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With hundreds of companies now offering their services and many different packages available, choosing the right Internet Service Provider (ISP) can be difficult. In the first place, you will need to work out exactly what your requirements are. How often do you intend to use the internet each month? At what times will you use it? Do you need web space to create your own website? Most importantly - how much are you prepared to pay? Then you can take a look at the options and find the one that suits you.
Subscription
On a subscription dial-up package, you pay a monthly or quarterly fee to your ISP and also pay phone charges (usually on the local rate) when you connect to the internet. This type of account is likely to be the most reliable of the dial-up packages, with good technical support and access to the full range of your ISP's services.
Pay-as-you-go
This type of package is suited to the web user who wants basic e-mail and a few hours' browsing each month. You are not charged a monthly or quarterly fee by your ISP. You pay only your dial-up phone charges, usually charged at the local rate. Many users of other types of account use a pay-as-you-go account as backup in case their main account becomes temporarily unavailable.
Off-Peak
With an off-peak deal you pay a monthly or quarterly subscription to your ISP but do not pay phone charges for connections in the evenings and at weekends. Connections at peak times are charged at the local rate. These accounts should cost around £10 per month.
Unmetered
Also known as FRIACO (Flat-Rate Internet Access Call Origination). With an unmetered account you pay a monthly or quarterly fixed-rate fee and do not have to pay phone charges. Some unmetered accounts cost as little as £10-16 per month for home users, but almost all of these require a BT line. Performance on unmetered accounts is often poorer than for other dial-up services and you must read the terms and conditions carefully as restrictions may apply, e.g. there may be cut-off times to prevent continuous use, limits to what you can download, etc. It's often wise to pay more for a premium unmetered service that gives you a better contention ratio and has less restrictions.
Broadband
A broadband connection gives you always-on, unmetered access at up to ten times the speed of a dial-up modem. Some of the cable companies offer high-speed access from £25 per month. If you are not in a cable area, or if you are a business customer, you'll probably have to go for ADSL. Prices have been cut significantly recently and you can self-install a package from £20 per month for home-users, although there is usually set-up fee of around £60 and you'll have to pay around £80 for a modem. ADSL is unavailable in many areas, particularly in rural regions, but satellite connections are available from £60 a month. Can I get ADSL in my area?
Some other factors to bear in mind when choosing an ISP are the range of services on offer:
Support: The level of support provided usually depends on the amount you pay for your account. Some ISPs only have online support - others have round the clock telephone support. However, ISPs may charge premium call rates for telephone support (up to £1 per minute) particularly on pay-as-you-go accounts.
E-mail: Most ISPs now offer multiple e-mail addresses. Many also offer web-based e-mail so you can access your account from anywhere with an internet connection. Premium accounts may offer more e-mail services, such as mailing lists.
Web space: Most ISPs provide free web space for customers websites. This is likely to be fairly basic, and you will probably have to pay for a Premium package if you want more advanced features.
Gaming: Some ISPs cater for the online gaming community providing game servers and, in some cases, fixed IP addresses.
ISDN: If you want a faster connection than a 56k modem but can't get ADSL, you can get an ISDN line and terminal adapter. Many ISPs support 64k connections, and some support 128k bonded lines.
UK Orbit internet resources
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Visit UKOrbit's Consumer & Advice Centre for further help and information.
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