“The challenge of any organization is to build a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another - because the question is not how well each person works, but how well they work as a TEAM!”
Picking an ISP
One of the many "frequently-asked-questions" we receive here at Home Office is to recommend an ISP.
What is an "I.S.P?"
For you newbies, your I.S.P is nothing more than your Internet Service Provider. Your ISP is what connects your computer to the Internet - plain and simple.
There are literally THOUSANDS of ISP's in the world. Some are smaller, area-based ISP's which offer service to customers in their local area or region, while others are International ISP's, offering Internet connection to MILLIONS of customers throughout the world - an example of the latter would be good, 'ol AOL/CompuServe.
Now the size, or customer base, of an ISP has absolutely NOTHING to do with how GOOD or reliable an ISP it is, especially for the needs of us Internet marketers.
AOL/CompuServe are notoriously "anti-Internet-marketer," for example. Their ridiculously restrictive policies on what constitutes spam make these big boys almost totally unsuitable for doing business on the Internet, and almost NO professional marketer uses them.
So "big" does not necessarily mean the "best."
Now the Big Dogs Home Office, for a number of reasons, cannot recommend a SPECIFIC ISP for you. BUT...what we CAN do is offer a number of guidelines for you to make an informed decision.
First of all, you need to understand that every ISP "connects" to the Internet in one of four different ways:
1) dialup
2) cable
3) DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
4) satelliteA "dialup" connection is in a class by itself. A dialup connection connects your computer to the Internet via the good old telephone line. You are NOT connected to the Internet at all times - you have to (by way of your computer's internal modem) "dial-up" the connection. When connecting to the Internet using a dialup connection, you'll hear that electronic "beep-bop-boop-beep" sound, followed by a series of squeaks and squawks.
Just a few short years ago, this was the ONLY type of connection to the Internet available. If this is the ONLY type of connection available to you, well, I gotta say I pity you. A dialup connection is S-L-O-W! The maximum speed of a dialup connection is a mere 56kps. That means that it has a capability of transferring information to and from your computer at 56 thousand bytes of information per second.
56 thousand bytes of information per SECOND!? Sounds pretty impressive at first, doesn't it?
On the other hand, cable, DSL, and satellite connections can transfer information at the rate of around 5 MILLION bytes of information per second - about a hundred times faster (in theory). In addition, with these types of connections, you are ALWAYS (24/7) connected to the Internet - you don't have to wait each time you log on.
Now the reality is that these three types of high speed connections do NOT work THAT rapidly. In other words, when switching from a dialup (slow-speed) connection to one of the high-speed types of connections, you will experience an improvement in performance and speed of about five to ten times, NOT one hundred times.
But my, oh MY, what a difference! Think of it this way - a program or file that may have taken thirty minutes to download using a dialup connection, would take a mere THREE minutes with a high-speed connection!!!
So...
One of the first things to consider when shopping for an ISP is connection speed. And a high-speed connection is unquestionably, undoubtedly worthwhile considering.
Now, how do you go about finding an ISP?
There are three basic ways of locating a suitable ISP for your uses:
1) Using the Internet itself,
2) Referral, and
3) Local yellow page listings1) Using the Internet itself.
There are two sites on the Internet that specialize in just this service - finding an ISP to suit your needs. They are located at:and...
Both sites allow you to search among THOUSANDS of ISP's.
But before choosing an ISP, there are certain criteria you need to be aware of. The ISPfinder site offers this brief checklist of things you should find out BEFORE you sign up for a particular ISP:
Cable
1) Is there a setup or activation fee?
2) Is free web space provided? and if so, how much?
3) Is their service agreement month to month/quarterly/annually?
4) What savings are offered for prepay terms?
5) What are their usage policies?
6) Do they provide backup dialup service in case of an outage?
7) Are there any service guarantees?Dialup
1) Is their modem line a local call from your exchange?
2) For your monthly fee, do you get unlimited usage?
3) Is there a setup or activation fee?
4) What type of connection do they have to the internet?
5) Do they provide software to make the SLIP/PPP connection?
6) Is free web space provided? and if so, how much?
7) Is their service agreement month to month/quarterly/annually?
8) What savings are offered for prepay terms?
9) What is the user-to-modem ratio?
10)What are their usage policies?
11)Are there any service guarantees?DSL
1) What is your distance from the nearest Central Office?
2) What happens if the installation is unsuccessful?
3) Is there a setup or activation fee?
4) Is free web space provided? and if so, how much?
5) Is their service agreement month to month/quarterly/annually?
6) What savings are offered for prepay terms?
7) What are their usage policies?
8) Do they provide backup dialup service in case of an outage?
9) Are there any service guarantees?Radio/Satellite
1) What happens if the installation is unsuccessful?
2) Is there a setup or activation fee?
3) Is free web space provided? and if so, how much?
4) Is their service agreement month to month/quarterly/annually?
5) What savings are offered for prepay terms?
6) What are their usage policies?
7) Do they provide backup dialup service in case of an outage?
8) Are there any service guarantees?You'll notice that we have highlighted one guideline that is common to ALL the lists and is even more important than speed of access.
You need to determine exactly what your proposed ISP's usage policies are. Put simply, you need to know how many emails you are permitted to send and receive in a given time period. You see, some ISP's define spam by the number of emails you send (and in some cases, even receive!). For example, at one time, one of THE major ISP's (we won't name names here - LOL) defined spam as sending out more than 25 emails in a thirty minute period! Ridiculous, I know, but this is what you need to know BEFORE you sign up for an ISP.
It certainly doesn't hurt to actually contact your proposed ISP by phone and ask them what their usage policies are. And be honest with them - you certainly have nothing to hide. Explain to them that you are an Internet marketer, and as such you send and receive thousands of emails each day. However, all the emails that you send are mailed according to very specific guidelines, and do NOT constitute spam.
You might also ask them what their procedures are on spam complaints - would they shut you off without warning, or do they give you a chance to appeal the complaint.
2) Finding an ISP by referral.
You probably wouldn't buy a new car or a camera without getting some feedback from some of your friends, would you? Likewise, ask your fellow associates on the Internet if THEY can recommend an ISP with whom they have had good experience.3) Finding an ISP with the Yellow Pages.
Generally speaking local ISP's found through your local yellow page directory are easy to reach, easy to talk to, and, because they are "hungrier" can often be more amenable to the needs of Internet marketers.SUMMARY
Another criteria that I PERSONALLY use when dealing with ANY Internet related company is ..."Can I talk to 'em on the telephone!?" Now, maybe you think I'm being old-fashioned, but I just like the idea of being able to talk to a living, breathing human being - someone I can contact when a problem arises (and on the Internet, there are ALWAYS unforeseen problems.) When dealing with an ISP, especially, I consider the availability of 24/7 TELEPHONE tech support to be vital.
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