What are the differences between ISP's? 

• 1. Speed verses Throughput

Even if you connect at 28.8 or 36k or 46k, different companies offer different throughput...i.e. how fast you can actually download, etc.

A typical 50k connection has a typical throughput of about 25k in the United States. Check your actual speed at Numion's YourSpeed.

Throughput is a function of the quality and maintenance of their equipment, the number of available lines they have, and their connect speed & bandwidth of the backbone provider, and many other factors including the condition of your own phone lines, your local phone company etc. 

There are newer technologies that can increase throughput (see below) and offer a low cost way to load web pages faster.

It is important that if you are going with ISDN, DSL, Cable Modem, etc. you actually try the system for speed in your immediate area (try a neighbor's, friends, etc.). Advertised speed is not delivered speed especially with DSL.

• 2. Busy Signals

Some providers do not have enough phone lines for the volume of business they handle. Ideal ratios are about one modem for every 10 users. Before signing up for an ISP you may want to consider dialing the ISP's number several times between 3PM and 9PM (Busiest Hours). 

• 3. Customer Support

Ever try to call a company with a problem and they won't talk to you? Or they simply have little idea what they are talking about? Many of the providers charge for telephone support. They usually have more knowledgeable personnel. Others may use a 'fulfillment' company, a 3rd party company hiring people who read to you from a script. This is often the case with some of the largest providers. Our recommendation is to try several companies under their free trial plans and call their customer service number to see how long you wait and how knowledgeable the support personnel are. 

• 4. Options

Some ISP's permit or offer individual home pages, Unix-shell, mail alias, informative ISP home pages, news readers, ISDN, 2x, frame relay, or cable modem connections, custom services and other internet services including reduced rates for quarterly/annual payment in advance. Some also offer separate private members only services such as AOL, Prodigy, & Compuserve.

• 5. Downtime

How frequently is the ISP down for maintenance etc. 

• 6. Price

Most ISP's offer unlimited access for a fixed price per month. In addition many offer a lower monthly rate for a fixed, limited number of hours of access. 

• If you don't use your internet connection for much more than email, there may be a lower rate for you. 

• If you are over 65 you may be able to call your provider and receive and unadvertised senior rate. 

• Some companies offer unadvertised student rates. 

 

• 7. Advertising

The "Free" Internet providers, below, let you browse free, but they show you ads as the "price" you pay. They all work but there are tradeoffs. Read our reviews below.

 

Recommended National Companies

- Recommended As Very Good

America Online - Recommended Only If You Are A Beginner Or Want Their Software Interface

New computer user? AOL costs more than most other providers, but if you are a beginner, AOL has some features that for many make it easier to use. Only then is AOL is one of your best bets.

AOL went through their share of growing problems but has improved and become even more popular. Experienced users often find AOL awkward and clumsy but AOL offers their many online services and ISP services for a single, albeit high,  price. Although this price is higher than some other providers, you get what AOL calls more features. Throughput on AOL has improved remarkably as has connect speed. If you just need an ISP and not the online services, maybe another provider would be better, but with all their services, AOL claims to be number one because it offers the most features and with performance that is now better but not the best. 

The merger of Time Warner and AOL permitted enhanced services unavailable on other networks to AOL members.

AOL provides somewhat bulky, but easy to install software. If you need or enjoy a full service bells and whistles full service provider, AOL is an good choice. But only if you are a beginner wanting a full service software interface to the net. Try the ALL-NEW AOL FREE.

 

Other National Companies

MSN

A lot of advertising about the Butterfly does not make this a best buy service. For $31.95 a month it works OK, especially if you have a very fast 1Ghz or better pentium and you are a novice or fairly inexperienced internet user. Not so swell on a slower computer.

Service includes full featured MSN.com or hotmail.com email, the MSN 'Butterfly' software, acceleration service, but on many connect points does not include V.92.

Their free accelerator service does help but its no where near as good as that offered by some other companies (based on our own tests). MSN includes some elegant (but slow) software which does offer advantages for inexperienced users, but for the experienced user we continue to recommend Joi or NetZero above.

Prodigy

Good reliability and fair speed plus good customer support have deteriorated somewhat to fair reliability and fair everything else. $19.95 membership/month or 15.75/month  (annual pre pay).. We recommended Prodigy to our customers from 1988 to early 1999. We used to think prodigy was your best bet. Now we would recommend MSN first and AOL 2nd and NetZero/Juno 3rd (or NetZero & Juno 1st if you want to save money). However Prodigy is not nearly as confusing as AOL or CompuServe, and with an Excite partnership, its may or may not be worth trying Prodigy to see how you like it. Unfortunately Prodigy uses a log on and get going procedure that is slow and very  cumbersome and modifies your dial up and internet software. What more can we say?

Netcom

Good but not excellent speed and fair reliability with supported home page space. Netcom also includes some extra features including home page construction kits. Slower than Prodigy in some parts of the country including Tampa Bay and with more busy signals. However some of our customers and friends do recommend Netcom and its been here a long time and probably is here to stay. Worth a try to check the speed in your area if you can try it under a try for free plan.

ATT

Good but not excellent speed and only fair reliability. Sometimes you can't connect because the phones just ring and don't answer. ATT needs to do some work as they are alienating many smaller ISP customers. Slower than Prodigy in some parts of the country including Tampa Bay. Not what you would expect from the world's largest and oldest long distance carrier. Offer discounted phone prices to internet customers. This is an OK service but its not a great service in our opinion. Try this under a free offer before you sign up for money. We were disappointed to say the least.

CompuServe

CompuServe, the oldest of the online providers and recently purchased by AOL offers a somewhat archaic and slow online service plus acts as an ISP. Their ISP services are good and normally fast with few busy's, but the keyword here is normally. If you are a techie, this may be the online service for you but expect somewhat slow speed on the online service as opposed to the internet pop which is fairly fast. Also expect some cumbersome software that still operates as if its DOS based! Our advice is to skip Compuserve and just sign up for AOL which has become the industry leader in features and product integration.

 

Recommended Companies For
High Speed: DSL / ISDN / T1 / Satellite  & High Speed Alternatives

Alternative, Less Expensive, Methods For Fast Internet Access

We tried MSN which offers High Speed dial up free with their regular dial up service, but the proprietary version MSN is using does not work near as well as Propel which is what Juno users.. Propel does not offer dial up access, only high speed when used in conjection with your existing internet service provider.

 

A totally different way to enhance internet speed is a well rated software product called Dr. Speed which will work with any browser and any internet provider but does not spped up your computer as much as Juno or Propel..

Dr. Speed is from Aluria Software and has been reviewed by McAfee and Tech TV. Dr. Speed optimizes packet size, reduces the need for DNS lookups, and uses other methods to speed up your transmissions.

Neither Dr. Speed or Juno actually increase your bandwidth, they use various (and differing) techniques to increase your throughput or apparent bandwidth.

Dr. Speed is sold with a 90 day money back guarantee and both Juno offer the 1st 30 days for $9.99. If you need faster internet, you may wish to try one or both of these technologies to browse the web faster.