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The Rating Groups:

We are re­view­ing ran­dom­ly pi­cked In­ter­net Ser­vi­ce pro­vi­ders in the fol­lo­wing ma­jor grou­ps:
· Free ISPs
· Low-cost ISPs
· Special Interest ISPs
· Major ISPs
· General (All other)

The Rating Categories:

The fi­nal ra­ting for eve­ry ISP we re­view is ge­ne­ra­ted from the in­di­vi­du­al ra­tings that our re­view­ers gi­ve it. No­te: The fi­nal ra­ting is NOT an a­ve­ra­ge of the fol­lo­wing six ra­tings; each of the­se thin­gs is weig­h­ted dif­fe­re­n­t­ly to co­me up with the fi­nal o­ve­r­all ra­ting.

· Longevity (age)
· Speed, latency, "busies"
· Customer Support
· Features
· Value (price, extra fees)
  and
· Reviewer's Angle.

  This last ra­ting ba­si­ca­l­ly lets a re­view­er sway the fi­n­al ra­ting--ei­ther hi­gh­er or lo­wer--ba­sed on the re­view­er's ex­pe­ri­e­n­ce with an ISP. He­re's an ex­a­m­ple: An ISP mi­ght ha­ve re­al­ly go­od con­ne­c­ti­vi­ty but re­al­ly bad sup­port--so it gets a low Re­view­er's An­gle ra­ting to ke­ep the ove­r­all ra­ting low, sin­ce the ISP ul­ti­ma­te­ly isn't fun to use. Or an ISP mi­ght ha­ve po­or web­si­te and li­mi­ted set of ex­tra fea­tu­res but ha­ve a very good ser­vi­ce and sup­port--so it mi­ght get a hi­gh Re­view­er's An­gle to bo­ost the over­all ra­ting a bit.

· We here at The ISP List build our re­views aro­und ce­r­tain guide­li­nes, but keep in mi­nd that we al­so ha­ve dif­fe­rent re­view­ers with dif­fe­rent opi­ni­ons and wri­ting sty­les. Wri­ters aren't ex­pec­ted to stri­c­tly fol­low the re­views and ra­tings of ISPs that they di­dn't re­view them­selv­es. Some­ti­mes this leads to no­ti­ce­able dif­fe­ren­ces be­t­we­en re­views and ra­t­ings of dif­fe­rent ISPs.

· The bot­tom li­ne is that no two co­m­pa­ni­es are ali­ke, and no two sets of ne­eds are the sa­me the­re­fo­re our re­views con­si­der each pro­vi­der on its own me­rits. This me­ans that ev­en for si­mi­lar ISPs, we re­view each in­di­vi­du­al com­pa­ny by it­self on its own terms, in­stead of just try­ing to keep our ra­tings of the­se ISPs in li­ne with each other. So even tho­ugh our re­vi­ews will ide­al­ly be wri­t­ten with the sa­me ex­act sta­n­dards, dif­fe­rent pe­o­ple wri­te for The ISP List -- so not eve­ry re­view will fol­low eve­ry oth­er re­view 100 per­cent of the time.

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Latest reviews

 550Access Category: Low-cost ISPs  

Name: 550Access
Web Address: www.550access.com
Cost: $5.50/month
Setup Fee: $7.00
Hours included: 150 Hours
Postal address: 6776 Southwest Freeway
Suite 600
Toll-free phone: 1-866-VIP-POWER
Reviewed on: Mon Jun 9 2003
Reviewed by: JeniRae
Rating:

Howdy y'all! Couple questions to ponder: Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window? Or, Why is a person that handles your money called a 'Broker'? Things that make you go, "Hmmmm..." Anyway... on to today's review: 550Access.

Overview
Here's what you get (their words, not mine):

  • Unlimited* 56k v90/92 Internet Access (we'll come back to that little asterisk)
  • Compatible with all Instant Messaging Programs
  • No Pop-Up Ads
  • Fast, Reliable Access
  • No hidden Costs or Fees
  • Free Online Support
  • Free Dialer to Get You Connected
  • Dialup Networking Support
Biting my tongue till I can take a better look at these "services."

Features (or in 550access' case, the
What do you expect for $5.50 a month? Actually I'm quite impressed with their website. They say right out (and are even oddly proud of), everything that they don't offer. Let's take a gander: No email addresses. So there's no Iampoor@550access.com. What a shame. What really cracks me up is how they find a way to make this a good thing. I just have to quote this one: "This also makes it easier since you do not have to keep handing out a new email when you switch ISPs." Ever hear the one about the little boy who got a pile of manure for Christmas? I'll have to tell y'all sometime. Good story.

No web space. Who needs it anyway, when you can build your own add-filled web page at Geocities, Angelfire, or Tripod? (I actually think I started to make one once, but I got so lost in all of the pop-ups that I never found my page again!)

OK, before I get too sarcastic, let's take a closer look at 550access' services.

Services
Unlimited* 56k v90/92 Internet Access: (been waiting for this one) 550access gets the prize here with the most creative use of the word "unlimited." I just gotta quote their web site again. "Important: ▒Unlimited Access' means unlimited numr of times a user can connect. It does not mean a user can stay on for 24 hours a day seven days a week." Apparently this should be crystal clear. The real truth is, you get 150 hours a month, which amounts to about 5 hours a day. Bottom line, if you're a lightweight Internet user who actually has a life outside of the web, this will probably do you.

Compatible with all Instant Messaging Programs: Um... what ISP isn't these days? And with only 150 hours a month, who has time to chat?

No Pop-Up Ads, Fast, Reliable Access, No hidden Costs or Fees: I'm lumping these together, because basically it's what you see is what you get. And just because they're a low-cost ISP, it doesn't mean they're going to sneak in ads, drop your connection, or charge you for "breathing fees." I do respect them for that.

Support
Free Online Support, Free Dialer to Get You Connected, Dialup Networking Support:

Despite all the fun I've been making a this little Internet Service Provider, I am very impressed with it's customer service. Lots of bigger, costlier ISP's don't provide what 550access does.

True story: doing this review, I had the darnest time finding the address and customer service number for 550access. I looked everywhere. I was getting very tempted to make them up (who wakes up one morning and says, "I think I'll take a little drive to visit my ISP today," anyway?) But, the lil' angel-me on my right shoulder got the best of me. On a whim, I decided to try their free online live support link. Within about 10 seconds I was connected with a guy named Josh, who gladly and promptly told me everything I needed to know. (and he didn't even ask me if I wanted to enter into a 10 year contract!) Very impressive.

Overview
Bottom line, 550 access has found a place in my heart. They're a trustworthy company who tells it like it is. If all I need is a way to read my email on yahoo, or occasionally do research on how on earth to potty train my 3 and a half year old, I'd go with this ISP.

  Tell us your opinion Talk back
550access - by Ken 10/06/03
Geez... - by S. 10/07/03
You get what you pay for - by Unhappy Customer 10/09/08

 
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