Not all ISPs are created equal. Before choosing an ISP or switching to a new provider, it is important to consider how the different ISPs available to you can meet your needs. The following tips will help you make an educated decision instead of just jumping into a service agreement with an ISP that has glittering bells and whistles.
Before choosing among your options, take the time to do the research. First answer these simple questions, which you can then use as a guide to making an informed choice of an ISP:
How often will you be using the Internet, either daily or monthly?
ISPs typically charge users either a flat monthly rate or charge users based on the amount of time they spend using the service per hour or per day, and some ISPs offer the choice of choosing between those two options. If you are going to be using the Internet for business, for example, and know that you will be spending a large portion of every day on the Internet, then a monthly fee platform will probably be your best option. If, however, you know that you only will be using the Internet sporadically (to check your e-mail or pay your bills), it may be cheaper to pay the per-hour rate.
What times of the day will you be using the Internet?
Some ISPs offer different rates depending on whether you use the service during peak hours and off-peak hours.
Do you need Web space to create your own site?
Many ISPs offer their customers a finite amount of Web space either as an add-on to the normal service fee or as part of their normal fee package. If hosting your own site is a necessity, investigate the different prices and the amount of megabytes that the ISP will allot you, along with the prices of this service.
How much technical support will you need?
Different ISPs have different levels of customer support. Some only offer online support for certain hours a day, others have 24-hour support and have telephone lines dedicated to answering customer support questions. Consider how likely you are to need support, and pay attention to the fees that are involved in actually using the ISPs support services, because there typically will be some sort of fee involved in speaking to customer support staff. Is the phone number for tech support a toll call? If so, you will be paying the phone company for the phone call in addition to paying the ISP for the support help.
Do you understand the ISPs terms?
Look at the agreement terms of the ISP. Is the service provider attempting to make the terms easy to understand, or do the terms seem confusing?
How much flexibility does the ISP allow?
Some ISPs require that the customer use their e-mail applications and browsers (referred to as a "suite of services"), while others allow more freedom and flexibility to the customer.
How much data storage capacity do you have?
All ISPs require their customers to install software on their computers to allow the customer to interface with the service. Find out how much software an ISP will require you to install, as this data will take up space on your computer. Not all ISPs require the same amount of software. As a general rule, the more services the ISPs provides, the more complex the software will be.
How much are you willing to pay?
As a general rule, the cheaper the deal, the less you are going to get, whether that be in connection speed, amount of services in the suite of services that the ISP offers or the amount of technical support the ISP provides. In today's Internet climate, the cheaper services typically supplement customer revenue with ad revenue, so the customer will be bombarded with ads when using the service, thereby keeping the cost of service low but, to some, annoying because of the influx of advertisements. Also, are there one-time set up fees associated with the service? Is the ISP offering any promotions that you can take advantage of? The old standby, "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is," definitely applies here. Be wary of deals that seem to offer more worth than what you are paying for. There may be drawbacks or fine print that are going to alter your Internet experience.
What kind of Internet connection are you using?
Are you using a phone line for connection? A cable line? ISPs that you connect to through a phone line require you to dial into a phone number for connection, so if you have to pay for a toll call to get into the service, you are not only paying the ISP for the service but also the phone company for making a toll call.
Do you want/need "value-added" services?
Some ISPS offer services such as spam blocking and virus protection, at additional costs. Also investigate whether or not the service puts a cap on the size of e-mails you are able to send using the service.
What connection speeds does the ISP support and what do you need?
Determine how fast you need the connection to be, and look at whether or not the ISP can support the speed you need. For example, if you need to FTP large data files across the Internet in a short amount of time, you need a connection with broadband speeds, but if you are only going online to pay your monthly bills, then you probably don't need to pay for high-speed connections.
Is there a length-of-service contract?
Some ISPs require that you sign up for the service for a specific amount of time, like two years, and if you cancel the contract before the time is up you will be charged a fee for ending the contract early.
Does the ISP have a spam policy?
Some ISPs have strict spam policies that prohibit its customers from spamming. If you are concerned about receiving spam, find out how the ISP treats spam and also do some checking to find out if the ISP actually does take action against spammers or is just claiming to do so.
What are the ISPs terms of use?
Carefully read the ISPs usage terms so that you do not unwittingly violate a term of use and cause the ISP to terminate your service. For example, some ISPs will terminate an account for exceeding your specified bandwidth usage.
What are your friends/colleagues using?
Ask around. Unless they work for one of the ISPs, they will give you honest opinions and can help you in making the final decision.
Re: Choosing an ISP Guidelines and Suggestions : Updated 3-28-04
THANKS FOR THE GREAT INFO! I MADE A COPY OF IT! I USED A FRIENDS CREDIT CARD FOR PEOPLEPC SO IF I CAN'T GET THEM BY PHONE SOON MY FRIEND IS GOING TO CALL HIS CREDIT CARD COMPANY AND EXPLAIN THE SITUATION AND SEE IF I CAN GET IT TAKEN CARE OF THAT WAY!
Re: Choosing an ISP Guidelines and Suggestions : Updated 3-28-04
Great information... looks like there's a lot of things to consider. It is also important to make a note of how many hours/month an isp will allow you to use before overtime charges take effect. Most companies have an unlimited plan that they will offer for slightly more money, and this is usually the best way to go, rather than risk substantial charges if you use more time than you are allowed, or leave the connection on by mistake, etc.
Re: Choosing an ISP Guidelines and Suggestions : Updated 3-28-04
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrjm
Great information... looks like there's a lot of things to consider. It is also important to make a note of how many hours/month an isp will allow you to use before overtime charges take effect. Most companies have an unlimited plan that they will offer for slightly more money, and this is usually the best way to go, rather than risk substantial charges if you use more time than you are allowed, or leave the connection on by mistake, etc.
That's quite true... While many ISPs simply shut off an accounts dialup access once an hourly limit has been reached, others will charge overage rates that may or may not be clearly specified anywhere other than the Terms of Service or Acceptable Uses Policy.
Re: Choosing an ISP Guidelines and Suggestions : Updated 3-28-04
I Would Never Sign Up With Any Isp Unless They Were Going To Give Me Unlimited Internet Access. Unless A Person Is Only Going To Do E-mail And Nothing Else Nothing But Unlimited Will Do!
Description: An Internet Service Provider offering Internet access through some sort of proprietary software that typically includes a browser, and email program and other value-added services such as instant messaging, spam filtering, etc. The 'Big Three' proprietary ISPs are AOL, MSN, and Earthlink.
Advantages:
Sometimes referred to as 'Internet for Dummies' after the popular book series, these types of ISPs are typically the first surfing experience for many Internet users. These ISPs have designed their services to be as user-friendly as possible, and require the least amount of technical expertise as compared to the other types of ISPs. Most often, the user only needs an installation CD to walk them through the process of creating an account and configuring the computer.
In addition, many people like the ability to customize their experience (instant messaging, parental controls, pop-up blockers, etc.) within the same software platform, as opposed to purchasing and using third-party value-added services.
Disadvantages:
The main disadvantage of this type of ISP is the monthly cost. Since these companies literally spends millions of dollars to create and continually upgrade their service, they have to recoup this investment in higher fees to their customers.
Also, what's one person's advantage is another's disadvantage, but with these ISPs you are forced into using their entire suite of services. You cannot typically use any other browser or email program than the one they provide for you. For many people this is a limitation.
Another disadvantage of this type of ISP has to do with compatibility issues.. It requires a lot of effort and expertise to develop each version of their proprietary software to be 100% compatible with all operating systems (eg., Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Mac OS 8, OS 9, OS X, etc.). In addition, the software required for these ISPs is typically pretty large and tends to take over the Dial-Up Networking component of the computer's operating system. This means that your computer may run a little bit slower and it may be harder to move to a different ISP since the software doesn't always uninstall cleanly.
Recommendations: If you are less concerned about the monthly fee, like the idea of having everything packaged for you within one platform, and not technically inclined or interested in learning new programs and tools, this type of ISP may be for you.
Description:
An Internet Service Provider offering Internet access with an open platform without the 'bells and whistles' of the proprietary ISPs.
Advantages:
One of the main advantages of this type of ISP is that they do not bundle the browser, email, and other services into one software program like the proprietary ISPs do. This allows you to choose your own browser, your own email program, and whatever other services you'd like to incorporate into your surfing experience (instant messaging, spam filters, POP-UP blockers, acceleration services, etc.) Not only do many people prefer to have the ability to make their own decisions and customize their surfing experience, but another important advantage of this type of ISP is that you pay a lot less for this service because ISPs in this category do not have to go to the expense of creating and updating their own proprietary bundled package.
Many people start using the Internet with one of the proprietary ISPs because they are prolific in their marketing and relatively easy to use. It is very common for users, once they are comfortable with how the Internet and email works, to discover that they don't need all the 'extras' of the proprietary ISPs and end up switching to an ISP in this category.
Since these ISPs use the operating system's dialup profile, there is no need to either download or install the very large software programs that the proprietary ISPs provide. There are also no compatibility issues with these ISPs because you can use the dial up networking component of each operating system, whether it's Windows, Mac, Linux or other.
Disadvantages:
The main disadvantage of this type of ISP is that users do require a bit more technical knowledge and/or a willingness to learn as compared to users of the proprietary ISPs. Value-added services such as instant messaging can still be used, but they are not part of the software platform as they are with the proprietary ISPs. Usually there is a short learning curve when moving to this type of ISP, altough it seems once people do make the switch they tend to not go back to the proprietary ISPs.
Recommendations: If you would like to pay less than $20 per month for Internet access, would like the flexibility to customize your own surfing experience, and have prior Internet experience, you may want to consider choosing an ISP from this category. Most of the time it is a nice balance between the proprietary and the low cost ISP.
Description:
An Internet Service Provider offering Internet access for reduced rates with reduced services.
Advantages:
Of course, the main advantage of the low cost ISP is the price. Many of the ISPs in this category offer Internet service for less than $10.00 per month, some even in the $5.00-$6.00 range. This compares favorably to the proprietary ISPs which are typically between $21.00-$25.00 per month and the mid-market ISPs which are typically within the $12.00-$20.00 range.
Disadvantages:
It should be no surprise that you get what you pay for, and that is the case with the low cost ISPs. It costs money to provide the services that you get with the proprietary and full-service ISPs, and the low cost ISPs generally get around this issue in one of two ways.
First, the low cost ISP will simply not provide the same services, and most of the time what's cut or eliminated is technical support. You may not ever be given access to a live person (all of your problems must be dealt with via email- this can be problematic if the problem is that you can't get online!), you may have very limited support hours, or you may have to pay a pretty hefty cost per minute (often $2.99 or above per minute) to speak with a tech support representative.
The second way that low cost ISPs stay in business is through additional revenue streams, such as the sale of POP UP and banner ads that show up while you are surfing with their connection. Another common revenue-generating tool is heavy email marketing to the ISP's user base and/or the sale of their customer base to other companies for marketing purposes. Make sure to read and understand the ISP's privacy policy if this is a concern for you.
Choosinganisp.com has heard many stories recently about low cost ISPs that enter the market place, grow their business at a rapid pace, then find out that they simply cannot sustain a business with such low margins. Many end up going out of business and leave their customer base suddenly without service. Be aware that the cheaper the ISP, the slimmer the margin and the less likely the ISP will be around for any length of time.
Recommendations: If budget is the bottom line, you are a savvy Internet user unlikely to require much technical support, and you don't mind potentially being exposed to POP UP ads or email solicitations, this might be the way to go for you.
Description:
An Internet Service Provider offering Internet access to a unique community of users, or offering specialized and/or bundled services. For example, there are ISPs who give a certain percentage of their profits to various charities, or who are targeted to religious, atheletic or educational organizations. Other niche ISPs are a mixture of other types of ISPs- they may use proprietary software but also compete on price, for example.
Advantages:
The main advantage of the niche ISP is that the ISP has typically developed itself for a specific community of users. If you are a member of this community, you may find resources and/or benefits from being a customer of that ISP. For example, a niche ISP for a college alumni association might put you on a mailing list and send you a newsletter to let you know of upcoming events.
Disadvantages:
The main disadvantage of the niche ISP are the same things that are disadvantages of the other ISPs. Since the niche ISP can take on any form of ISP, it's best to use our guideline to determine which type of ISP it is and then use that to understand what you would be getting in service.
Recommendations: Make sure to research the ISP to see what kind of service parameters it has before deciding on whether or not it will be right for you.
03-29-2004, 12:50 AM
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