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Internet Service Providers
The last time we looked (Feb 10) at a list of principal UK Internet Service Providers (ISP's), there were over 90 out there - and these were just for broadband! For dial-up access, there were more - a lot more! These range from smallish outfits to large national groups and companies. The range of services was huge as well with some companies offering just 512k broadband access only to business and domestic packages up to 8Mb/s - not that 8Mb/s is available yet, but that's another story.
So which one do you choose? Which one offers the best package for you? The question is a good one, but there is no easy answer. Virtually every week someone comes out with a new deal that could include fast download speeds coupled with free weekend telephone calls and so on.
According to the published figures, (ISP Review UK - February 2010 - www.ispreview.co.uk) the top ten ISP's as far as the number of subscribers are:
- BT Retail (PlusNet, Brightview) - 5,008,000
- TalkTalk (CW) & AOL - 4,115,000
- Virgin Media - 4,027,100
- Sky Broadband (BSkyB) - 2,404,000
- Orange - 899,000
- 02 (Be Unlimited) - 527,126
- Kingston Comms (Eclispe Karoo) - 178,200
- THUS Group (Demon) - 93,000
- Entanet - 92,000
- Zen Internet - 90,094
Being on this list doesn't prove a lot of course, all it really does prove is that advertising pays! Most of the list have advertised heavily one way or another, usually on the TV. Everyone has their personal favourite, just like everyone has a horror story to tell or they know someone who has one to tell!
The fact is that whichever one you choose, you will either be really happy with them or really sad. Customer services is a huge bone of contention, or the lack of, to be precise. Call centres make up a huge amount of complaints I hear about ISP's - especially the one's located overseas. The sooner companies realise that placing calls through to an overseas call centre where the operator's first language is not English doesn't always go down well with consumers, the better we will all be. Until then we are stuck with them, regrettably.
Back to business. Choosing an ISP means you have to shop around. Don't accept the first offer they throw your way, haggle! There is nothing wrong with throwing in a better offer from a rival company and see what happens. If they price-match, great, if they don't, go elsewhere. Vote with your cheque book / credit card - whatever it takes.
What can I expect for my money?
Dial-up. The minimum you can expect is an e.mail address or even up to five, free. You can expect a reasonable 'up time', that is the amount of time the ISP's servers are working and online (about 97%+), and in some cases even free web space for you home-made website. You should get 24 hour technical support, even if you are just using dial-up access.
Broadband. All the above, plus you should be looking at (at least) 1Mb, maybe 2Mb broadband access, a free modem, free connection and a waiting time of no more than 2 weeks before you become 'active'.
Technical support. You will be asked to ring an expensive national rate call centre for telephone support - watch out as the bill will mount up while you wait in a seemingly endless queue. If at all possible, e.mail your question, assuming it's not urgent, and await a full reply.
The Contract
Most ISP's like to tie you into a contract that is at least 12 months long, more commonly 18 months. You can cancel of course, especially in the first 14 days when you should have a 'cooling off' period. After this, cancelling your contract can be difficult, and if you are choosing another ISP as a replacement, getting continuous connection (asking for the MAC code), can be tricky, if not impossible (AOL). If you do cancel your contract early, you may have to pay a financial penalty.
How can I get online?
Visit virtually an High Street major retailer these days and they may offer a free disc (usually by the checkout) from their tame ISP. AOL are great ones for doing this. Personally I wouldn't touch AOL with a twenty foot barge pole, but that's me. Anyway, pick up a free disc, pop it into your computer's CD drive and it will start it all off for you. Easy! You will be asked to choose an e.mail address, a password, and all being well, the set up is done for you automatically.
Once you have been online for a while the ISP can provide you with Broadband access at this week's special offer - whatever that is. It's up to you to choose the package and the ISP you want, you don't have to use the same one as your dial-up provider.