2.1 Connecting Internet

1. Choose your ISP (Internet Service Providers)
   Things to be considered:
   • Do they have PNETS (Public Non-Exclusive Telecommunications Service) license?

   • What services do they provide?

     Do they provide full internet access?

     e-mail (Do they provide mail alias or phone book service?)

     USENET News (How many and how long do they keep the news groups?)

     Web pages housing (Do they allow cgi-bin programs?)

   • What kinds of servers are they using? Workstation or PC?
   • Do they provide enough user technical support? Any 24-hrs hotlines or helpdesk channel?
   • Do they have their own direct oversea internet link or just share it with the other ISPs? What is the link speed? 64K/128K/256K/768K/1.54M(T1) ?
   • Have they connected to HKIX? What is the link speed?
   • Do they have enough dial up lines? What is the speed of their modem pool? 28.8K or 14.4K?
   • How many users do they support according to their resources?

   • How do they charge their clients?

     What is the registration fee and monthly basic fee?

     How do they charge the connection time? Do they charge peak hours connection fee? Do they include PNETS fee?

     How do they charge your online data storage? Per Meta byte? Per Web page?

   • Any terms or conditions that do not favour your organization such as termination of service or data privacy not protected?
   • Do they have strong technical support team to manage their networks?
   • What is your friend comment on these ISPs?

   Reference:

   Choice Magazine Vol 229 15th Nov. 95

   Network Service Providers in Hongkong

   "How to choose an Internet service provider" by Global Information Network.

   HKISPs table by Alexander Que

2. Get your high speed modem (28.8K or above)
   • Make sure your modem can connect your ISP modem pool.

3. Get your PC/Mac with the necessary software to connect internet
   • You do not need powerful PC/MAC to make the connection. However, many web sites provide sound and video; hence, multi-media PC is recommended.
   • Win95, trumpet winsock ... These software can help you to connect your ISP servers via dial up lines. You may also consult your ISP to see which software is suitable to connect their servers.
   • You may also get other shareware/freeware client programs from FTP servers such as netscape, freeagent, Euroda, winftp ... etc

4. Connect Internet via dial up lines
   • After you have got your accounts from your ISP, try their services one by one. Should you have any problem of using these services, call your ISP user support team for help.
   • Surf the net and enjoy the cyberspace. (^_^)

Basic Equipment Requirements	A PC/MAC with a high speed modem
Parties Involved	Your ISP
Resources Required	A few client program + one or two part-time staff to manage the accounts and web pages