Is this website no longer providing info on dialup isps?

[curious john]

Its getting nasty out here for us folk still on dialup. After VTISP tried to double charge me for a years worth service, I actually went to AOL (using linux workaround to their software). Its now down to one pop number locally and quality of connection is horrible.

Well since this site seems dead to keeping track of dialup isps, I did google. Well there is like half dozen isps left and without signing up and personally trying them, no info on current quality.

I signed up with totalusa.net and connect at a blazing 9600 bps. Even AOL would still connect at 21000 bps so its not my phone line.... Couple others seem to think dialup customers should be happy with an "unlimited" 50 hour per month despite the whole internet thinking everybody has super fast connection and requiring more bandwidth to open their webpages. Or the Netzero/Juno service just wants to play software games. PeoplePC seems to have taken over for AOL buisiness model, refusing to let you cancel service plus you have to run their software on windows system to connect.

I will say AOL gave zero problems cancelling, even offering the option to do it online. They dont make it super easy to find the cancellation page but its there and works. No arguing with somebody in India anymore. But their connection now ***, used to be really nice connection, my ex had it for long time.

So if anybody here actually still uses dialup please give me some leads. I'll go upto $15 a month for quality service without all the BS.

[plodr]

Quote:

Is this website no longer providing info on dialup isps?

No.

Did you see this thread from last year?
 http://www.freedomlist.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34279  

We wish it were different but we can't fix what is broken and the webmaster hasn't been heard from in years.

[v_v]

Where are you located?

All2easy.net used to be a decent choice, but I haven't heard much about them for years. Their web pages have a 2005 copyright date. Maybe someone will relate their recent experience with them.

For $15 depending on where you live you might be in range for the cheapest AT&T DSL, which still seems to exist for $14.95 in some locations. OG1 constantly refers to a similar pricing with Verizon. So a lot depends on your location.

Also, I would investigate Juno or Netzero DSL for the price you are willing to pay. They will ask for your phone number to determine what is available. I suspect that they are leasing from either AT&T or Verizon.

v_v
_________________
Justice, Equity, and Meaningful, Productive, and Fulfilling Lives to All Earthlings

[curious john]

I really hadnt been on this website for some time so didnt know its an orphan site now.

I am just far enough out in boonies that I cant get DSL. If I could it would only be available from my phone company Windstream for around $35. Windstream unlike ATT and such doesnt allow others to offer DSL in their territory.

So its dialup or satellite and I dont see satellite being much of a deal with the extreme "fair use" policies they have. Sort of like renting a powerful sportscar and then only being given one cup full of gasoline to use in it every month....

I'd go with DSL if it were available as I am getting really frustrated with the remaining dialup providers. The under $10 isps that still exist are severely limiting hours or throttling speed to unusable like totalusa.net. Thats why if I can get isp that isnt just playing games, I'd go to $15 a month. I need between 200 and 250 hour a month and I need those hours productive, not with speed throttled down to 9600 bps where I can play several solitare games just waiting for one webpage to load.

Anybody know how horrible Netzero/Juno platinum $10 a month version is anymore? Do they play the games over cancellation like AOL and PeoplePC/Earthlink used to do? Do they play games over number of "unlimited" hours one uses? This afternoon I installed the 10 free hour Juno software on my windows partition and it connected around 24k. It was way faster than totalusa. Thing is I make it a policy not to take windows online as I dont want to screw around trying to update and protect it. You simply cant update it via dialup even if you wanted to. So if I went Juno, would have to figure out how to use the Lindows/Linspire version of Juno software. One guy couple years ago got it working on Puppy Linux and made a package for Puppy. Said it worked fine for him. Wouldnt know how well it work for me without signing up for Juno pay version though.

[Boz]

This might not be a good option, but...
 http://www.walmart.com/ip/Virgin-Broadband...y/15443368 

It does require the purchase of their Broadband2Go hardware.
_________________
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[bruce bailey]

I still use VTISP with 100 hours a month for about $48 a year. Connects everytime. Usually at 52.0 but some nights at 50.0. Best I have found.

[curious john]

bruce bailey wrote:

I still use VTISP with 100 hours a month for about $48 a year. Connects everytime. Usually at 52.0 but some nights at 50.0. Best I have found.

Good for you, glad you had a positive experience so far. My experience with VTISP is not positive. I got charged for an account I had canceled. A YEAR AFTER I HAD CANCELLED THAT ACCOUNT AND THEY HAD STOPPED CHARGING ME on that account . I had to go through a lengthy credit card challenge as VTISP personel were rude and "always right" so no talking to them. They didnt care about reason and common sense, they only cared about what they wanted and they wanted to gouge some more of my money. In other words in my humble opinion, they are some of the worst greedy scummy thieves out there. I'd sooner give up internet entirely than ever have anything to do with these people ever again. I humbly suggest if you ever discontinue your service with them, that you watch your credit card for couple years following your cancellation. I wouldnt think I was their only victim. You offer a service at a cheap price, guess you gotta scam somewhere to make up the difference.

And when this happens (after all in your own words 'they connect everytime'), hopefully your credit card has a better investigative division than mine. If anything Citibank was even more hassle to deal with than VTISP. Kept losing the paperwork I would send them (and I sent it registered mail) and I would get letter setting deadlines that were simply impossible to meet. Like wanting the paperwork a day before the request was postmarked. In other words they were looking for a way to avoid investigating anything. Well they succeeded in losing me as a customer.

[curious john]

Boz wrote:

This might not be a good option, but...  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Virgin-Broadband...y/15443368  It does require the purchase of their Broadband2Go hardware.

I cant use either Virgin Mobile nor Cricket services where I am located. Most here are urban/suburban and dont understand RURAL limitations. As I said, I am limited to either dialup or satellite internet. I do still have that old Boost Mobile with their 35cent per day data connection. But its like 19k connection on a very good day. And it can go down for days at a time where I can make voice phone calls but cant use the data connection. Yea its been faster than dialup for while now, but no real long term answer.

But really I just need a reliable dialup service at this point. My problem is the cheaper dialup services are going out of buisiness at fast and furious pace and that the remaining ones are severely limiting hours and/or throttling down connection speed.

I've been reading and apparently Juno/Netzero are playing the old AOL game of making cancellation as impossible as they can. Earthlink/PeoplePC too. So not going to sign up with them even though free 10hr version is working ok. I first check how easy to cancel service BEFORE signing up. I much prefer an isp that I can easily cancel online, not waste half hour on phone and then not know if they actually cancelled my account. I DONT WANT TO PLAY GAMES WITH THESE PEOPLE, its worth more money to find an isp that is reliable and doesnt play games just offers honest service.

[CaptainTripps]

curious john wrote:

...Most here are urban/suburban and dont understand RURAL limitations. As I said, I am limited to either dialup or satellite internet. .

I understand the rural limitations because I was in that situation for almost 10 years. Often I subscribed to 2 different isp's if they used different numbers/backbones. When I was using Juno, (2009-early 2010) which was difficult to cancel but provided good service, I also used CWNet:  http://www.cwnet.com/  CWNet was my primary isp @$9.95 and Juno was the secondary isp @$6.95 (a special 1 year commitment). I was a heavy dialup user so to keep from taxing one isp/backbone with a huge amount of hours, I split the hours between 2 different ones. CWNet was reliable and might serve your purpose. I think they have a free trial but you'll have to check them out and maybe e-mail them for details. The only drawback is that you have to cancel by mail or fax - I sent cancellation via certified mail/return receipt requested and had no problems. Good luck!!

[v_v]

Curious John,

I know that you do not wish to deal with VTISP any more, but like Bruce I have had nothing but good experiences with them. Yet I can easily see how your problematic situation soured you on them.

However when I look at your situation the problem seems to be with them charging your credit card. During my last year with VTISP I paid by money order for a whole year. I think that the annual price was $39.95 then---now it appears to be $47.40. The money order cost me $0.25. For me this worked out well. There was no credit card to get charged after quitting and no arguing about cancellation. You might want to consider this sort of option. I would certainly try this before I went into the Juno/Netzero cancellation trick bag! But be aware that if you are on a annual prepaid plan, that VTISP will not bill you or tell you when your annual service runs out. You would need to keep up with that yourself and send in another prepayment before your annual service runs out.

v_v
_________________
Justice, Equity, and Meaningful, Productive, and Fulfilling Lives to All Earthlings

[dialupuser10yrs]

I have been using Frys since 9/08 at $5.99 a month. Never had any connection problems and they have a lot of telephone numbers available in my area. Only criticism is that once in a while, the billing shows up twice in one month and then skips the next month. That could be because of my credit card cutoff dates I suppose. Nowadays I only use dialup on my old iMAC and the best connection speed I can get is 36,000.

At one point I also used Access550. As the name suggests, it costs $5.50 a month. They still have a web site so I assume they are in business. I did have some connections problems early on and reported them via their web support ticket system and they were resolved within a few days. I was able to cancel through their web site online and had no problems with continued billing.

When I was wholly dependent on dialup I always subscribed to 2 ISPs. They all seem to go down occasionally and I didn't want to be without a way to connect. lol

When I bought my Windows 7 computer in 2010 I finally bit the bullet and signed up for cable internet. But I kept Frys as a backup and sign on daily to read the local newspaper.

[pete]

I've been using  Gobigwest  ever since I got a promotional account here at Freedomlist, years ago (by putting a link on my website).

Since it's a complimentary account, I can't speak about billing practices or cost, but it's been very reliable. On very rare occasions I may get a "dirty connection" which is easily cured by changing access numbers.

EDIT:
Just checked their prices. The least expensive package is 10.95 per month, so they no longer meet the FreedomList standard ($10 limit) to qualify as a "Low cost ISP".

[curious john]

No isp gives you a year of service THEN charges you for it. If you read VTISP terms of service, no service is provided UNTIL YOU PONY UP THE MONEY!!!! They HAD MY CREDIT CARD INFO ON FILE AND IT WAS ACTIVE AND CURRENT. THEY MADE NO ATTEMPT TO RENEW MY ACCOUNT WHEN IT WOULD HAVE MADE SENSE TO DO SO. They waited a YEAR to try and charge me AFTER I HAD SPECIFICALLY CANCELLED THE ACCOUNT ONE YEAR PREVIOUSLY. They magically claim one year later that I didnt properly cancel my account and they only discovered this fact a year afterwards so charged me for my non-use the previous year. They claim the account was active and they just somehow didnt notice and that it doesnt matter that I didnt use it. They are liars. They just saw an opportunity to gouge some extra cash and I happened to catch them at it.

They are just scumbag thieves!!!!! In my humble opinion of course. You can be a VTISP apologist but the facts prove them scumbag thieves IMHO. And again if I were currently using VTISP, I would keep very close watch on my credit card or bank account especially if I ever cancelled my account. They are just as bad as AOL or PeoplePC or Netzero at their worst far as game playing with cancellation. Only on a smaller scale. Guess they figured why should AOL and Netzero get all bonus money from scamming over cancellation.

And after reading the horror stories of platinum Netzero/Juno, thats no longer an option. I only signed on to AOL cause they had cleaned up their act and offered online cancellation. I would never have signed up with them when they were doing the call India to cancel thing.

v_v wrote:

Curious John, I know that you do not wish to deal with VTISP any more, but like Bruce I have had nothing but good experiences with them. Yet I can easily see how your problematic situation soured you on them. However when I look at your situation the problem seems to be with them charging your credit card. During my last year with VTISP I paid by money order for a whole year. I think that the annual price was $39.95 then---now it appears to be $47.40. The money order cost me $0.25. For me this worked out well. There was no credit card to get charged after quitting and no arguing about cancellation. You might want to consider this sort of option. I would certainly try this before I went into the Juno/Netzero cancellation trick bag! But be aware that if you are on a annual prepaid plan, that VTISP will not bill you or tell you when your annual service runs out. You would need to keep up with that yourself and send in another prepayment before your annual service runs out. v_v

[curious john]

pete wrote:

I've been using  Gobigwest  ever since I got a promotional account here at Freedomlist, years ago (by putting a link on my website). Since it's a complimentary account, I can't speak about billing practices or cost, but it's been very reliable. On very rare occasions I may get a "dirty connection" which is easily cured by changing access numbers. EDIT: Just checked their prices. The least expensive package is 10.95 per month, so they no longer meet the FreedomList standard ($10 limit) to qualify as a "Low cost ISP".

$11 is fine by me, BUT...

Their online signup page is down. Not a good sign. Their page of nationwide dialup numbers is down. Not a good sign.

Their TOS says max 250 hour per month. Thats ok, sure most months I use around 200 hour but some boring winter month I am inside all time, might go 250 especially if I download some large free software to try. However they are vague about it. Instead of just having a hard cutoff of service after 250 hour and resetting fresh 250 hour the next month, they are real vague about how they handle it and keep going on and on about eliminating "abusers". So in fact stating 250 hour and meaning it are not necessarily same thing. Seems most isps want to offer an 'unlimited' 50 hours for the money. Frankly that would work for somebody only using it for email and nothing else, doesnt work for somebody actually web surfing.

Their method of cancellation is also super vague. You have to call customer service just to find out how to cancel???? What is this stupid aversion that isps have around just being upfront and stating things straight out. If I have made up my mind to cancel, it just really annoys me to have to listen to some sales pitch and jump through hoops. I'd be much more likely to come back in future sometime IF I am not harassed during cancellation process.

Quote:

Go to  http://www.gobigwest.com/contact.asp  to find our contact information. Please call the Accounting Department phone number listed on that contact page for details on how to cancel your service.

They cant even mention the procedure on how to cancel without a personal phone call? Wow!

[curious john]

dialupuser10yrs wrote:

I have been using Frys since 9/08 at $5.99 a month. Never had any connection problems and they have a lot of telephone numbers available in my area. Only criticism is that once in a while, the billing shows up twice in one month and then skips the next month. That could be because of my credit card cutoff dates I suppose. Nowadays I only use dialup on my old iMAC and the best connection speed I can get is 36,000. At one point I also used Access550. As the name suggests, it costs $5.50 a month. They still have a web site so I assume they are in business. I did have some connections problems early on and reported them via their web support ticket system and they were resolved within a few days. I was able to cancel through their web site online and had no problems with continued billing. When I was wholly dependent on dialup I always subscribed to 2 ISPs. They all seem to go down occasionally and I didn't want to be without a way to connect. lol When I bought my Windows 7 computer in 2010 I finally bit the bullet and signed up for cable internet. But I kept Frys as a backup and sign on daily to read the local newspaper.

Ok, thanks. Frys doesnt seem good fit with one pop number and calling non toll free number to cancel, but Access550 seemed worth a try. I just signed up for their "high speed" account for $9 that includes 300 hours. I seem to be surfing about as fast as with the free 10 hour Juno account yesterday. Same pop numbers as TotalUSA (plus one new one), only now I surf much faster. See if it lasts. And yep you can cancel online. Use it for a bit to see if speed stays up and no frequent disconnects and then cancel TotalUSA. I will say TotalUSA doesnt frequently disconnect though as slow as it is, it would be totally unusable if it did.

[curious john]

curious john wrote:

[..] $11 is fine by me, BUT... Their online signup page is down. Not a good sign. Their page of nationwide dialup numbers is down. Not a good sign. Their TOS says max 250 hour per month. Thats ok, sure most months I use around 200 hour but some boring winter month I am inside all time, might go 250 especially if I download some large free software to try. However they are vague about it. Instead of just having a hard cutoff of service after 250 hour and resetting fresh 250 hour the next month, they are real vague about how they handle it and keep going on and on about eliminating "abusers". So in fact stating 250 hour and meaning it are not necessarily same thing. Seems most isps want to offer an 'unlimited' 50 hours for the money. Frankly that would work for somebody only using it for email and nothing else, doesnt work for somebody actually web surfing. Their method of cancellation is also super vague. You have to call customer service just to find out how to cancel???? What is this stupid aversion that isps have around just being upfront and stating things straight out. If I have made up my mind to cancel, it just really annoys me to have to listen to some sales pitch and jump through hoops. I'd be much more likely to come back in future sometime IF I am not harassed during cancellation process. [..] They cant even mention the procedure on how to cancel without a personal phone call? Wow!

Well since I just signed up with access555, NOW the Gobigwest phone number list and signup works. They do have lot numbers to pick from but still happy with access555 and its a couple bucks cheaper for more hours.

[curious john]

CaptainTripps wrote:

[..] I understand the rural limitations because I was in that situation for almost 10 years. Often I subscribed to 2 different isp's if they used different numbers/backbones. When I was using Juno, (2009-early 2010) which was difficult to cancel but provided good service, I also used CWNet:  http://www.cwnet.com/  CWNet was my primary isp @$9.95 and Juno was the secondary isp @$6.95 (a special 1 year commitment). I was a heavy dialup user so to keep from taxing one isp/backbone with a huge amount of hours, I split the hours between 2 different ones. CWNet was reliable and might serve your purpose. I think they have a free trial but you'll have to check them out and maybe e-mail them for details. The only drawback is that you have to cancel by mail or fax - I sent cancellation via certified mail/return receipt requested and had no problems. Good luck!!

Oops missed this post. Just took look at CWNet and my Opera browser didnt seem to be able to click on any of the details even with page fully loaded. Click and nothing happens. But I will keep it in mind if I need replacement isp in future. Seems no matter what isp I have picked over last couple decades, it starts out working well, then degrades into year 2 or year 3 and I have to find another. Probably can navigate site with Firefox/Seamonkey.

I was tempted by Juno, they have one of my old favorite UUnet backbone numbers. Must cost them more money cause the free 10 hour software has a royal fit if I limit connection to that number as only possibility, keeps wanting me to let it try connecting with another number, but will use it if I keep it as only possibility. I see nobody else offering that number/backbone anymore. But I've just had enough putting up with crap to save couple bucks. Sometimes aggravation isnt worth the relatively small savings.

[curious john]

Well that was short lived. Access550 throttled down. Not as slow as TotalUSA, but seriously slow compared to free 10 hour Juno. When free Juno/Netzero with all its control freak software is looking fast, you know something isnt right. Just going to have to avoid any isp using those backbone numbers. See if I can find a friendly isp without software that still uses that old UUnet number. If they do probably really low number of hours or high price....

[Boz]

It is more expensive, but you could check to see if  http://www.toast.net  has a good number in your area.
_________________
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[Dude111]

curious john wrote:

....Well since this site seems dead to keeping track of dialup isps, I did google. Well there is like half dozen isps left and without signing up and personally trying them, no info on current quality.

It isnt my friend,just add a / (SLASH) after every line when you goto that section and it will work....

FOR EXAMPLE:

NORTH AMERICAN ISPS

 http://www.freedomlist.com/find.php3?continent=4  

Add a / after it and you will go there

 http://www.freedomlist.com/find.php3?continent=4/  

then

Canada

 http://www.freedomlist.com/find.php3?country=148  

add a / after it and you will go there

 http://www.freedomlist.com/find.php3?country=148/  

then

nova scotia

 http://www.freedomlist.com/find.php3?state=134  

add a / and you will go there

 http://www.freedomlist.com/find.php3?state=134/  

then it gets a little tricky.... On the list of ISPs for nova scotia you must add the / AFTER THE PLAN ID NOT AT THE END OF THE LINE!!

 http://www.freedomlist.com/find.php3?plan=23&state=134  

 http://www.freedomlist.com/find.php3?plan=23/&state=134  


It is still very workable