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Information Technology Services

Student & Administrative Services Center, Rm. 2072 · (570) 320-7329

Off-Campus Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

Students and employees who want a comprehensive off-campus Internet service have many Internet Service Providers to choose from. Making the right choice depends on many factors such as price, connection speed, and the depth of service desired. There are four basic types of ISPs:

Free Service - This is a free dial-up to the Internet with advertising banners placed on the screen. The cost of the service is paid for by the advertisers.

Online Service Providers - These are complete service providers, like AOL®, CompuServe®, and MSN®. They provide more than just Internet; they have their own internal world. They provide many services such as interest groups, stock monitoring, multiple user accounts, and special areas for children. These services require a large amount of hard drive space and system resources.

Basic Dial-up Internet Providers - These are the simplest to use. They connect you to the Internet, and the rest is up to you.

'Always On' Providers - These are high-speed connections to the Internet through your cable television service (cable modem) or your phone line (DSL). Unlike dial-up connections, which require you to reconnect each time you want to access the Internet, 'always on' set-ups are connected to the Internet whenever your computer is on. The speeds can be 10-20 times faster than dial-up connections.

Various ISP Web Sites (sites will open in new window)

Disclaimer: ITS does not endorse, recommend, guarantee, or support any of the products or services offered through these Web sites. The links are provided for your convenience only.