Selecting an ISP and Getting Connected

Contents

• Introduction
• Table 1 - ISPs Whose Services Work with the Inbound Proxy
• Things to Consider When Choosing an ISP
• Getting Connected
• Internet Access Settings and Pricing Summaries
• If it doesn't work...

Introduction

The business of an Internet Service Provider is, amongst other things, providing its customers with dialup connection to the Internet. If you want to be able to access "University Only" web pages, you need an ISP whose service works with the University's inbound proxy server. Table 1 lists several ISPs whose services have been tested by ITS with the inbound proxy.

Inclusion of an ISP in this list doesn't imply a recommendation - it simply means we've tested their service and it works with the inbound proxy. Similarly, the absence of an ISP from the table doesn't mean that the University has a negative opinion about their service: it simply means that we haven't tested them, or we haven't tested them succesfully.

There are two ways an ISP can be setup which will allow you to use the inbound proxy. Either they don't force you to use their own proxy, or they have set their proxy up so that it sends requests for University pages to the inbound proxy. In the first case, you will need to set your Web browser (which is probably Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer) to use Automatic Proxy Configuration using http://www.unimelb.edu.au/cgi-bin/ibproxy.pac as the configuration URL (Auto Config method). In the latter case, the ISP's proxy takes care of using the inbound proxy for you (ISP's Proxy method). The method tested for each ISP is noted in the table.

For detailed instructions on setting browsers up to use the inbound proxy, see http://www.its.unimelb.edu.au/ibproxy/.

The table is not comprehensive, and is only accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. It is provided as a guide only, and you should check the details with your chosen ISP before committing yourself.

Most dialin ISPs offer service on the basis that they will charge your credit card each month for a set amount, which provides a certain number of hours connection, and extra hours are available at extra cost. These accounts can usually be set up very quickly over the phone or on the Web. If you don't have a credit card, you can buy prepaid access over the counter from some ISPs, and some will be willing to bill you each month (they may require a deposit).

The services tested were standard "home-user" services.

You can usually use more hours than specified by your pricing plan, at an additional charge which is usually a bit more each hour than the "package" hours. Unused hours in your package each month are usually lost, so it pays to choose a package which matches your actual use patterns. Most ISPs will let you switch easily between pricing plans.

Note (1): It's possible for your inbound proxy authentication to expire after about an hour. If that happens, you may find that you can't access some web pages. Quitting your Web browser and re-launching it should solve the problem.

Note (2): If you revisit restricted pages in a later session, it's possible that the inbound proxy won't be consulted (i.e., if the page you visit is served from the cache on your hard disk) and you may experience some difficulty. Quitting your Web browser and re-launching it may solve the problem, and a second useful strategy is to hold down the shift key while clicking on Netscape's "Reload" button. This forces the system to get you the page from the relevant webserver, thus triggering the authentication process.

Things to Consider When Choosing an ISP

The University does not have a "favourite" ISP. There are many different services available from the ISPs listed above, and which one is best depends on a lot of things which are different for different students. You should investigate the offerings from each ISP, and make the choice you think is best for your particular circumstances. You may even choose to use more than one ISP, depending on, say, whether you are in Melbourne (term-time) or somewhere else (vacations). Here are some things to consider.

• Will the service work with the University's inbound proxy?
  For the services listed above, the answer is Yes, at least at the time of writing. If you're looking at other ISPs (and there are dozens to choose from), the question to ask is "do you require me to use your proxy server". If the answer is NO, then their service will almost certainly work with the inbound proxy, using the Auto Config method.

• How much does it cost?
  That will depend on the pricing plan and on how much you expect to use it. Look for the ability to switch easily from one pricing plan to another if you end up using the service much more or less than you thought you would.

• Local call access areas
  All of the listed ISPs provide access for the cost of a local call (each time you dial in) in the Melbourne telephone area. But if you don't live in Melbourne outside term time, or if your studies take you away from Melbourne for all or part of the year, you'll want a service which provides local call access from wherever you are. You can call a Melbourne access number from just about anywhere in the world, but it can be expensive. In general, most big ISPs cover all Australian capital cities, but coverage elsewhere varies between ISPs. If access from outside Melbourne is important for you, check with the ISP before signing up.

• Can I control or keep track of the cost?
  Look for ISPs which provide you with a facility to check up on your account and how much you've spent. For applying strict cost control, the prepaid plans are better than the plans which just charge your credit card each month.

• Do they support my kind of computer?
  Generally, ISP services work with any kind of computer that works on dialup internet connections. The way information is transferred in the internet is an internet standard, not a standard just for any one kind of computer. If your computer works with the Internet and you have reasonable technical expertise in managing its setup, the configuration information provided on ISP web pages will give you the information you need to configure the computer manually to work with any ISP. But if you're not expert, life's going to be much easier if you choose an ISP which says it supports the kind of computer you use. If in doubt, phone them and ask them. Before making that call, try to be sure of the processor, processor speed, memory, disk space, operating system (and version), and the type of modem you have. Typical answers might be: "Pentium M 1.7GHzHz, 512Mb RAM, 20 Gigabytes unused hard disk, inbuilt 56 kbps modem" or "iBook (G4 processor at 1.3Hz), 768Mb RAM, 20 Gigabytes unused hard disk, built in Apple 56kbps modem".

• Am I locked in?
  The ISP market in Australia is dynamic, with many players, frequent new ISPs, and keen competition on price and other factors. The best deal available today may be outdone by some new deal available next month. So, think carefully before committing to any deal that locks you in for an extended period, either through prepayment or a service contract that requires you to keep paying a monthly fee.

• Support
  Some ISPs offer extensive free help hotlines, available at most times - maybe even 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Some may charge for technical support; in other cases the support is free - or, to put it more accurately, the cost of the support service is built-in to the access charges. Make sure you choose an ISP with a level of support appropriate to your needs.

Getting Connected

Most ISPs will provide you with a kit to get started, and it will usually contain a CD with everything you need, and a technical support number to call if things go wrong. Usually, this works fine. But be careful - if you share a computer with other people (your family, for example), you can interfere with their ISP setup by installing your own. Make sure that anyone you share the computer with knows what you're doing. Recent operating systems let you keep several different internet setups on the one computer and to switch easily between them. Check the manuals!

If you go with the automatic setup procedure, you won't need to know much about the internet setup, but you may still need to set your Web browser's proxy server. If you do the setup yourself, you'll need to find out the required configuration from the ISP - by phone or by looking at their website. The settings we used in our testing are provided below.

Internet Access Settings and Pricing Summaries

It's important to understand the difference between your University username and password, and your ISP username and password. They probably won't be the same, and when you have to supply a username or password, you have to give the right one. In the table above, words like its-username mean the username given to you by the University. Similary, ozemail-password means your ozemail password, and so on.

Pricing summaries were accurate at the time of writing each summary, but please be aware that things change: the date of each summary is not necessarily the same as the date of this document. Check the ISPs' own web pages for more detailed and up to date information maintained by the ISPs themselves.

• Alphalink Internet Settings and Pricing
• Connexus Internet Settings and Pricing
• HotKey Internet Settings and Pricing
• Labyrinth Connections Internet Settings and Pricing
• Netspace Internet Settings and Pricing
• Optus Internet Settings and Pricing
• OzEmail Internet Settings and Pricing
• Primus Internet Settings and Pricing
• SprintOnline Internet Settings and Pricing
• Telstra BigPond Internet Settings and Pricing
• VICNET Internet Settings and Pricing

If it doesn't work

When you use the University network via an ISP, you're using a range of services provided by the ISP and by (possibly several) parts of the University. You'll help everyone, including yourself, if you try to work out what's going wrong so that you can contact the right people for help. Table 2 gives some guidelines.

Created: February 1999
Last modified: February 2000
Authorised by: Director, Information Technology Services

Maintained by: Stephen Young
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