Ditch Your Dial-Up

Market Watch: What to Do When Broadband Providers Close Down

Despite their tolerance for occasional service hiccups, broadband users tend to go ballistic when their service goes down with no promise of ever coming back (see "Surviving the ISP Shuffle").

Before Excite@Home's bankruptcy and service disruptions gave cable Internet a fresh black eye, a string of company failures made DSL seem especially risky. NorthPoint Communications sold DSL bandwidth to retail ISPs, including EarthLink and MSN. With little warning, NorthPoint shut down its network in March 2001, leaving customers in the lurch nationwide.

David Worenklein, a computer programmer in Greenwich, Connecticut, was one NorthPoint casualty. When NorthPoint went under, Worenklein's ISP said it would try to find him a new service provider.

"They said there were no other carriers that could provide service to my home," says Worenklein. "But that didn't make sense to me, so I did some research and found AceDSL. About a month later, I was online with DSL again."

After NorthPoint shut down, Rhythms NetConnections went bankrupt. Most recently, Covad Communications filed for Chapter 11 protection, although it probably will survive its reorganization. Phone companies were left to placate angry consumers. The history lesson is clear: Broadband providers have proved to be volatile, so subscribers must prepare to have their connection yanked at some time. Here are some ideas for picking a robust ISP, and tips for hooking up with a new ISP fast.

Investigate your Baby Bell. A phone company is probably a reliable first-choice ISP. After all, it's unlikely to go under anytime soon. But don't sign up with your regional Bell before evaluating its services.

Research your options. Pay a visit to DSLreports and evaluate the ISPs in your area. Compare costs and features to create a shortlist of ISPs you might turn to for backup.

Know Your ISPs' ISPs. Find out who provides the physical lines to your ISP. If your ISP's bandwidth provider seems to be on shaky ground, it's probably a good time to find an alternate ISP.

Plan your time. Call some ISPs and find out how quickly they could install new service for you. Although many DSL providers have cut their installation times to a few weeks, others still take a month or longer.

Have a backup. Your broadband provider should give you a dial-up account, either free or at a reduced fee, so you can remain online even if your broadband goes out.