Choosing an ISP

The first things you need to consider before choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP) are your needs and potential Internet use. This will determine the type of service that will best suit you. To find a suitable ISP you can start with asking friends and workmates about their experiences. You can also look through computer and Internet magazines, they sometimes provide reviews and rate ISPs.

Costs

ISPs can charge by the hour or per megabyte, this refers to the amount of data you access while on the net. Other charges include registration and set-up fees. If you intend to use the Internet only for e-mail you may find a dial-up hourly rate more appropriate. However if you are going to be on the Net for hours downloading music, video clips and images a flat rate broadband connection may be more economical.

Time plans are usually divided into blocks of 10, 20 or 40 hours at a set rate. If you use up all the time plan hours any extra time will be charged at an hourly rate. You should also look for the minimum incremental cost an ISP will charge. Some will charge in increments of 15 minutes or part thereof. Time plans and hourly rates vary considerably, so you should shop around.

Broadband plans are generally based on how much data you download per month. They can be divided into blocks of megabytes or gigabytes starting around 200Mb and going through to unlimited downloads at a set rate. If you exceed your monthly plan allocation, you may be charged for each additional megabyte you transfer or your download speed may be reduced (“shaped”) for the remainder of the month.

User ratio

For a dial-up internet service, you should ask an ISP the modem to user ratio. This describes the number of modems available for users. If there are not enough modems supplied by the ISP for everyone to use, some users will get an engaged signal when they dial up. An acceptable ratio is 1:12 but below 1:10 is better.

Support

Enquire if the ISP provides user support. This could be helpful if you are new to the Internet. The cost of this facility is usually included in the set-up charges.

Location

With dial-up internet services, each time you dial the ISP you are charged for the cost of the telephone call. The amount of time you spend on the Internet will be reflected in your telephone bill, so ensure you choose an ISP that has a local or 1300 number.

Not all types of broadband connections are available everywhere particularly in rural areas so check with ISPs for services available in your area.

Speed and performance

The speed of data transfer to and from the Internet will depend on the size of the connection that the ISP has to the Internet and the number of people using that connection at any one time. Some ISPs will have different line speeds available for various costs. Dial up ISPs may have peak times when it’s hard to connect. Check with the ISP for the “slow” periods when connection is easier. The speed of a line is referred to as Kps or kilobytes per second. An example of line speed is 56.6 Kps. Another example of line speed for an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) connection is 512/128 Kps. This means you can download data from the Internet to your computer at 512 Kps and upload data at 128 Kps. The speed of transferring data with an ADSL connection also depends on the distance your computer is from the server exchange; the closer you are the quicker your data transfer.

User names and passwords

The ISP will ask you to provide a user name and password when you sign up for dial up Internet. This user ID (identification) will be required each time you access the Internet through the ISP. You should not give this information out to anyone because the owner of the user ID is liable for paying the bills that it accrues.

 

 

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