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A large
number of ISP's claim to have the best service, the
best news groups and the best customer service but few can
actually deliver on that promise. When selecting an
ISP you need to look for a provider that can deliver true
Residential ISP AR service.
There are a variety of technologies in use today that allow
service providers to claim Residential ISP AR Service.
The most common is still dial-up ISP service coupled with the use of software based compression
solutions that determine the type of files you are receiving
when browsing the Internet and reduce the size of those
files so your browsing experience is faster because you are
actually downloading a smaller amount of data.
Another type of Residential ISP AR compression technology is
client/server based compression and caching which
combines data compression with caching of content nearer to
the edge of the network. That way you not only have faster
ISP service because you download less data but the data is
also closer to you.
Residential ISP AR services also include DSL and Cable modem
high speed service. These services can allow download
speeds in excess of 3.0 Mbps with ADSL and Cable modem, with
various upload speeds depending on your plan type.
SDSL service by comparison allows for the same speed
regardless of direction (upload or download) and is more
appropriate for business or small office / home office
applications.Other factors that you should
consider with any Residential ISP AR:
- Cost of access - Since most ISP's purchase access from
the same wholesale carriers your actual Internet access is
nearly identical so cost is an important difference.
- Customer service - If you are an experienced Internet
user you may never need to contact support. However,
if you do you want them to be available 24x7.
- Email, Newsgroups, Web-hosting - These "extras" are
going to be of varying importance depending on your needs.
Your primary provider should deliver at least email
service for you, multiple accounts if they are a higher
priced ISP (AOL) or fewer for the more budget sensitive
ISP's (NetZero, Juno, etc.)
- Connection Software - While not required to
access the Internet (Don't tell AOL you know this), it can
make connecting much easier. This is especially true
for users that travel with their ISP account. ISP access on the road is very nice,
particularly if your connection software carries a
nationwide or International access number list to choose
from.
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