SELECTING AN INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER

From DTI*

There are hundreds of Internet access providers and making the best selection requires careful analysis. Remember that this is a communication service which will carry information critical to your business. Below are some of the factors to consider when making this decision.

Orientation

Many Internet providers are targeting their services toward consumers and individual users rather than commercial traffic and operations. Be sure to seek out a provider focused on the needs of businesses.

There is also some confusion between Internet providers and so-called online services (e.g., AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy, et al). It is important to note that many of these services have only limited Internet access and cannot provide the full range of services that an Internet Provider delivers.

Quality of service

The services offered by an Internet provider must be reliable, available, and deliver high performance. Let's look at each of these requirements in more detail.

• Reliability
  The Internet actually consists of multiple networks connected together. Your Internet provider is actually one component of the whole, but it is the component through which all of your traffic will ride. Therefore, the level of reliability built into your provider's "piece" of the network is of direct relevance to you.
• Availability
  Some services require more than 20 tries before a dial connection goes through. You should only consider networks with a p-grade of no more than p.05 - meaning that no more than 5 out of 100 callers get a busy signal. The lower the figure, the better.
• Performance
  You can ascertain the degree of performance a given network will deliver by carefully examining a network diagram. Things to look for include the speed of the backbone, the speed at which large nodes connect to the backbone and the speed at which smaller nodes connect to the backbone. A high-speed, high-capacity backbone ensures a service with minimal delays and the ability to transmit multimedia information with ease.

Points of presence

The closer a network's point of presence (POP) is to your site, the less expensive it will be to connect to the network from that site. It is also important to look at how a given Internet provider is connected to other components of the Net.

Product range

Your business may include offices and users of many sizes and needs. It is therefore important to choose a provider with a broad range of services to meet your various needs. Access services fall into two areas:

• Dial services
  A provider should offer dial connectivity for individual users, as well as for LANs. For higher-speed needs, ISDN delivers 64 Kbps at a cost close to regular (14.4 Kbps) dial service, so it is highly desirable.
• Dedicated services
  These services provide your site with a full-time link to the Internet. The main criteria here is a range of speeds. A good Internet provider will offer dedicated access at speeds from 14.4 Kbps, through to T-1.

Value-added capabilities

While a flexible set of access options is essential, businesses often require additional services to enable the Internet to be more friendly, useful, or secure. Value-added capabilities fall into three categories:

• Security options
  Choose a provider who can accommodate your security needs, whatever they may be. Some applications require no security at all, while others may need a firewall, encryption, authorization, or some combination of these. You don't want to have to shop around for these options; a single vendor should be able to provide them to you.
• Turnkey web services
  A Web server can be an invaluable tool to your business. If you have no experience with Web servers, you will want to select a provider who can build a high-impact server using raw information you provide, and then house, support, and connect that server to the network for a single monthly fee.
• Domain names
  Your company will be identified on the Internet by its "domain name." Make sure your provider can give you a domain name that is business oriented and reflects your corporate identity, rather than one which is cryptic and technology-oriented.

Support

Your provider of choice must have a technical support staff that is available to respond to your calls. You should not be directed to a voice mail box for technical support. To note, if you desire training or specialized consulting services, those services should be available as well.

Experience

How long has the provider you're considering been in the Internet services business? Is it their main business, or a side element? How large is the customer base, and are those customers happy? The answers to these questions will help you separate those providers with real expertise from those just beginning in the complex world of providing Internet services.

Cost

Cost, while significant, is only one of many factors which should be weighed with equal value. You will want to choose a provider whose price is competitive. Choosing the least expensive provider, however, is risky. A cut-rate provider achieves its low cost by skimping on backbone capacity, dial-up modem capability, and support personnel. Thus, it is unlikely that their service will satisfy any of the other criteria listed above.

Armed with these factors, you will be able to make an informed decision about an Internet provider.

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