How to Choose an Internet Service Provider

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Choosing the computer hardware and software for Internet access is the easy part. Selecting an Internet provider is the hard part. There are literally thousands of "onramps" to the Internet, each with their own pricing structures, advantages, and disadvantages. I'm not going to recommend any specific provider in this report. Instead, I'll go through the steps you should take in order to weed out the providers who won't do the job for you, and find the ones that will.

First, you should know about the different types of accounts you can get. Not all service providers will be able to provide all types of accounts. The most common types of Internet accounts are (in relative order of expense):

>Email Only - As the name indicates, these accounts are only for sending and receiving email. These accounts are rarely found today, accept in academic institutions.

>Terminal Dial-Up - A connection to another company's system, which, in turn, is connected to the Internet. An example of this is the type of Internet access you have when you use a service like America Online or Compuserve.

SLIP/PPP Dial In - A more direct form of connection, you are connected to a computer with a dedicated connection to the Internet.

Dedicated - The most expensive type of connection, you are directly connected 24 hours a day to the Internet backbone with a phone line.

Which should you choose? It depends on your needs. I would recommend staying away from Email Only accounts, even if that's all you want, as you can usually enroll with America Online or Compuserve for the same money.

If you're only going to occasionally browse the World Wide Web, and will be putting very little, if any, material up on the Internet for viewing or downloading, your best bet may be America Online or Compuserve. However, if you plan to do more serious work on the Internet, including a website for your business, you should get a SLIP/PPP account.

To identify which SLIP/PPP Internet provider to sign up with, you should start locally. Check with local computer stores and computer user groups for the phone numbers of Internet providers within your local calling radius. Call them and get all the details on their services:

>How much they charge - Many will charge a flat rate per month, others will charge a per hour fee, still others will have a combination of both. Some offer lower rates if you pay in advance.

>How many hours of access you get - Most will have a time limit per month, while others offer unlimited access.

>How much storage space - If you want to have a website for your business, you'll need storage space on your Internet provider's hard drive. How much you need depends on your plans, but 58 MB should be sufficient for most people.

>What "extras" do they offer? - Do they provide all the software you'll need, or are you left to fend for yourself? What kind of technical support is available? Do they have a "secure server" (one that can safely be used to send and receive credit card numbers and other sensitive information - important if you want to do business on the Internet)? Do they have autoresponders?

Write all of this information down for each local provider. Next, check the "big" national providers. They can be found advertising in computer and Internet-related magazines. They may have lower rates than the local providers, but they may have two disadvantages: you may have to make a long distance call, which negates the lower rate; and, technical service may be hard to reach, due to volume of calls.

If you have friends who are on the Internet, ask for their experiences with their providers. And, if you can get on the Internet locally (at your library or a local school, for instance), check out The List, which can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.thelist.com

This database contains information on thousands of Internet providers nationwide and worldwide, including pricing, features, local calling information, even comments from users (the most valuable information). Weigh all this information, and take your time. Which provider to use is an important decision.