The Cheap or Premium ISP
http://www.theispreport.com/articles/11/1/The-Cheap-or-Premium-ISP--/Page1.html
The ISP Report
By The ISP Report
Published on 01/18/2008
Source: The ISP Report Staff Writer
As I wander around the Internet, I have come across the question "Is a Cheap ISP really worth it". I hope this article can help people come to a decision before making the wrong one. Let us start by talking about Cheap ISPs what makes an ISP fall into this category. It is relatively simple, Price and features.
As I wander around the Internet, I have come across the question "Is a Cheap ISP really worth it". I hope this article can help people come to a decision before making the wrong one. Let us start by talking about Cheap ISPs what makes an ISP fall into this category. It is relatively simple, Price and features.
Source: The ISP Report Staff Writer
As I wander around the Internet, I have come across the question "Is a Cheap ISP really worth it". I hope this article can help people come to a decision before making the wrong one. Let us start by talking about Cheap ISPs what makes an ISP fall into this category. It is relatively simple, Price and features.
Some Cheap ISPs might not offer the bells and whistles of the more expensive ISPs like email accounts, web space, nationwide access numbers, Telephone Support and remote web mail.
Why do people go for the cheap ISPs? It is simple, cost; many consumers do not want to pay more then $10.00 per month for their Internet Service so they look for companies who offer low-cost services such as Access4less and Netzero. The downside to selecting a cheaper ISP is you might not get the quality of service you will want and need from them.
One downfall is many consumers tend think "oh I'll never use the support" but in all reality, most consumers will need support at some point during the lifetime of their account and email only support might not suffice their needs.
Cheap ISPs often use managed ports from wholesale carriers like ICG and Level3 or an aggregator like Globalpops, they will purchase "X" amount of ports or "capacity" for all the dialup numbers available on the wholesalers network.
Example 1: The cheap ISP purchases 50 nationwide ports from the wholesale carrier, this will give the ISP the ability to support 50 concurrent online customers, but 500 customers running a 10:1 modem ratio. The downfall can be the 51st person who tries to get online will more then likely receive an error 691 message leaving them frustrated.
Example 2: The cheap ISP could signup with the wholesale provider and utilize per user or per hour pricing, the downside to this method could be the wholesale provider will not manage their usage correctly resulting in the cheap ISP to take the downfall and leave the customers frustrated with authentication and surfing problems.
On your quest to find the right ISP, keep in mind a few things:
1.) If the ISP offers a Trial Period (USE IT). 2.) Don’t pay for more then one month at the beginning. 3.) Do they offer 24x7 support? If so what are the average hold times? How fast are support related emails responded too?
Do not get me wrong Cheap ISPs are on the up rise and gaining hundreds of new customers daily and a few cheap ISPs actually offer quality support and services. Nevertheless, customers who want the bells and whistles, the most comprehensive and knowledgeable customer support will often find the best results with a more expensive Internet Service.
One important last thought, keep in mind almost any ISP will have problems on some kind of level. You get what you pay for.
(C) 2003 The ISP Report.
As I wander around the Internet, I have come across the question "Is a Cheap ISP really worth it". I hope this article can help people come to a decision before making the wrong one. Let us start by talking about Cheap ISPs what makes an ISP fall into this category. It is relatively simple, Price and features.
Some Cheap ISPs might not offer the bells and whistles of the more expensive ISPs like email accounts, web space, nationwide access numbers, Telephone Support and remote web mail.
Why do people go for the cheap ISPs? It is simple, cost; many consumers do not want to pay more then $10.00 per month for their Internet Service so they look for companies who offer low-cost services such as Access4less and Netzero. The downside to selecting a cheaper ISP is you might not get the quality of service you will want and need from them.
One downfall is many consumers tend think "oh I'll never use the support" but in all reality, most consumers will need support at some point during the lifetime of their account and email only support might not suffice their needs.
Cheap ISPs often use managed ports from wholesale carriers like ICG and Level3 or an aggregator like Globalpops, they will purchase "X" amount of ports or "capacity" for all the dialup numbers available on the wholesalers network.
Example 1: The cheap ISP purchases 50 nationwide ports from the wholesale carrier, this will give the ISP the ability to support 50 concurrent online customers, but 500 customers running a 10:1 modem ratio. The downfall can be the 51st person who tries to get online will more then likely receive an error 691 message leaving them frustrated.
Example 2: The cheap ISP could signup with the wholesale provider and utilize per user or per hour pricing, the downside to this method could be the wholesale provider will not manage their usage correctly resulting in the cheap ISP to take the downfall and leave the customers frustrated with authentication and surfing problems.
On your quest to find the right ISP, keep in mind a few things:
1.) If the ISP offers a Trial Period (USE IT). 2.) Don’t pay for more then one month at the beginning. 3.) Do they offer 24x7 support? If so what are the average hold times? How fast are support related emails responded too?
Do not get me wrong Cheap ISPs are on the up rise and gaining hundreds of new customers daily and a few cheap ISPs actually offer quality support and services. Nevertheless, customers who want the bells and whistles, the most comprehensive and knowledgeable customer support will often find the best results with a more expensive Internet Service.
One important last thought, keep in mind almost any ISP will have problems on some kind of level. You get what you pay for.
(C) 2003 The ISP Report.