I have seen many posts regarding choosing of ISP's be it starting fresh or moving from another and everyone will recommend their own ISP I hope to make this post something to help you and if it is written well enough it will be sticky'd.
The best way to do this is look at complaint posts, praise posts and of course the ISP sites themselves, here's what to look out for.
The issues I will address are as such.
1. Price
2. Billing Model
3. Target use / Performance
4. Support
5. Forum Questions
6. Closing
1 - Price
Most people have a maximum amount that they are willing to spend and as such this will play a role in the deciding of which ISP or which speed you choose. If there is an absolute hard limit as in not being able to spend R1 more than your target then so be it but if that is not the case then take a look at the pricing spread, you will find that ISP's packages are generally within a R100 spread of each other and in the grand scheme of things it may be much better off for you to initially "bite the bullet" and have a better experience.
2 - Billing
Debit Order, EFT or Credit Card you may have a preference or a restriction so once you have decided on your price outlook then take a look at your options for payment, if any will do then take a look at the various rules in place by ISP's generally if the ISP requires a calendar months notice for cancellation and if you signup will they pro-rata bill you.
3 - Target Use / Performance
Browsing, Streaming, Gaming and Downloading. I put those in order of how likely they are to be affected by the quality of ISP, Downloading is the most sensitive one with throttling/shaping and how relaxed an ISP is with sheer volume you wish to download beware the cheap solution that promises no limits no restrictions as generally people will flock to them and they may no longer be able to sustain it and performance will decrease, Gaming is another thing although ISP's generally tend to sort that out as time goes by and people complain.
4 - Support
In the dark times will the ISP be there to help you, go to the websites and check the hours then check to see if they have a forum presence chances are that you will not run into problems you can do anything about but I've seen a forum presence as a good mark of how much an ISP cares.
5 - Forum Questions
When you have done your reading and have an ISP in mind if you still have questions post what you wish to do such as "I like to play league of legends and WOW and want to be able to do some fairly heavy downloading if necessary, ISP X seems to be fine for all this from what I have read, has anyone had any issues recently in this area ?". The ISP's with forum presence will most likely post in that and if someone recommends an ISP you did not plan on joining say for support reasons tell them as such in the reply and see if they have had any personal experience with it.
6 - Closing
Over the years I cant think of an ISP I have not been with some only once, some twice but for the purposes of this post and whenever it may be read the one I am currently with has no relevance, keep an open mind, look for reasons behind recommendations and you'll be fine.
Good Luck.
The best way to do this is look at complaint posts, praise posts and of course the ISP sites themselves, here's what to look out for.
The issues I will address are as such.
1. Price
2. Billing Model
3. Target use / Performance
4. Support
5. Forum Questions
6. Closing
1 - Price
Most people have a maximum amount that they are willing to spend and as such this will play a role in the deciding of which ISP or which speed you choose. If there is an absolute hard limit as in not being able to spend R1 more than your target then so be it but if that is not the case then take a look at the pricing spread, you will find that ISP's packages are generally within a R100 spread of each other and in the grand scheme of things it may be much better off for you to initially "bite the bullet" and have a better experience.
2 - Billing
Debit Order, EFT or Credit Card you may have a preference or a restriction so once you have decided on your price outlook then take a look at your options for payment, if any will do then take a look at the various rules in place by ISP's generally if the ISP requires a calendar months notice for cancellation and if you signup will they pro-rata bill you.
3 - Target Use / Performance
Browsing, Streaming, Gaming and Downloading. I put those in order of how likely they are to be affected by the quality of ISP, Downloading is the most sensitive one with throttling/shaping and how relaxed an ISP is with sheer volume you wish to download beware the cheap solution that promises no limits no restrictions as generally people will flock to them and they may no longer be able to sustain it and performance will decrease, Gaming is another thing although ISP's generally tend to sort that out as time goes by and people complain.
4 - Support
In the dark times will the ISP be there to help you, go to the websites and check the hours then check to see if they have a forum presence chances are that you will not run into problems you can do anything about but I've seen a forum presence as a good mark of how much an ISP cares.
5 - Forum Questions
When you have done your reading and have an ISP in mind if you still have questions post what you wish to do such as "I like to play league of legends and WOW and want to be able to do some fairly heavy downloading if necessary, ISP X seems to be fine for all this from what I have read, has anyone had any issues recently in this area ?". The ISP's with forum presence will most likely post in that and if someone recommends an ISP you did not plan on joining say for support reasons tell them as such in the reply and see if they have had any personal experience with it.
6 - Closing
Over the years I cant think of an ISP I have not been with some only once, some twice but for the purposes of this post and whenever it may be read the one I am currently with has no relevance, keep an open mind, look for reasons behind recommendations and you'll be fine.
Good Luck.
