You try to retrieve your e-mail, but the line to your provider is always busy. Then when you DO get on, downloading your mail and sending out replies seems to take forever. Worse yet, when you or anyone else try to access your web site, an error message appears stating the site not available.

   If your business relies, even a little, on e-mail and the Internet, you will want to take care in choosing an Internet service provider (ISP). All of the problems mentioned happen to businesses each day because of limitations experienced by ISPs.

   Slow lines and connections can slow down service. At the same time, a big increase in subscribers can also clog up ISP equipment. Recently, Kevin's ISP switched to faster digital connections, but a dramatic increase in customers made the new system even slower than the old one had been. A client couldn't figure out why his autoresponder wouldn't work. It turned out that one of the ISP's customers had sent out unsolicited bulk mail, and as a result, ALL of their customers had been blocked by other ISPs trying to prevent junk mail.

   In another case, a business web site disappeared. It turned out that another site on the same ISP had displayed pornographic content, causing everyone on the same ISP to be banned by many services (keep in mind that computers - not people - often make the decision as to what you see and don't see).

   By following these simple guidelines, you can steer clear of all these pitfalls. ISPs are competitive, offering constantly improving prices and features. After reading these guidelines and doing a little shopping around, you may be able to get improved service for less than what you are paying now.

Questions to ask an internet Service Provider (ISP)

1. How long will it take you to respond to an e-mail from me specifying a problem I'm having? With technical support, a prompt reply is the best reply. It is recommended that e-mail be replied to within 24 hours.
2. What type of connection are you using? The fastest current connection to my knowledge is a T3 connection.
3. How long and when is your downtime? This is the time when your pages will not be accessible to anyone.
4. References: Ask people who reside on the server how happy they are with the service.
5. How much? BE AWARE OF HIDDEN COSTS. Read the terms and conditions.

   Finally:

   • Do some comparison shopping
   • Browse some of the web pages on the service provider you are thinking of using to see how quickly these pages download. Repeat this process at different times and days.

   Criteria to use when comparison shopping:

   years in business location no. of subscribers top dial up speed ISDN / ADSL etc. max bandwidth subscriber-to-line ratio no. of support staff hrs of support service start-up fee - dial-up kit included (or cost) cost per hrs/month - dial-up storage of web page - personal max size business to business services virtual servers costs

   web page design site management intranet consulting other services training advertising secure database/web sites/payment web hosting dedicated ISDN connections computer sales/leasing firewalls server parks busy signal policy multiple location access space traffic

   One last note - Some search engine spiders will visit your site to check to see if it is real and online so they can update their database. If your ISP is not responding your site will possibly be deleted from the search engine database and in that situation you have to resubmit your website.

   All the more reason to make sure your ISP is a reliable one.

   Ongoing research

   Spammers, the bane of the internet. If you happen to be on an ISP that allows or ignores spammers, you my be guilty by association. Here's why. When sending email you leave a trace of your actions in the form of an IP address. If for example, you continue to send an enormous amount of email to another company, they may perceive this as spam and block your IP address. You can find out if you're blocked if you receive a email return receipt from the company mailed to stating that your IP address is not allowed to contact their mail servers, or someone who usually gets email from you, sends you a message stating they have not received any messages from you in a while. How could this affect you? When spammers are found out, they are kicked off the system they are using BUT the IP address they have used and abused still remains blocked by systems they have annoyed. YOU could be the next person given this IP address. Get the picture?

      A list of American and Canadian Internet service providers can be obtained via e-mail. Address your e-mail to ISP@Penny-a-Pic.com. The telephone area code of the area of the U.S. or Canada goes in the SUBJECT area. Leave the body blank.

      Another such service, The NetAccess Worldwide List can also be accessed by e-mail. Address your e-mail to: iap-request@best.be and in the SUBJECT area, type: info Again, leave the body blank. You'll receive a comprehensive list of Internet access providers around the world.

   1. The Ultimate Webhost List (UWHL) http://www.webhostlist.com. Great site, although it takes a while to get to the information you need. You can select a number of webhosting firms and compare them side-by-side. The only drawback is that they charge companies for the listings, and overload themselves with animated banners, buttons, flashing signs, etc.

   2. Host Search http://www.hostsearch.com

   3. Web Host Directory - http://www.webhostdir.com

   4. ISP check! http://www.ispcheck.com/shared/index.asp?main

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