How to Choose Best ISP for Your Needs

Well, the Internet access industry is starting to shake its way out. The much-anticipated consolidation of access providers is nearing its end. In broadband, this means that most users have little or no choice of providers. Though many of the changes have been hard on user choice, this is not necessarily a bad thing. In some cases, it's better to have one stable and pricey provider than 100 unstable, cheap providers. The shakeout was painful for scores of users who often were left with no connection when they needed it most. And some providers left standing don't exactly have good track records, either.

Still, there is reason for users to be optimistic about the future. The following is an outline of the way the Internet access business should go in the coming year. I provide it to give you a better understanding of where you should go now, assuming you want to stick with the same internet access provider for at least a year.

Don't ditch dial-up

A lot of users were glad they hung on to their dial-up accounts in the midst of uncertainty with their broadband connections. When things go bad with broadband (as they often do), you at least can get e-mail, if not a quick scan of the headlines in text-heavy Web sites.

If you have a dial-up account, and you're paying less than $20 for it, consider it a blessing to have a back-up system. At the very least, when you need to reach tech support for your broadband account and you can't get through due to heavy call volume, you can e-mail them from your dial-up account. Things to look out for in dial-up:

Go with a provider that has been around long enough to quickly respond to such issues as software upgrades and peak calling volumes.

Read the fine print before signing. Some ISPs will disconnect you after a relatively short amount of time of idleness. Others let you stay online as long as you're actively engaged. Still others never disconnect users. The last is preferable; the middle option usually offers the best value.

Check out Boardwatch magazine's ISP Directory to see how much infrastructure you will be paying for. Make sure your chosen ISP has an acceptable ratio of modems to users. Three users for every modem is acceptable, considering that it is unlikely that all their customers will dial up at once. o Match prices with the ratio of modem pools to users.

Check out options such as personal Web site services and multiple addresses. These are nice to have and can add value to your experience as long as you use them--provided they're bundled in.

DSL doldrums

Of all the access methods, DSL has received the most scorn since I've been at this job. My own experiences were horrendous, and I'm not alone. It works great for about 20 percent of the population who are geographically blessed. It works OK for another 30 percent or so of the population, who may have to endure some line noise in order to get DSL. And it doesn't work at all for the other half. Couple its inherent technical limitations with DSL providers falling off the wires like shocked birds, and the situation has not been pretty.

Still, those providers that have made it through the shock test should be able to offer a good experience (with the exception of Qwest). Consider DSL carefully and you will avoid a lot of pain.

Some DSL issues you should consider:

Talk to a neighbor about their DSL experience. Do they have a lot of line noise on the phone even with the filters? Did they have any equipment or network problems with their provider? If so, did they get put on hold and shuffled around through tech support when they called in? Was their DSL provider able to support a variety of platforms, or was it basically Windows-only?

Consider an ISP for DSL service.

The Baby Bells, such as Qwest and Verizon, are not well equipped to deliver DSL service. Even though smaller ISPs may only resell DSL service from Baby Bell providers, they at least provide a live human being when things go wrong. Because the Baby Bells know the cost of supporting DSL users, they can offer DSL to ISPs much more cheaply than they can offer it directly to users. So you can often get a price break from ISPs, especially if you're willing to accept a slightly slower connection.

Mary works in US for a media company, occasionally writing for the biggest cheap internet access news portal, and drinking too much coffee.

Internet America Reports Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA Profit for the Quarter ... MarketWatch (press release) Internet America is a leading Internet service provider serving the Texas market. Based in Houston, Internet America offers businesses and individuals a wide array of Internet services including broadband Internet delivered wirelessly and over DSL, ... and more »

SUSSEX: Residents may benefit from Comcast program Delmarva Now MILTON -- A little more than five months after its inception, Comcast's Internet Essentials program -- an initiative to give low-income families affordable access to broadband Internet at home -- has proven to be a success. and more »

LSU AgCenter helping rural areas connect to Internet Alexandria Town Talk Connect My Louisiana is a broadband Internet education and awareness initiative for Louisiana through a partnership between the Louisiana Division of Administration's Office of Technology and the LSU AgCenter, according to Dwight Landreneau, ... and more »

New players are shaping the future of Web TV Crain's New York Business Finally, Nielsen came out with its third-quarter 2011 Cross-¬Platform Report, which showed a spike in the number of TV viewers who have broadband Internet service but no cable subscriptions—and who stream video more, and watch TV less, than the ... and more »

CNET UK

Tesco offers unlimited broadband for £2.50 Total Telecom Tesco Broadband on Monday launched a low-cost price plan that offers unlimited Internet access to UK customers for just £2.50 per month. The 12-month deal is available until 31 May to members of the UK supermarket giant's loyalty scheme. Tesco unlimited broadband now £16.25 per monthCNET UK Tesco launches cut-price broadband dealuSwitch.com (Tech) all 8 news articles »

Ultrafast broadband in Hamilton from July Waikato Times In the last six months Ultrafast Fibre has laid 90km of ultrafast broadband fibre optic cable in Hamilton and will have laid a further 15km by the end of the month at the rate of 793 metres per day. At the test centre internet service providers, ...

First White House CTO Aneesh Chopra resigns Computerworld He worked on modernizing the federal government's IT infrastructure, pushed for a nationwide public safety broadband network, helped develop Internet policy and assisted in implementing Obama's open-government strategy, said John Holdren, ... and more »

SuddenLink rolls broadband usage caps in Texas FierceCable SuddenLink Communications is beginning to notify its high-speed Internet subscribers in Texas that it will place caps on their broadband usage. The cable MSO first announced the controversial usage cap strategy last October, saying that it would hit ...

State to get faster Internet Oxford Press By Kelli Wynn State officials are still determining how much they will charge individual institutions to have full access to Ohio's soon-to-be improved broadband network . “We don't have our cost breakdowns yet,” said John Conley, chief of educational ... and more »

ZCorum Taps Incognito for Back-end Data Collection and Configuration Management San Francisco Chronicle (press release) In addition to diagnostics, ZCorum offers broadband providers other managed services for their subscribers such as email hosting, Voice over IP (VoIP) and 24 x 7 technical support for the end-user. ZCorum provides broadband Internet and communication ... and more »