My Father has just got his first computer, so I am looking for a ISP for a dial up internet connection. So my question is, do all ISP's provide the same quality service. If not, in what areas could some be lacking. The one I am looking at has 30 hours a month for $4.95(N.Z) with no connection fee and only $1 an hour if you exceed this, and one Pop3 mail account. I have not heard of them, so I am naturally cautious. I changed ISP's once and now with my new one, about every second time i dial up, it takes about 4-5 tries to connect. Never had that with the other account. As far as i know your speed that you connect at, is not affected by your ISP right? Anyway if anyone has any helpful advise it will be immensly appreciated. Thanks

Wrong. Speed can be effected by the isp: If they do not have enough bandwidth for all their members, if the connection needs to go through several phone co switching stations, if they are not good about keeping their servers up, etc. If you can cancel at any time, you have nothing to lose. If it does not work well, try another one that is cancel anytime. If you need to sign a year-long contract, I would look elsewhere. I had a dialup account that started as "cancel anytime." They started out great, but then they "upgraded" equipment and I could not get a good connection. They also changed to a one year contract, renewing automatically, without telling me (they claimed they sent it to my email, whcih I could no longer access!). When I tried to cancel for broadband, they gave me a headache that was resolved by my filing in small claims court.

the connect speed is controlled by 1) your modem 2) the ISP modem 3) quality of the connection between the modems Better ask your friends for recommendations, I don't think we have too many Kiwis here.

Depends partly on where you live and which services are available. Your best bet is to ask around in your town and see which is the fastest/most reliable/cheapest. Best Wishes, Bob

Here's a list of a lot of NZ isp's. Have a look through these you will most probally find one that suits. Iligitimi non carborundum est

Thank you all, at least now I am a little better informed. Wombat, where is the list, I do not see a link?

Speeds are effected by the ISP providers and the type of access:Dedicated,DSL,Cable,DialUp,Wireless. I would recommend a dsl access plan because its a technology which is researched a lot and it isnt going to be abandoned soon in the near future. ISPs can provide dsl over existing telephone wires. DSL/Cable can be obtained at different speed options like 128 kbps or 256 kbps or 512 kbps etc. 128 kbps [kilo bits per second] is quite adequate for a home user unless you waste a lot of time with downloading thich files in which case a high speed is necessary. You can use a search engine [Google,Yahoo,...] to find information on ISPs in New Zealand. Just type New Zealand ISP Providers click on search.