All Internet Service Providers are definitely NOT alike. There are many factors involved (and should be involved) in order to make the choice of a provider a good one for you. Here are some of the factors that you should consider:

1) Price - Most people start here, but you can easily get blinded by a low advertised price that has many hidden charges or restrictions. Make sure you are aware of any restriction on the service you are considering such as time limit per day, only good during certain hours of the day, only good for some Internet services, price only valid for the first month, to mention but a few.

2) User Ratio (Dial-Up Accounts) - Here is one of the most easily confused, and misleading terms that is used. DO NOT Be Fooled by outlandish claims of low ratio and extensive time allocations per month. What Internet Service Providers want you to get from this number is a feel as to how easy it will be to get a line to one of their modems when you want it. If every supplier offered the same number of hours to each user, this would be a factor you could directly compare suppliers with, but the simple truth is that all suppliers do NOT have the same service packages. If a supplier offers 50 hours per month of access and claims to have a user to modem line ratio of 10:1, this translates into 500 hours per month of time being sold for per line. Each month there are approximately 30 x 24 = 720 hours available. The above example illustrates that the supplier is not expecting the line to have to be busy 24 hours a day to reach the maximum allocated time. Take an example of a service offering 90 hours per month. If the provider claims a 10:1 ratio, that means 900 hours per month are being sold per line, 180 hours more than there are even available if the line was busy 24 hours a day, every day of the month. The problem gets even worse if a provider claims unlimited time per month and ten users per line.

3) Technical Support - All providers will tell you they provide technical support, so you need to ask a few more questions to get a feel for just what it is they offer. Who do you talk to when you phone for assistance, is it someone that can help you or just someone to take a message. Is the support available locally if you need personal contact.

4) Modem Speed - Does the supplier use modems that are current. At the moment, 56 kbps is what you should expect.

5) Setup Fees - Some providers have a setup fee, some do not. When comparing, it is often a good idea to amortize the fee over the first years cost of service. A modest setup charge adds one to three dollars per month the first year on a personal account, and nothing in subsequent years. Find out if software is included as part of getting a new account, and if so, what does it include. Many, many hours and dollars can be spent finding the right software to take advantage of the Internet. Determine what level of technical support is included with a new account, is it simply the normal support or is there something extra to get you going.

6) Contract Length - Find out what the minimum contract time is you can purchase. You may not wish to purchase a year in advance if you are new to the Internet. If you do decide a yearly contract makes more sense to you, does the supplier offer a discount for purchasing a year worth of service.

7) Business Connections - Are other services available above just providing a connection, such as routers, custom domain names (not just an extension to the providers name), high speed connections, etc.

8) Type of Operation - Ask the supplier if you can visit them, personal contact can be an important factor in giving you a feel for the kind of business you are dealing with. Is the supplier a ‘basement’ operation that could disappear as fast as they appeared. Does the supplier operate in other locations, and if so, how many, this can be a good indication of company strength, commitment, and expertise.

9) Referrals - Does the supplier offer some kind of incentive for you to attract more customers. If they do, find out what the incentive is and will it benefit you.

10) Network Access - Is the service provider just that, or is the ‘provider’ just buying access from another provider and reselling it, adding yet one more layer between you and Internet. A provider that has multiple backbone connections has the potential of supplying a far superior quality of connectivity that one that just resells another carriers connection.

Consideration of Price is just one of a few critical issues that must be explored before choosing your gateway to the Internet. If you are an experienced computer user, price, user ratio, network access, modem speed, and the type of business you are dealing with are likely your main concerns. If you are a new user to computers, the personal contact and technical support capabilities should carry additional weight. The bottom line is that mass access to the Internet is relatively new, and as such there are vast differences in what various Internet Service Providers offer, do a bit of investigation, it will pay off.

How Does IGS stack up to the above criteria ?
You be the judge; here are the facts.

1) Price - The dial-up price schedule is available to evaluate in a simple to read form.

2) User Ratio - IGS KW has not had busy signals due to a lack of lines in many years, it just isn't a factor any more.

3) Technical Support - Both telephone and walk-in support is available during office hours, until 6pm weekday evenings.

4) Modem Speed - IGS supports regular dial-up to 56 kbps and higher speeds over special lines.

5) Setup Fee - IGS has some setup fees associated with advanced business services, the regular dial-up accounts do not have setup fees.

6) Contract Length - Contracts for as little of 3 months may be obtained for all but the low cost dial-up ultra-lite Plan (6 months). Yearly payment plans are available for all Dial-In and On-Line services significant savings.

7) Business Connections - IGS can provide a router, either rent or buy for your site, custom domain names are available such as mycompany.com, web hosting and design, secure web server for sensitive information, and other custom services.

8) Type of Operation - You are always welcome to visit the IGS office, we are locally owned and operated and have been in business since 1995.

9) Referrals - IGS offers an extensive bonus plan to those bringing in new customers, you may never pay for access again.

10) Network Connection - Information Gateway Services has its own network, monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a weeks that connects directly to many carriers providing full Multi-Homed hosting.

11) Platforms - IGS has experience with ALL the major machines and operating systems.

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