A Guest Post by By Lana Calloway
A solid and dynamic Internet Service Provider (ISP) has become vitally important within, and central to, a world that is fundamentally wired. Nearly the entire globe has gone mobile and taken up residence within clouds, so to speak. A sound IT infrastructure is the very backbone that keeps the world standing erect and walking with ease.
For individual consumers, companies, and governments alike, a reliable ISP is what allows for the luxury of internet connectivity, or connectivity with global neighbors. But with such a plethora of Internet Service Providers to choose from, how do you narrow down your choices and evaluate/compare them effectively? It’s easier than you think. Following are five suggestions for how to do so.
1. Listen To The Grapevine Just as the internet connects us across enormous boundaries, so does word of mouth. Ask your neighbors who their Internet Service Providers are, and ask them for pros and cons. Pay special attention to what your neighbors have to say about a particular Internet Service Provider’s customer service standards as well as their ability to rectify customer concerns. Follow up by researching the ISP’s website, namely its support forums.
2. Uptime Commitment While you’re researching a prospective ISP’s website, check their service recovery policies: do they give credit for outages and missed service? Do they offer prompt tech service, or a 24 hour help desk? What is their live reaction time to dire emergencies, such as modems killed by lightning strikes? Confirm what these stipulations are and determine if they are actually in writing.
3. The Price Is Right Make sure prices and corresponding services and packages are visible upon the ISP’s website. An Internet Service Provider who lacks transparency will prove to be your worst nightmare down the line. If specified combos and prices only apply during a certain window of time, this should be disclosed up front as should all fine print, including info about multi-year contracts.
4. Light Speed Downloads Size may not count, but speed certainly does. The last thing you want to have to do is wait for your snail of an internet connection to catch up to your clicks and any other web surfing demands you place upon it. An ISP worth its weight in salt should easily be able to provide download speeds up to, or greater than, 50 Mbps. 5. Flexibility If you should take it upon yourself to use your own network equipment, your chosen Internet Service Provider should be totally capable of accommodating this fancy. Your Internet Service Provider should supply modems for purchase or rent, and should also offer you the choice to refuse both scenarios in lieu of using your own modem.
Take your time and gather all the info you require. Feel free to consult liberally with ISP salespeople, and don’t commit to an ISP until all your questions are properly, fully addressed.
