Frequently Asked Questions

What is dial-up?
Dial-Up is a method of connecting your computer to the Internet using a modem and a phone line. Top
What is a modem?
A modem is an electronic device that converts digital data from a computer into a form suitable for transmission over telephone lines, and incoming signals from the telephone line into a form that can be recognized by the computer. Modems are available as external devices and as internal cards. Top
What software will I need to use the dial-up service?
You'll need a web browser, an e-mail program, and an Internet dialer. Computers meeting our minimum system requirements come with this software pre-loaded. Our technical support can walk you through setting this software up over the phone, getting you on-line in minutes. Top
What type of modem should I buy?
If you are purchasing a new modem, we recommend a V.92 56K modem. Most computer retail outlets sell modems of this type. Top
What is Propel Accelerator?
Propel Accelerator is a service that increases web and e-mail downloads. It works by compressing web pages and e-mails before sending them to your modem. The result is an increase in speed of up to 500%. Top
How do I get Propel?
You can download Propel Accelerator from our web site. After connecting to the Internet, go here. Propel Accelerator is also on our setup CD-ROM. Top
What limits are there on your dial-up plans?

All dial-up plans have an idle timeout of 20 minutes and a session limit of 8 hours. This means that if your connection goes unused for 20 minutes or stays connected for 8 hours in a row, we will disconnect you automatically. You can immediately reconnect after being disconnected.

Our Flat-Rate, Dual-Channel, and LAN-On-Demand ISDN plans have an excessive usage limit. If you are on one of these plans, you will never pay more than the flat-rate you have agreed to. However, these plans cannot be used to access the Internet 24 hours a day. We define excessive use as six times the average. If the average use of our Flat-Rate accounts over a month is 60 hours, then the excessive use limit is 360 hours. That's 12 hours a day -- a lot of use. If you must be connected to the Internet 24 hours a day, we have a Dedicated access plan available for that purpose at a slightly higher charge.

Complete details on plan limits are in our Terms of Service.

Top
What is ISDN?
ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. ISDN BRI is a digital phone line that provides up to 128K data connections. Top
How does ISDN work?
ISDN is similar to a regular phone line in that you dial phone numbers to place phone calls. Your home phone line is analog, and can transfer data at speeds up to 56K. Because ISDN is digital, it transfers data at 128K. Top
How does LAN-On-Demand ISDN service work?
First, we connect an ISDN router to your Ethernet network and ISDN BRI line. The router is configured to open the Internet connection whenever there is Internet activity. When a user clicks on Microsoft Internet Explorer or their desired Internet application, the ISDN router connects to the Internet and data starts flowing. Top