Amir Tal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > 1. STATIC IP!!!! (must have, will pay). > > actcom - free of charge. > > > 2. 1.5mbit cable (I have 750k now, might as well upgrade). > > actcom. > > > 3. Linux support. > > actcom ! > > > 4. 24/7 or at least 24/5 + Friday to close to Shabbat and Motzi Shabbat > > support. > > actcom.
Disclaimer: I am a private, not a business customer. I have heard many good things about Actcom from tech-savvy Israelis, including many on this list. On the other hand, I have been a Netvision customer for quite a few years, and generally I have been satisfied by their service. I just made a point of telling the help desk I used Linux, and invariably the techie who called me to take care of the ticket knew what he was talking about. And I am not talking of the last year or two, when acceptance of Linux grew. It has been that way since 1996 for me. A few months ago I decided to narrow the gap with the rest of the world and get an ADSL connection. The two ISPs I considered were Actcom and Netvision - the first thanks to the reputation among geeks, the second, because I already was a satisfied dial-up customer. The clinch was Actcom's insistence that I should sign a written contract saying that I would not connect more than one computer via ADSL. Otherwise they would consider me a business customer, at a higher rate. They (I went a couple of levels up the chain of command from the original salesperson) acknowledged they would have no means to verify I only had one computer connected, but insisted on it anyway. Their stated rationale was that while nominally they would be providing such and such bandwidth, the bandwidth was by no means reserved but shared, and they wanted to make sure that several members of a family would not be browsing/emailing/downloading/p2p-sharing/etc at the same time, thus using up more resources than projected. Therefore, basically Actcom told me they would not provide the connectivity as advertised. Netvision simply said they would provide the connection and it was entirely my business what and how to connect to the line (I asked specifically, after all the discussions with Actcom). IMHO, this is what the service should be. So, I summed it up for myself as follows: 1) I have been generally satisfied with Netvision's service so far. 2) They certainly support Linux, at least at the level I need (I don't need much handholding, really, I just need someone on the other end of the line who has a clue). 3) Their attitude towards the service they provide is much more sensible than Actcom's (I think that someone with an inside line to Actcom should explain to them that they are losing customers because of this). 4) If I stick to the terms of the contract with Actcom (i.e. subscribe at the business rate) Netvision would be cheaper. 5) Static IP was not important to me at that point (this is the biggest advantage of Actcom's, of course) I decided not to switch to Actcom in the end, at least for now. Caveats of comparison to Geoff's complaints: a) I have ADSL, not cable, and I have not noticed any *regular* disconnects. Over the few months I noticed the connection was dropped maybe a couple of times. b) No static IP. c) I speak Hebrew to the help desk. d) I have not tested if Netvision provide 24/7 support, including Saturdays. e) The reasons why I decided in favor of Netvision probably go away for a business customer, who will connect a LAN to the ADSL, pay a higher rate anyway, and will need a static IP. So, Geoff, despite what I said, if you are not satisfied with Netvision, consider Actcom. One final word of caution: whatever you do, do not use Barak. My last several places of work used Barak (I guess they offer cheap connections to business customers). Their level of service sucks, and their support are *totally clueless*. My NIS 0.02. -- Oleg Goldshmidt | [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================================================= "... Of theoretical physics and programming, programming embodied the greater intellectual challenge." [E.W.Dijkstra, 1930 - 2002.] ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
