Popular Questions and Answers:

Rates Phone Lines Types of Accounts
Software Service Reliability & Quality of Access
Other Special Issues

Popular Questions Asked Answers
1. Rates
Do you provide DSL Accounts? Yes. We have DSL lines for Business Customers and Home users. You can view this information at DSL Page
Is there a setup fee for accounts? There is no setup fee for our PPP, web hosting or extra email accounts. Our business accounts do have a setup fee.
Do you provide flat rate accounts? Yes, all our accounts are flat rate with unmetered time allowed.
Do you offer metered accounts? No, we do not provide metered accounts.
How difficult is it to switch from metered to flat rate, or vice versa? N/A
Do you charge extra for usage during peak times? No, there are no extra charges for peak hour usage.
How much will it cost monthly for an account that fits my typical usage patterns? The basic account is $24.95 for unmetered service. The prices vary for the other accounts. Please refer to our price page for that information.
Are trial accounts available? Yes, all accounts start with a ten day trial period. We bill on the day the account starts up but offer a full and prompt refund during the first 10 days if the account is cancelled during that time period.
What type of extra charges might I encounter? If you exceed your disk space or bandwidth limitations you will encounter extra charges. You would be given the chance to correct the problem prior to any charges occurring.
2. Phone Lines
Do you provide dial-up numbers in my local area? Please refer to our local calling area page for that information.
Do the dial-up numbers in my local area support my modem speed? We support 3Com/U.S. Robotics x2/V.90 56k as our maximum connection rate at all our dial-up points of presence (POPs).
Do you support ISDN? We currently do not support ISDN but may be able to offer comparable services. Please contact sales for full details.
How busy are your local dial-up numbers? Will I likely get a busy signal? If so, how long will it take to connect during the peak times of the day? We currently have a user to modem ratio of less than 6:1. It is unlikely you would get a busy signal due to busy modems. If you do get a busy signal redial to get connected.
Is there an alternate line in my local area to use if there is a problem with the one I normally use? Please refer to our local calling area page for secondary dial-up numbers. You may also want to contact your operator to verify what exchanges are local to you.
Are there local dial-up numbers for other places I want to dial-up from? We currently have local access in most cities in California.Please refer to our local calling area page for that information.
If the lines become too busy, will you stop signing up new accounts until additional equipment can be brought online? Yes, we have stopped taking new PPP accounts twice. We do not want our current customers' service to be affected.
3. Types of Accounts
Do you provide PPP/SLIP accounts? Yes, we provide PPP accounts. We do not support SLIP.
Will I have a dynamic or static IP address? PPP accounts come with a dynamic IP address. If a static IP address is required, you can will need to order a DSL Line. You can find information about DSL at DSL Page.
Do you provide unix shell accounts? How much storage space do I receive? Yes, all accounts have unix shell accounts included. The unix shell account has 10 MB for home directory and mail spool.
Can I access my unix shell account from another computer via telnet? Yes, our server allows incoming telnet connections.
Will I be able to choose my account login username, or is it automatically assigned? The login username is selected by you, the user. If you have problems selecting one, we would be happy to give you suggestions.
Does you provide domain name service? Yes, we can register and host domain names.
Do you provide users space for a WWW page? Does it cost extra? How much storage space do I get? Yes, all PPP and web hosting accounts include space for your WWW pages. There is no extra charge for this. Please refer to our price page for information about storage space for the different types of accounts.
What will my WWW page address look like if I have one? Will it be long and complicated? If you have a domain name it would be something like "http://www.yourdomain.com/". If you do not have a domain name it would look something like "http://www.accesscom.com/~username/".
4. Software
Do you provide software to connect? Does it cost extra? Yes, we provide the basic internet software to get you connected. There is no additional charge for this.
Do you provide software for my particular type of computer or operating system? We provide basic internet software for Macintosh, and all Windows.
Is the software easy to configure? Yes it is.
Will you guide me through the process of installing the software if I have difficulties? If you have any problems, give us a call and we will walk you through the setup. If you continue to have problems with the setup, you can bring your computer into our office and have us set it up for you. Users must have an appointment.
If I have multiple accounts with different ISPs, will I be able to use the same software to dial into the different ISPs? Yes you can.
Do you have proprietary software for Internet use? No we do not.
Do you allow me to use my own software if I don't want to use the software you provide? Yes you can.
How difficult is it to obtain the software? Do you mail it to me or do I have to download it? We will mail the software to you via the US Postal service or you can download it from our FTP site if you are already online. We can also email or fax the setup information to you.
5. Service
What are the technical support hours? Do you provide technical support during evenings and weekends? Technical Support is open 8:30 AM-8:00 PM Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM-6 PM Saturday and Sunday.
Do you provide an 800 number? Not at this time.
How difficult is it to contact your technical support? When calling, how often do I get a busy signal or get put on hold? You should never get a busy signal when trying to call technical support. We may put you on hold, if we think it may be a couple minutes before we can get to you we will take your name and get back to you ASAP.
Do you give technical support via email, or only via phone? How fast is your response time? Technical Support will answer all questions via email or phone. Phone answers will be immediate. Email answers will normally be answered the same day. Please refer to our Guarantee of Service page for more information.
Do you provide online help pages? Are they helpful or too technical? Yes we do. All the online help pages are helpful. Some of the help pages are aimed at the more technically advanced user.
6. Reliability & Quality of Access
Do all the primary servers have backup to guarantee no down time? All primary servers have a backup server. They also are on UPS (Uninterrupted Power Source) system to keep them running in case of a power outage.
Does your Internet service go down often? If it does go down, how long should it take to fix? No, we try to pride ourself on reliable service.
Will you accept large mail messages or is there a maximum length? We allow mail message to be a maximum of 10 MB.
Do you offer a good selection of Usenet newsgroups? How long do you keep the articles? Yes, we offer a redundant, full news feed. Depending on the newsgroup, we may keep the articles for one week to one month.
What type of connection do you have to the Internet? Will I experience a lag when connecting? We have multiple connections to the Internet through T1 lines.
7. Other Special Issues
Do you offer secure service like Netscape's Commerce Server for online transactions? Yes, we provide a secure commerce server using Apache Stronghold.
Do you offer special services not available from other ISPs? Superior service is what we are striving to provide. We are not perfect but we try very hard to be the most reliable service in the business.
If technical support is unable to get you setup, you are given the option to bring your computer into our office and have us set it up for you.
You always get a person when you call during business hours.
If you leave a message, you will be called back.
We accepts checks and cash as well as credit cards.
Does you give my name out to any mailing lists or commercial agencies? No we do not.