"Making Technology Work For You," a technology column for the not-so-computer literate.
Recently, major Internet service provider AOL made the decision to move away from its $26 per month standard dial-up service toward cheaper options after several years of declining subscriptions.
I must admit, when I learned that AOL had lost nearly 8 million subscribers over the past 4 years, a smile spread across my face. I have never liked AOL. It was always difficult for me to understand why so many people subscribed to their service. Why pay $26 per month for a slow dial-up connection ridden with adware and horrible customer service? Surely there are other choices.
The good news is there are many choices available when it comes to Internet service providers. If you are new to the Internet or have been with AOL as long as you can remember, maybe it's time to look at all the options.
Dial-up Internet service has been around for a long time. When the Internet gained popularity in the mid '90s, the only real option to connect to the Internet for home users was through a telephone line. This was accomplished by a device called a modem, short for modulator-demodulator. These dial-up modems converted the digital signals from computers into analog signals that could be sent over phone lines. They are slow, however, when compared to newer types of Internet connections.
Dial-up service tends to be the least expensive type of Internet connection. Depending on the service provider, dial-up service ranges anywhere from $10 to $25 per month. Local Internet service providers like WCNet (www.wcnet.org) and Dacor (www.dacor.net) are usually cheaper than national providers like NetZero (www.netzero.net) and AOL (www.aol.com), but not always.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is a form of broadband Internet service that is a big step up from dial-up. The most common form of DSL is ADSL (Asymmetric DSL), where upload speed (the speed from your computer to the service provider) is slower than download speed. This technology requires its own special modem. Although varying speeds of DSL are available, they are all generally much faster than dial-up connections. Verizon (www.verizononline.com) is the mainstream DSL provider for much of Northwest Ohio. Pricing usually ranges from $15 to $40, depending on speed.
For those who want even faster connections, cable is a good choice. Time Warner (www.rr.com/rdrun) offers their Road Runner high speed cable Internet service for about $50 per month. The speed of this type of Internet service can easily be 100 times faster than dial-up and 5 to 10 times faster than DSL.
If you live in a rural area where DSL and cable are not viable options, Internet via satellite might be the best option for high-speed needs. While not as fast as cable, satellite-based Internet is still faster than dial-up and is literally available anywhere. HughesNet (www.hughesnet.com) is the dominating Internet service provider in this area. Service can be pricey with low-end plans starting at $60. High-end plans can easily go over $100.
Because I used to live in a rural area, I was limited to using dial-up for several years. Let me tell you, once you make the jump to broadband service, you'll never want to go back to dial-up. Even if you just simply move from your old $26 per month AOL service to a $15 per month DSL plan, you'll have done yourself a favor by saving money. Check out the options – there are plenty to choose from.