How To Pick Your Internet Service Provider provided by pageland.com

Contents Overview Glossary of Terms Selection Criteria Technical Staff Connectivity Issues Technology Build Or Buy Network Center (NOC) Organization "Non-Profit" Customer Base Comparison Shopping Web Hosting Services Conclusion Other Links

Build or Buy? Another worrisome syndrome to watch out for is the "Control Freak." Some providers claim that they need to run even the lowest layers of their network to deliver quality service. This is simply not true. The truth of the matter is all Internet service providers rely on one or more telephone companies to assemble "their" network. The only way for any company to build "their own network" is to physically dig their own trenches and lay their own fiber into the ground. The only real question is at which physical link or transport level your potential service provider buys from the much larger phone companies. If the lower level infrastructure and service (such as T-1, T-3, Frame Relay or ATM ) needed to support an Internet service provider's value added service is offered by a phone company, it's not cost effective or in the best interest of the provider's customers for the provider to even think about building and operating it. The provider simply can not match the economy of scale that comes with being a phone company. If your provider has chosen to build something when they could have bought a more reliable service more cheaply, why should you have to pay for their misplaced priorities? (If they can do it better and cheaper than the phone companies, why aren't the phone companies buying it from them?) The job of an Internet service provider is to manage and maintain your IP/OSI level connectivity. Look for strong relationships and partnerships between your Internet service provider and the nation's host of Alternative (Bypass), Local (RBOC), and Long Distance (IXC) carriers.