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UPDATE-Help me find new Internet Service Provider

Colt SuperColt Super Member Posts: 31,007 ✭
edited February 2004 in General Discussion
I've finally had it with MSN - MicroSoft Network - I don't know much about dsl. I've got 2 landlines now. One costs about $30/month and the other is about $34/month. The MSN ISP is $21.95/month.

Anyway, if you can give me some leads for both high-speed and dial-up ISPs, I'd appreciate it. I live in the sticks in NW Oregon.

Thank you for your help.

I SIGNED UP WITH SPRINT DSL - BUNDLED WITH OTHER FEATURES, AND DROPPED ONE PHONE LINE. THEIR SALES GUY MISLEAD ME A LITTLE - I THOUGHT EVERYTHING WOULD BE IN PLACE YESTERDAY - BUT WON'T BE TIL NEXT WEDNESDAY, MAYBE. THIS CREATED OTHER PROBLEMS FOR ME, TOO MANY TO TALK ABOUT.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!

God Bless America and...
NEVER Forget WACO
NEVER, EVER Forget 911
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Comments

  • RugerNinerRugerNiner Member Posts: 12,636 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I just switched to NetZero for $9.95 a month.
    http://www.netzero.net/

    I use BellSouth for my Homepage because it's free. 7 mailboxes and a webpage.

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    sniper.gif Remember...Terrorist are attacking Civilians; Not the Government. Protect Yourself!
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    Keep your Powder dry and your Musket well oiled.
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    This is what my mom uses, it's cheap and she says it's the best dial-up she's had... http://gbronline.net/gbr_*/

    I am on broadband and won't give it up, so I'm not much help...
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • Special OperationsSpecial Operations Member Posts: 25 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Depends. Sounds like you're already spending more than most higher end services. Do you need both terrestrial lines? Are they both run over the same copper pairs, or two separate pairs (ie. new wiring for the second). If you have new cabling for the second you can go with DSL. If they're over the same pairs you might be able to swing IDSL (which is similar). Personally, I have cable at about T-1 speeds, but that depends on the area. Unfortunately with both DSL and Cable, you have to put up with the hacker scourge out there, but firewalls are pretty easy to set up these days. I recommend Cable ($35+/- per mo) and about 150 bucks up front for the router. Then buy a firewall like Black Ice (thats what I use). It's a non-hardware solution.
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  • woodsrunnerwoodsrunner Member Posts: 5,378 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    If they have dial up numbers in your area I can recomend Blue Frog.
    If you sign up please tell them woodsrunner sent you.

    http://my.bluefrog.biz/

    Woods

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  • Colt SuperColt Super Member Posts: 31,007 ✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks, guys. How much should I look to be paying for broadband? I can dump one of my landlines if I do that, can't I?

    God Bless America and...
    NEVER Forget WACO
    NEVER, EVER Forget 911
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  • alledanalledan Member Posts: 19,541
    edited November -1
    http://www.outdoorsunlimited.net/

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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Doug, simply put if you're paying for a high-priced ISP (MSN, Earthlink, AOL) AND have a second phone line to use it with, then you're not talking much difference. If you're thinking of using a cheaper ISP and only one phone line, then it's more expensive.

    I have a service that isn't offered anymore, it's called Sprint Broadband and is a wireless high-speed service. It is incredibly fast downloading (my record so far is a 6 mb file in .88 second), but my upload is capped at around 130 KB/s. I pay ~$48 or so...

    Probably the cheapest you're gonna find broadband is ~$30 and will range up to $55 for standard home-use setups (of course you can have T1 on up, but we're talking regular use here). It sounds to me like you'll break even by using broadband and cancelling a phone line. Remember to get some type of firewall (router or software) if you go broadband as its always-on connection is inviting for hackers.

    I guarantee that once you go to broadband you won't ever want to go back! You'll also find ways to use it you wouldn't dream of on dial-up. For instance, I can look up a phone number online quicker than I can by using the printed white or yellowpages.
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • kimberkidkimberkid Member Posts: 8,858 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have Cox/Roadrunner ... pay $50 per month

    I've been thinking about getting a dial-up service for when I travel or the short term occasions my service is out which is getting rare ...

    ===========================
    Chance favors the prepared mind [8D]

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    If you really desire something, you'll find a way ?
    ? otherwise, you'll find an excuse.
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  • toolmaniamtoolmaniam Member Posts: 3,213
    edited November -1
    I have Juno Speedband dial up for $14.95 per month.

    A dead intruder cannot testify against you in a court of law!

    If they're still moving, put another round in them!

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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The phone company's DSL is significantly slower than cable's broadband at the moment. And dial-up is much cheaper but slower still, for those who do a lot of downloading. MSN and AOL are way too expensive as dial-ups, and their software is terrible. The trouble with Juno and NetZero is that they were raised on advertising, and even now require large ad-laden software installs to dial up. This makes 56k slower than it should be. Also, like every other marketer these days, discount ISPs generally regard every improvement as a luxury option with an extra price tag -- including the new Accelerated feature that pumps up compression speeds on dial-up by 4x to 5x. Like car salesmen, they want extra for it, even though it's becoming the new basic 56k service.

    I was indentured to an MSN contract myself for 2 years and felt liberated when it was over. Couldn't wait to get off it. The MSN browser was a dumbed-down version of their far superior Internet Explorer, and they forced everyone over to MSN webmail in Jan. 2003. Boo. Hiss.

    I finally arranged with a national provider myself to provide a local virtual ISP service with my own domain, mostly in the Fort Wayne area -- mine is national too as part of a national system, but my marketing is going to be concentrated here, in PC shops and cell phone stores. Anyone with a local number in their area, however, can sign up and have me as their provider through FortOnline, and get dial-up internet settings, and settings for your favorite e-mail client like Outlook Express or Netscape -- instead of huge software packages designed to keep you on their own web site, like AOL or MSN. The fastest, most ideal 56k dial-up service lets the Windows dialer make the connection and uses your own browser and e-mail SW. They are far more robust than anything provided by MSN or AOL.

    You can use your own sophisticated Internet Explorer, or Netscape, or Opera, or Firebird -- whatever you prefer. For people, including PC engineers and other serious users, dying for a clean, ad-free 56k connection experience (that is, they're using the 56k modem that came with their desktop or laptop PC) it's a great deal at $9.95, particularly since we just added an "accelerator" at NO extra charge. That's right, acceleration does not have to cost extra.

    Now, new sign-ups who can get a Net 13 or 14 phone number in their local area can choose to download from us an enhancement software product called Turbo that really speeds up by 4x-5x (like NetZero but with no ads and no spyware) the page loading experience. The Speed Test shows it running between 590-900k on web page and graphic loads. It makes a dramatic difference on everything but file downloads and uploads like music or Kazaa stuff, which remain the same, at 56k. But loading GB and other sites, or even your e-mail, is a pleasure with it.

    For free, our Turbo 56k is hard to beat. I'm providing a service I wanted myself for $9.95 a month and no contract (unless you want to pay ahead, in which case the price can go DOWN to $9.00 or even $8.25/mo.). What you get through NetZero -- with ads -- for $15 or PeoplePC for $10.95, with connection hassles, I can provide without ads on a clean dial-up connection using your own PC's software for less money -- and we use the same local phone number system as all the other ISPs. Since most of us spend our serious time doing some kind of browsing or research online, the 5x accelerator allows me to have near-DSL speed while surfing, without the ridiculous price.

    As for a second phone line, I don't need one -- because I picked up a latest-generation 56k Zoom modem with v.92/44 protocols for about $30 at Best Buy, and it has Modem on Hold (MOH), which permits my PC to ring a call through (as long as I have call waiting) and take the call for a minute or more, then hang up and reconnect to the ISP -- or stay on the call and let the Internet disconnect until I'm ready to re-dial -- all with no "Emerson Switchboard" and 20-second limit needed anymore. My Emerson was fried by the first bad lightning storm -- my new modem is lightning resistant.

    Until I really think I need broadband's screaming download speeds for Kazaa enough to pay 5x the MONEY per month, this is going to be sufficient.

    If you want to check for a local dial-up number on FortOnline (my service), you can certainly go to www.fortonline.net if you wish, or some similar local VISP service in your area, and see if there's a local toll-free number in your area. My "start" page is www.fortonline.com. There you'll find things like free AVG virus software, free ZoneAlarm firewall, and free parental control software to download -- even a kids' web browser with surfing protections built in. Why am I doing this? It was a no-brainer to me. I got fed up with the marketers at MSN, Juno, and the rest, and decided there had to be a better way -- I was going to provide a non-greed-based alternative for myself and whoever else is interested. Period. I just had a feeling I wasn't alone in seeing that dial-up costs too much and is usually loaded down with advertising and self-serving products because the poor "consumer" has learned to put up with it. I have no deals with any service I offer on my start page. If it's there, it's because I think people might like a good free firewall or anti-virus tool, or something.

    By the way, if you sign up with a no-contract service like mine, your account is charged for a month upon connection, so you need to be sure you're using a local number and be willing to give it 30 days if you commit, and if you choose not to stay for any reason, cancel during the END of the month and don't log on even for a minute on the 1st of the next month (after midnight Greenwich time) -- the Internet backbone issues a monthly charge in the first minute or two for each month's use.

    Hmm. Thanks for the practice. I need to learn how to tell people about this more briefly.... [:D]

    T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

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  • ATFATF Member Posts: 11,683 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    [V]Offrer,[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:(][:(][:(][:(][:(][:(][:(][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][V][V][V][V][V][V][V][V][V][V][V][V][V][V]

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    It's my cat's world. I'm just here to open cans.

    We got rid of the kids. The cat was allergic.


    ATF,Eagle Guns
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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    ATF --
    Now, now. No harm, no foul. The computer that fields calls at tech support puts calls in order received -- so every time you called tech support back after leaving your first message re: your e-mail help question, the computer put your phone number at the end of the list to have your call returned. 10-12 additional calls to support is enough to keep you languishing at the end of any helpline list. I understand how someone who didn't understand how the helpline works could wonder, but a little patience is a virtue!

    I have best wishes for people in any circumstance and try to help them do whatever they decide is best for them, sign up or not, come or go -- no pressure at all. But "make no mistake," as they say in Washington -- those who sign up with this service (in the thousands around the country among a number of VISPs) think it's "great" -- and are happily getting more features in one place than nearly any other service nationwide provides, especially now that acceleration is included. (By the way -- Our e-mail has BOTH web mail AND POP client access -- people can get their mail a number of ways, online at the website, OR using Mailwasher, OR Outlook Express -- interchangeably! MSN made everyone move from POP accounts to web-based mail last year without any choice.)

    T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

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  • woodsrunnerwoodsrunner Member Posts: 5,378 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    offeror;
    Will fortonline accept a non credit card payment without penalty? I like bluefrog but, they are raising thier rates to the same as yours, so you may get some business. I hate getting nailed $3.00 extra when I pay by check. I can PayPal also. I'd also like to pay in 3-6 month blocks all at once.

    Woods

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  • 96harley96harley Member Posts: 3,992 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    alledan, You da man. That's what I went to little over a year ago. Good service and I support what I like through them.

    "Save the Whalers, they need jobs too."
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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    woodsrunner --

    Last time I checked with Billing they took pretty much any and every form of payment and will give you a discount on the rate if you pay a few months ahead. They just need to receive it before the 1st of a new month when you renew. If you sign up after the 15th of any month, the pro-rate is $6.95 for that first month. I currently have customers getting a lower price by paying ahead in 3, 6 or 12 month blocks. I'm not aware of any surcharge for any form of payment. Just be sure to contact me, if you have any question at all, if you sign on. I'll be happy to provide my phone number by e-mail. Each of us VISPs is to be the first line of support for our own customers. Luckily, I'm a PC nerd already....

    T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

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  • lmfischerlmfischer Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I too live in NW Oregon and the most reliable dial-up provider I've found is Infinity Internet (http://www.infinityinternet.com). Judging by where you live, you may not have broadband capabilities in your area yet so dial-up (or possibly satellite) would be your only option. I would recommend you start by calling your local telephone provider and the cable company and ask them if they offer broadband service in your area.

    Another good dial-up option is Open.org (http://community.open.org/index.shtml), which is run by the Salem Public Library. You should have local access to their network since they serve most of the Willamette Valley. Rates are good and the service is decent.

    Hopefully this helps .


    "No matter how good you are at something, there's always about a million people better than you." - Homer Simpson
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Great Doug... You won't ever want to go back to dial-up!


    The price was about the same as your existing service with the extra phone line isn't it?
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • Colt SuperColt Super Member Posts: 31,007 ✭
    edited November -1
    Altogether, it appears that I will save a total of about $30 on all the services. Plus, I go from a 56Kbps connection to over 500Kbps.

    It still isn't all here, though.

    I kicked MSN prematurely, and had to sign up for the free 30 day trial on PeoplePC till all the Sprint stuff gets here.

    I'm kinda miffed at Sprint, but they WILL pay for my inconvenience.

    God Bless America and...
    NEVER Forget WACO
    NEVER, EVER Forget 911
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  • WarbirdsWarbirds Member Posts: 16,905 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sprint has just pissed off a guy with way too much spare time!!! Vengance will be yours.

    R/

    Dave


    How different the world would be if we could consult the veteran instead of the politician. - Henry Miller
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  • Colt SuperColt Super Member Posts: 31,007 ✭
    edited November -1
    Well... it's finally working. Man is it cool!!! Blindingly fast - about 600 kbps as oppossed to our dial-up connection speed of less than 57 kbps.

    Sprint wound up giving me all the hardware, software, and sent a tech out to do the install for free. They also threw in all the shipping and handling charges and a couple months of credit for the service, as well as all kinds of other stuff.

    I'm happy.

    God Bless America and...
    NEVER Forget WACO
    NEVER, EVER Forget 911
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  • OklahomaboundOklahomabound Member Posts: 829 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Two different computers at two different locations; one with ATT Worldnet(DSL) and the other with Hiwaay.net(ISDN). ATT is nationwide, not sure about Hiwaay.[:)]

    It must be right, or we wouldn't do it this way!
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  • 0311marine0311marine Member Posts: 3,233
    edited November -1
    i just got dsl throu verizon for 29.95 a month plus 2 free months i think the special is still going if you order online

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  • Colt SuperColt Super Member Posts: 31,007 ✭
    edited November -1
    dsl is cool, huh?? I shoulda got it a long time ago. I can now waste my time on the net much more efficiently!!

    God Bless America and...
    NEVER Forget WACO
    NEVER, EVER Forget 911
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  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:I can now waste my time on the net much more efficiently!!

    YEP!! LOL

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain)
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