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Shopping For The Right Connection How to choose an ISP that suits you best in terms of quality and price © Jen Tracy, January 2000 Every day, the number of Russian Internet users is growing, and
new Internet service providers or ISPs are popping up by the second.
As a consequence, the wise consumer will shop around, to avoid being
left behind with higher prices, busy signals and poor connections. Michael Novikov, an independent Internet expert and founder and
CEO of St. Petersburg-based ADMIN Ltd., an e-commerce consulting
agency, has some useful advice for Internet amateurs. When booking up to the Internet for the first time, Novikov advises
customers to find out how large a provider's modem pool is and how
many phone numbers they offer for a dial-up connection. "Is
it easy to get connected during the rush hours of 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.?"
Novikov asks. Nothing is more irritating than a busy signal One of the most frequent complaints by dissatisfied Internet
users is that they can never get through. And, if a customer has
chosen a monthly payment plan, poor connections are a waste not
only of time, but of money. Most of Russia's largest providers GlasNet and CITEK In
addition, Novikov said, deciding what payment option you'd prefer
is also important, and different providers offer a wide variety
of payment plans, and shopping around is essential. For consumers who spend less time surfing the net, most ISPs
offer a per hour payment plan, with a minimum monthly advance payment
requirement. Hourly rates vary depending on the time of day. Or,
consumers can opt for the cheapest e-mail only package, which usually
includes a one-time mail box fee and a fiat monthly rate. Perhaps now is the right time to start looking around for a new
connection. For the time being, Novikov said, "prices are definitely
decreasing, driven by competition." Novikov also recommends reading what independent observers ISP
associations Keeping up on the growing ISP market can also give customers
the upper hand when choosing a provider. Novikov recommends finding
a new ISP that is offering cheaper rates to attract customers in
its start-up phase. Though new, the ISP's connection would still
be reliable, and customers will not encounter problems dialing-up
as the company's technical capacity has not yet been overloaded
with crowds of clients. One thing makes a provider better than its competition: quality
of service, Novikov said. "Technical capacity for a number
of simultaneously connected customers and available bandwidth to
international and Russian resources" are key, he said. Selected
Internet Service Providers
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