Reports and see what they have to say about an ISP. Try to go to an unbiased site and get a real opinion on a service, don’t go to the ISP’s website.
What Type of Service is Right for Me?
Right now there are 4 big names in internet access.
1. 56k Dial-Up – Free to $23.99 a month
2. Cable Modem Access - $39.99 and up a month
3. DSL / SDSL – or any other fast speed phone line access. - $39.99 and up a month
4. Satellite - $49.99 a month and up
There are a couple more like T1 – T3 access, but who has $500.00 a month to spend on Internet access.
No matter what service you pick they all have their ups and downs. If you know what you want and know what you need than picking the right one is pretty easy.
Dial-Up access
The slowest and cheapest of all the plans. If you are only surfing the web occasionally or just getting e-mail this is perfect for you. The connection may be slow, but it is fast enough to get your mail, chat with friends online, or surf the web. Just don’t try major game play or downloading huge files. Also the big concern with this is that you can’t send or receive phone calls while you are online.
Cable Modem Access “Broadband”
Potentially this has the ability to be the fastest of all the connections listed above. Cable Modems can reach speeds in excess of 1.5MB/Sec. Unfortunately of all the people I know who have the Internet access the norm seems to be about 600k to 1.1MB/sec. A few times I have seen the speed dip down to 100k/sec at peak times. You see the more people who sign up for the service in your area the slower the connection because everyone shares the same bandwidth. Best way to find out is talk to someone in your area who has it and see how it is. Remember though that over time if more and more people sign up it gets slower and slower, unless the cable company expands its service in your area. Also with cable access you need to have a cable jack installed in every room that you want Internet access too.
Cable is great for large downloads and online gaming. Not to mention it speeds up your surfing immensely. Again it all depends on your connection speed.
DSL/SDSL
This is actually the service I have right now. The speeds on DSL range from 600k to 1.3MB/Sec. My area only supports 690k and most of the time I download at about 650 and up. The good thing with DSL is it is not controlled by the amount of people that sign up in my area. Unlike broadband no matter how many people sign up for it I still get the same speed. It does however depend on the quality of your phone lines. Also with DSL all you need is a phone jack near your PC – which most people already have – in order to use it. You can also can send and receive phone calls while you are online.
DSL is the perfect choice for online gaming because of its consistent connection speed. It is also great for downloading, it may be technically slower that a cable modem, but it is still fast enough so that your downloads will be done in no time flat.
Satellite Access
Out of all the access options I have given you this is probably my least favorite. While it has the potential of being faster than any of the other systems the satellite companies only guarantee you a little better than 56k access. Also on many systems you are only allowed to download so many megs per month and then you are cut off. This makes it a poor choice for gamers and people who download a lot. Another bad thing is the price, over $50.00 a month for an inconsistent download not to mention the fact that you have to pay for TV access on top of it and a satellite. Of course if you already have a satellite dish than maybe this is the way to go. Otherwise stick to the other 3 listed above and forget this.
The Final Thought
No matter what service you pick there are ups and downs. Of course you should pick something in your budget, and pick something you actually need. There’s no point in paying $50.00 a month just to get your e-mail. On the other hand paying $50.00 a month to be able to play the latest games online may be perfect for some people.
Think about what you need and what you can afford and go from there. Take your time and make a decision you are most comfortable with. Don’t just get an Isp because it “Comes free with a happy meal” or because “Millions of hackers, piraters, and pedephil… errr people use it **cough** AOL **cough**.
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Destinys-Child
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A fool and his money were lucky to be together in the first place.
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