Your ISP is the company that you use to connect to the internet. For some it might be your cable company if you have a broad band connection. For others it might be your phone company if you have a DSL (Digital Subscription Line) connection. Finally, you might have a dial up connection using AOL, Earthlink, etc.
What should you look for when comparing options? Unfortunately the ISP's barrage you with technical lingo and jargon. Fortunately you do not have to understand all the terms. Just make yourself a chart to compare. Assume more MBps or KBps or whatever is better. Then also assume the less cost is better than a higher cost.
With anything you get what you pay for. However you should judge your own needs. If you need a connection for home, but will use it infrequently, then the highest price plan is probably unnecessary. If you are often surfing the net or like downloading large picture or movie files, then the slower connections and lower cost plans will not fit you well.
Here is a simple chart that lists some of the features the ISP's try to sell you on. Just print this out or make your own and fill in the blanks. The ISP's will usually provide the necessary information on their web sites or marketing materials.
| Provider A | Provider B | Provider C | |
| Name: | |||
| Installation Cost | |||
| Monthly Charge | |||
| Additional Monthly Charges | |||
| Additional Charges - Technical Support, Networking, etc. | |||
| Connection Speed Download/ Upload | |||
| Number of Area Codes / Local access numbers ( if dial up) | |||
| Call Waiting (if dial-up) | |||
| Number of Email Accounts | |||
| Email Storage in MB | |||
| Virus Protection | |||
| Pop-Up Blocker | |||
| Spam Control | |||
| Tech Support | |||
| Unlimited Access | |||
| Parental Controls | |||
| Home Networking | |||
| Personal Web Pages |
The ideal is to get the highest connection speed, the most storage, the most virus protection at the lowest cost. By using this chart or your own version of it, you can make an objective choice.