This article appeared in the May 2002 WYSIWYG newsletter.
Questions To Ask A Prospective ISP
by Don VanSyckel
I have put together a list of questions to ask a prospective ISP. I am going to attempt to get support to request our state legislators to pass a law requiring ISPs to provide the answers to these questions so that the average consumer can have a chance of informed shopping.
Questions to ask a potential cable provider:
| SPEED: | |
| • | What is the maximum speed down? (want more than 1 Megabit) |
| • | What is the minimum guaranteed speed down? (want more than 400 Kilobits) |
| • | Is there a limit on the amount of data down? (want no limit) |
| • | What is the maximum speed up? (want more than 1 Megabit) |
| • | What is the minimum guaranteed speed up? (want more than 400 Kilobits) |
| • | Is there a limit on the amount of data up? (want no limit) |
| EMAIL: | |
| • | What is the maximum size of the email inbox? (want more than 20 Megabytes) |
| • | If there is a limit can more be purchased and what is the price schedule? |
| • | What is the maximum size for email messages received? |
| • | What is the maximum size for email messages sent? |
| • | What is the maximum number of email message recipients? |
| • | How many email addresses are included? |
| • | Are more available and at what price? |
| • | Does each email address have it's own inbox space? |
| • | Can email be accessed from the internet versus the company network? |
| NEWS SERVER: | |
| • | Is a news server available? |
| • | Do you filter or censor news groups available in any manner? |
| • | Do you filter or censor news content in any manner? |
| • | Is news content download amount or speed limited? |
| WEB HOSTING SPACE: | |
| • | Is web hosting space included? |
| • | Are there limits on delivering content (amount)? |
| OTHER FEATURES: | |
| • | Are there any other features available that were not already covered? |
| • | File storage? |
| • | Web page design tools? |
| CABLE MODEM: | |
| • | Is the cable modem supplied in the base price or is it rented? |
| • | Does the network connection of the cable modem support 10/100? |
| • | Can a user supplied cable modem be used? |
| • | Is the cable modem a complete stand alone device not requiring any specialized software on the PC just to complete the connection? |
If you have any questions or comments, contact me. Also if you would like to help with promoting this cause let me know.
End of Article