| Name: | Raymond T. Kaya |
|---|---|
| Date/Time: | 2006-05-22 at 05:41:31 HST |
| Subject: | Dial-up ISP Service on Oahu - Buy Local? Buy Cheap? |
| Times Read: | [372] since 2008 April 12 |
I had been using AT&T Worldnet (dial-up) Service for years. I liked the reliability, but every so often was lured into checking out the competition due to their comparatively low prices.
A month ago, I switch to a local ISP which cost less than half of what I paid for AT&T's unlimited Internet access - but with little support (I was going to say "no support", but it's there, to a limited extent, if you know what and how to ask). Most of the month went along fairly decently, as I was expecting no frills, I just needed to be able to connect whenever I wanted, 7 days per week.
Well, coincidentally, beginning Saturday, just two days away from my one-month anniversary and the start of the next billing cycle, I began having dial-up problems. I would connect, then was dropped. Sometimes the next attempt connected, other times not. I went to the ISP's net status page and saw nothing recent posted. (As I am writing this, I visit again and still see nothing new.) Saturday, this was merely an annoyance. When this continued into Sunday, I was concerned. I could not stay online long enough to complete most transactions, or even connect to many sites - much less try to download AT&T's installation software - whose service I had begun to sorely miss.
Fortunately, I found a copy of AT&T Worldnet Software still on my hard drive - almost forgotten. I reinstalled it, sign up again, then was able to access the Internet once more with no problem… Ah, reliability… You take it for granted until you experience something less…
Buy local? Why, when all you need is a local access number?
Buy cheap? Not always, but sometimes, you get what you pay for.
No, this is neither an unbiased nor comprehensive review of dial-up services available from Oahu. This merely reflects the recent experience of one person. My problems with the local ISP may not have been due to a fault with their system - it could have been with mine or my telephone connection. It's just that the problems ceased as soon as I switched back to AT&T.
As background, I have been online since the days of the old CP/M "operating system", since the days of dial-up BBS's. I have used a variety of online services and ISP's, so my experience is not at all limited to just the two services discussed above.
Raymond T. Kaya
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
www.reikialoha.com/raymond