What to look for in an ISP

Price is an obvious consideration when you're choosing a dial-up ISP - you want to make sure you're not paying too much for the service or paying for more bells and whistles than you need. Another important consideration is viability. You might be able to get a terrific price from a newer, smaller ISP, but if they aren't around in six months or a year, you may find yourself starting over again.

Also consider the service's track record for customer service. Check out resources on the Web to find about their reputation for providing good customer service and responsiveness to help-desk inquiries. Experienced Web users might not find this a big factor, but if you're new to the dial-up Internet space, it's an important consideration. If you need help or have trouble connecting, you don't want to wait hours for assistance.

Also do research on an ISP's performance. Information such as these testing results help you find out if an ISP's service is generally accessible, and gives optimum performance for downloading and surfing the Internet. Check the ISP's historical performance for download times, Web failures, and throughput. These are all good indicators of what the customer experience will be.

Finally, consider unique needs. Some users find the ability to dial in while traveling a nice bonus. For those who use the Internet for business, not being able to access e-mail or other applications can become costly.