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99 responses total.

I've been using Isthmus for almost a year now.  At $25 per month for a PPP
account with unlimited time, the prices are pretty good.  Its computers seem
pretty stable.  I think they had a disk crash and were down for a few days
once, but other than that I haven't had any problems with them in that way.
They do from time to time have modems that are doing weird things, but that
can usually be gotten around by busying it out and trying again, or by calling
them in which case they tend to have things fixed within a few minutes.  They
do have occasional busy signal problems, but seem to have that mostly under
control.  I don't think I've ever had to use their technical support.

I'll second Isthmus.   The prices are not the lowest, but the system
is up most of the time, they are upgrading constantly (they're going to
an UltraSPARC and adding 30 phone lines real soon now), and the support
has been pretty good.

Um, ok... so how do we get in touch with them? ;)

I'm happy enough with netdtw, for a permanent dedicated PPP connection.
The guy's a friend, so he helps when something is wrong, and I can page
him at 11:30 on Sunday night if the connection goes down.  No busy 
signals cause I got my own dedicated phone number.

Izzy's phone number is 313-973-2100;  URL  http://ww.izzy.net

i use earthlink...19.95 a month unlimited ppp connection...
never gotten a bust signal...good tech support 24 hours...always been up...
if ya want the # mail me..:)

I also use Isthmus. Like others have said they are not especially cheap.
However they specialize more in business solutions, although clearly they are
selling a lot to individuals. 

They will be putting up a new faster server some time in the next month.
That will definitely be good.

By contrast, I have also seen the setup at provide.net, which is aiming for
the low price point at $15/month unlimited. They offer all the same services
as Isthmus, so why not prefer them? It depends on various things.

I have found service to be slower at provide.net than Isthmus. 
Also you get kicked off if you're idle there after only 10 minutes.
Isthmus recognizes that for serious users, disconnecting on idle is a 
disadvantage. At least they don't seem to have invoked any short-time cutoffs.

I'm continuing to pay the extra and stay at Isthmus.

earthlink is really the best...it is fast, cheap, always able to get through,
and you get a free web site

There's an article in last week's Time Magazine about how the guy who
started Earthlink is undergoing some kind of a net smear campaign because
he's into Scientology, and they're saying that the Earthlink service is
some kind of Scientology front.  (There apparently is no truth to these
rumors)

Isthmus claims to have a 45 minute idle killer, but I haven't found any
evidence of that.

The only thing I can think of to recommend IC-Net is that they provide
Grex's Internet connection.  I find their prices high, service unreliable,
and tech support not particularly helpful.  In some recent user opinion
poll, AT&T was rated tops in user satisfaction.  I think they and MCI
offer $20/mo unlimited service, or $15 if you're a long distance customer
(or maybe it was $25 and $20?).  If you're using an ISP for business work,
I'd lean toward one that provides 24-hour support...it's a real bummer 
when IC-Net's web server goes down at night or on the weekend, and there's
no number to call to ask them to fix it.

Hmm, well, when I installed the AT&T stuff, it broke a lot of other stuff,
which left me distinctly unimpressed.  Also, last time I checked, they
did not have a local nmber for A2 yet - you have to dial a Detroit number.

This item has been linked from Agora 33 to Intro 74.
Type "join agora" at the Ok: prompt for discussion on
general topics.

Isthmus has a pager number to call for after-hours support.  I've never tried
calling it, so I don't know how good they are about responding to pages.

I have been using citynet for about 6 months now.  It costs 26.50 including
tax for unlimited access.  I don't usually get a busy signal and they keep
upgrading their system and offering more services.

get earthlink!! im tellin ya...everyone i know is switching.....e-mail me for
details

I'm on World Wide Net.  The prices are pretty good, and I've never gotten a
busy singal on the Ann Arbor number.  The system has gone down at least once,
and several times it has hung up on my for no reason.  I have not yet bothered
to call tech support to find out why it's hanging up on me.

   does anyone know of an isp in the mt. pleasant area? i have a friend up
there who's looking for one. also, i have a friend in berea, kentucky who's
loooking for one.

Well I can say I ain't happy with Coast.net - I get killed at random.. 
One minute yer talking or DL'ing and the next minue Trumpet is talking to 
itself at high speed.. Bad, bad..

Well, Michnet's got a dialup in Mt. Pleasant, but they aren't especially 
cheap.  I think you can dial 1-800-642-4512 and type 'help' at the 
'host:' prompt for info.  They offer terminal or PPP access, though no 
shell accounts.

   thanks, gull.

I think I'm remembering right that mich.com re-sells time on the michnet
dialups.  You might check with them rathern than michnet/Merit directly.

I've been using provide.net for a couple of months now; cheap, but I'm
really not impressed.  It doesn't like the Macintosh for some reason, 
and refuses to ackowledge that provide.net is a valid address.  There-
fore, I have no e-mail access.  I suppose I'll have to look into another
service.

I just found out about them today.  Sunset Computers is pushing them
heavily.

A friend of mine uses provide.net, and has been very satisfied.  I think
it's in the $15/month range, but I don't remember for sure.

$14.95 per month.  $179.40 in advance for 13 months.  24/7/365 ppp
phone number on request (dunno if y'all apprecitate me posting the #)

Go ahead.

ok.  provide.net ---> new number   (313) 480-4770

Members of HVCN receive unlimited ppp with Isthmus at $19.95/month. You can
go through Merit but I am not sure how many simultaneous Merit users are
possible. HVCN, at this time, costs $25./annum. I will be in touch with
some of you who have been working to help HVCN to discuss your Isthmus
accounts. The discounts are for individuals and non-profits. I have found
Isthmus to be very reliable and rarely get a busy. They are upgrading
to a Sparc Ultra, and are (or have) recently installed a slug of new
28.8 modems (I think they are all 28.8 now). They just added a new 
support person. The vast majority of Washtenaw County is a local call.
They deserve a look.

Internet Ramp out of Flint. They have locals for 'Arbor and my area. Strictly
PPP and above, $15/mo unlimited. Have not been set up yet, so I don't know
how they are. But every time I've test-called their Detroit Area 6 number,
it answered and connected.

why would anyone use anything less than great when you could be using
earthlink?
i should be gettin paid for this huh?
if you do go to earthlink give em my login id..."thing" and dan earles name
and i get a free month....but they have numbers everywhere....

  Earthlink got some odd press lately concerning allegations that it's
controlled by the Church of Scientology.  I think the current mainsteam
opinion is that its founder is a member of the CoS, but that the CoS is
unrelated to the business.  Vehemently anti-CoS people may still want to
steer clear; the CoS has a uniquely nasty history of censorship on the
Internet.

i have heard that all the scientology stuff is fiction
but none the less, it is a affordable-reliable connection

agora item 33 is now linked to consumer item 70

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My MSen shell account is only $20 a month with a $20 start-up.
Which is less than the PPP prices cited in #35.  (That's for
up to 100 hours a month.)

I've been with provide.net since mid-February.  I think they went on-line in
January.  i echo srw's comments...it's full service, pretty good, but nothing
to shout about.  I've never gotten a busy signal, and there have been a few
times when the system was down during their move/upgrade, but that seems to
have been worked out.  I get around the idle time with a program that
"tickles" the connection every 5 minutes.  There is no 24 hr support. 
Business hours are short, but I have the email address of a tech there that
is usually answered in a day or two if I have a problem.  Basically, I think
they're still on a learning curve, but have positioned themselves to serve
the individual niche with low-cost, accessible, access.  The owner once told
me his goal is for no user to ever get a busy signal.  For me, so far so good.

#23:  I'm surprised at your problem with provide.net and a lack of e-mail.
        That's one of their main attributes.  Have they either tried to fix
        it for you or pro-rate your charges?  I use a PC so I have no info
        on Mac problems there.

Anyone with a web browser can check them out at http://www.provide.net.

or call their new number - 313-480-4770 (ypsilanti, mi)

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