Choosing an Internet Service Provider The Big Picture Not long ago, you didn't have much choice concerning who you could contract for Internet services. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) funding strategies of the 1980s led to an Internet service environment that was fairly monopolistic in nature, with regional providers usually run by major universities. However, the landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. Many of those regional networks have been purchased by commercial Internet organizations and new Internet service providers (ISPs) have come on the scene, offering a range of services oriented toward corporate customers. In addition, large telecommunications companies, including MCI and Sprint, have gotten into this business in a big way. Performance Systems Inc. (PSI) of Reston, Va., which was founded by engineers from the NSF-funded NYSERNet regional network, has established a significa nt market share and has built a complex private network offering points of presence in hundreds of metropolitan areas. Other major players include UUNet Technologies, NetCom and Bolt Beranek and Newman. Some of the remaining not-for-profit regional network providers, like NYSERNet in New York state, have spun off commercial for-profit enterprises, offering Internet connections for business and a variety of other Internet services, including consulting, training and Web services. Selection Criteria Selecting an ISP requires consideration of a number of issues. Obviously, cost will be high on your list, but the competition that has developed over the past year has equaled this variable somewhat as several providers cut their costs to maintain commercial viability. Beyond cost, you should consider the technological infrastructure and support services available to you from the various providers. What may seem like a better deal may not be if it means you suffer from performance bottlenecks. The ISP's Backbone Most vendors should be willing to show you detailed configuration maps of their network. It doesn't make much sense to acquire a T1 connection from a vendor whose backbone in your area is a single T1 shared by many users. You'll never be able to take advantage of the bandwidth you thought you were getting. If you're planning to acquire a high-speed connection, look for vendors who have built T3 or ATM backbones and ask for evidence that they haven't oversubscribed their backbone facilities. You should also inquire about the quality of the service's connection to major Internet network access points (NAPs), as these can be significant sources of network congestion. Dial-up Services If your employees need access while on the road, you'll probably find it desirable to deal with a vendor that offers national or international dial-up services in major cities. Again, press them for details regarding th e number of lines in major cities. You may also want to press for service guarantees, since there's nothing more frustrating than getting a busy signal while trying to check your e-mail on the road. Try some of the dial-up services by calling local access numbers in major cities, both during normal business hours and during the evening when many of these services are swamped with home users. Chances are, your employees will want to link up from hotel rooms in the evening hours. Training, Consulting and Support Beyond basic infrastructure, you should explore the other services provided by the ISP. Training will probably be required for your technical staff members if they have limited experience with TCP/IP and other Internet technologies. Consulting and telephone support services will also be needed when problems arise. Most major providers run a 24-hour network operations center that proactively monitors their network. Some gather statistics and provide you with regular reports on activity at your site. Rapid growth in their customer base has strained the ability of some major providers to deliver in these service areas, so ask for a list of reference sites. Better yet, explore some of the other businesses in your geographic area and talk to them about their satisfaction with their providers. Next Return to Table of Contents November 15, 1996 Print This Page E-mail this URL