How do you know which is the best ISP

Asks JacksonC

A. An Internet Service Provider or ISP should be chosen because it is reliable, has fast connections to the Internet and is inexpensive. There is so much competition now, that ISP's should be cheap.

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It is very time consuming and difficult to test every ISP available to UK Internet users, so the best way to choose is by recommendation, an ISP review in an independent magazine or via an organisation like Net Basics an independent company that specialises in providing ISP information to individual consumers and businesses. In addition, a new organisation, the UK ISP Users Group, has recently been set up to offer help, negotiation, advice and information on all ISP-related matters, free of charge.

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Q. Do all ISP's charge a fee

A. ISP's will usually charge a fee for use either by subscription (usually a monthly flat rate fee for unlimited Internet access) or not (where you usually pay as you go via your telephone bill, sometimes at a premium rate). A fee can also be levied on the telephone call, even though you have paid a subscription fee upfront - so it's best to check that any subscription fee is for unlimited Internet access (or if it is not, you know about it and what the call charges are), otherwise you could end up with a hefty phone bill on top of your monthly subscription charge.

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Q. Can you recommend some in both categories

A. There are several ISP's in each category - a few good recommendations in each are:

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SUBSCRIPTION

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AOL: For a fee of �14.99 per month, AOL offers unlimited Internet access, with no set up fee. It also offers email addresses, password protected connections, it can however run slowly at peak times.

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Freeserve: For �12.99 a month, Freeserve offers unlimited Internet access. Check via the Freeserve website to ensure that the area in which you live is available for connection, as it is popular you sometimes have to wait a couple of weeks for a reply on this.

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Luna Internet: For a monthly fee of �12.50 you get Internet calls priced at the local rate, with quick connections.

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Compuserve: One of the first ISPs to launch, it offers free Internet access for the first month of your subscription, followed by a monthly fee of �7.50, and calls charged at 50p per minute.

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BT: BT boasts one million new customers since it introduced its flat fee (�19.99 per month, there are rumours that this will be reduced to �15 later this year).

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PAY-AS-YOU-GO

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F9 Free: No subscription charge, calls charged at national rate.

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Sniff Out: No subscription charge, calls charged at national rate, with good technical support.

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Virgin: No subscription charge, calls charged at 50p per minute online, with inclusive access to Virgin TV and radio channels.

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Q. Is there any such thing as a 'free' Internet connection' ie free ISP and free Internet calls.

A. X-Stream is set to join the small list of ISPs that claim to provide this. Currently providing a toll-free off peak service, its 0800 free numbers might soon be available in peak time as its site is ad-supported.�It might make enough in ad revenue to forgo a subscription fee. Other free services include Freeway , and This is it .

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Another ISP to look out for is (cheap, but not free) www.08002go.com that is set to charge a monthly subscription fee of �6, for unlimited Internet access.

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By Karen Anderson