Questions To Ask Upstate NY Internet Providers Before Having Your Internet Installed

Let’s face it: we can’t survive without an internet connection. This is especially true for businesses, which rely on the internet to accomplish their daily operations. 

Today, we take a quick look at what we should typically be asking our prospected internet service providers (ISPs) before getting our internet installed.

Is There an Installation Fee?

Some providers won’t tell you if the prices advertised are inclusive of an installation fee. This can come as a shock to some people who are just expecting to pay for the cost that was announced on the ISP’s promotional materials.

There will be ISPs that will waive their installation fees dependent on certain conditions. Some might ask you to pay for the installation in increments along with the monthly bill, and there are others who might ask for it outright.

You need to be able to know this in advance so that you can determine the real cost of your internet connection. This allows you to have a more accurate estimate of your internet budget.

What Types of Internet Speed Connections are Available?

Find out what kind of internet connections are being supported. These connections include digital subscriber lines (DSL), cable internet, and fiber. Nowadays, fiber is becoming more common as it tends to offer higher and more stable speeds.

If available, opt for a fiber connection. This will provide you with faster download and upload times. You can check out options for other quick connections here.

Connections like satellite are only applicable in rural areas where there aren’t any available infrastructure for high-speed internet lines.

What are the Guaranteed Speeds?

Here’s something that not everyone is familiar with: there is a difference between the speed in what is advertised and what is guaranteed by the ISP. Internet service providers will often put the maximum speed to expect in their packages, but this often differs from the actual speed.

Just because it has the potential to reach a certain speed doesn’t mean that it averages at that speed the whole day.

You need to find out if the ISP offers a rebate or a discount should their speed not reach their guaranteed speeds. While you’re at it, you can also ask for what their average speed is in the area.

Do You Provide Spam Filtering on Your Servers?

ISPs have the power to provide for a spam net on their services, and this can be helpful for anyone who needs an extra filter on their email accounts. However, this is a layer of security that can come into play with the protection of your network.

What’s the Support Team Like?

There’s going to be an instance where you will require the assistance of the ISP’s support team. Whether it be a disruption in your internet connection or a billing question that may come up, you need to know what their support team is like.

Aim to find out what the hours of their support team are and how fast can they provide you with the help that you need. Another good question to ask if the calls to their support are toll-free and if they offer email and chat support, too.

What is your MTTR?

MTTR stands for Mean Time to Repair, which is basically how long it will take for your ISP to get your internet up and running should there be a problem with the connection. This is an important question to ask if your livelihood is dependent on your internet connection.

A problem with your communications framework could be costly. This is especially true if you have set up a virtual office.

What Can I Expect from You?

These are generally questions that are concerning the SLA (Service Level Agreement) that you will be signing with your ISP. You have to make sure that you know what you will be expecting from their end and that it is included in writing. This allows you to be protected from possible issues in the future, should any arise.

If there are any points in the SLA that you find unclear, you should also ask for clarifications to prevent any misinterpretations in the future.

Conclusion

There are a lot more questions that you could ask your Upstate NY internet service provider, but these questions are the most integral. You need to be able to determine what you can expect from them as the internet isn’t cheap and you should protect your consumer rights at the same time.

These questions will allow you to get the best internet service for the amount of money that you are willing to shell out for your connection.

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.